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Report of the CARICOM Regional Commission on Marijuana 2018

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Report of the CARICOM Regional Commission on Marijuana 2018 3 August 2018 Report of the CARICOM Regional Commission on Marijuana 2018 Waiting to Exhale – Safeguarding our Future through Responsible Socio-Legal Policy on Marijuana Supported [in part] by a Grant from the Open Society Foundations Caribbean Community Secretariat 2018 Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat Turkeyen P.O. Box 10827 Georgetown Guyana ISBN 978-976-600-416-3 (E-book) © 2018 Caribbean Community Secretariat All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright holder. REPORT TO THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY HEADS OF GOVERNMENT BY THE THE CARICOM REGIONAL COMMISSION ON MARIJUANA WAITING TO EXHALE SAFEGUARDING OUR FUTURE THROUGH RESPONSIBLE SOCIO-LEGAL POLICY ON MARIJUANA June, 2018 Table of Contents (i) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................................... iv (ii) PREFACE ................................................................................................................................................. v (iii) LIST OF COMMISSIONERS** .............................................................................................................. vi PROFESSOR ROSE-MARIE BELLE ANTOINE – CHAIR ...................................................................... vi (iv) TERMS OF REFERENCE AND METHODOLOGY .............................................................................. x (v) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... 1 1. INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT FOR LAW REVIEW ......................................................................... 8 2. USAGE AND ATTITUDES TOWARD CANNABIS/ MARIJUANA ...................................................... 10 Widespread Usage Despite Prohibition ............................................................................................................ 10 Concerns for Increased Usage after Law Reform ............................................................................................ 11 Changing Attitudes toward Cannabis/ Marijuana ............................................................................................ 11 Main Rationales for Calls for Reform .............................................................................................................. 12 Maintaining the Status Quo .............................................................................................................................. 13 Ending Prohibition and Embracing a Health and Rights Centred Approach.................................................... 14 Changed Global Legal Landscape .................................................................................................................... 16 3. HISTORY OF ILLEGALITY AND RELIGIOUS VIEWS......................................................................... 17 Use in Religious Practices ................................................................................................................................ 18 Religious Views, Rights and the Rastafarians .................................................................................................. 18 4. LEGAL ENVIRONMENT OF CANNABIS IN THE CARIBBEAN ......................................................... 20 Clear Rationales Needed for Law-making and Criminal Penalties .................................................................. 20 –Legitimacy of the Law ................................................................................................................................... 20 Current Status of Strict Liability Criminal Offences and Harsh Penalties ....................................................... 21 Sentences Harsher than for Serious Victim Crimes ......................................................................................... 23 Low Thresholds for Presumption of Trafficking .............................................................................................. 23 Appropriate Personal Amounts in Law Reform ............................................................................................... 24 Current Exceptions in Law Not Applied Because of Stigma ........................................................................... 25 Ancillary Laws Supporting Illegality – The Financial Collateral..................................................................... 25 Hemp ................................................................................................................................................................ 26 Urgent Need for Patent Law in Law Reform Process ...................................................................................... 26 i Regional Law Reform Initiatives ..................................................................................................................... 27 5. SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL CONTEXT - IMPLICATIONS FOR THE LAW ..................................... 28 Uncertainty of the Cannabis Substance and Different Strains of Cannabis ...................................................... 28 Evidence as to Positive Medicinal Benefits Now Overwhelming .................................................................... 29 Increasing Scientific Support for Medical Marijuana ...................................................................................... 30 Addressing Concerns about Adverse Health Impacts ...................................................................................... 33 The Gateway Theory ........................................................................................................................................ 35 Problems with Psychomotor Functioning ........................................................................................................ 35 Human Rights and Health ................................................................................................................................ 35 Comparative Harm re Other Substances .......................................................................................................... 35 Dosage and Administration .............................................................................................................................. 37 Providing Opportunities for Caribbean Medical Researchers .......................................................................... 37 Regulating Medical Marijuana as Part of a New Law Reform Model ............................................................. 37 Use of Cannabis in Sport .................................................................................................................................. 38 Sufficient Support on Medical Marijuana for Law Reform ............................................................................. 38 6. LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSPECTIVES ON PROHIBITION ................................................................ 39 Prohibition is Ineffective and Inefficient .......................................................................................................... 40 Recidivism and Creating Hardened Criminals ................................................................................................. 41 The Costs and Inefficiencies of a Prohibitive Regime ..................................................................................... 41 Lessons from Jamaica and Other Countries from a Law Enforcement Perspective ......................................... 42 Legitimacy of the Law Leading to Inability to Effectively Enforce it. ............................................................ 42 Criminality not from Use but Protecting Turf .................................................................................................. 43 Stereotyping and Discrimination in Law Enforcement? .................................................................................. 44 Drug Use and Addiction related to Existing Social Inequalities ...................................................................... 46 7. SOCIAL AND HUMAN COSTS OF PROHIBITION-IMPACTS ON FAMILY ...................................... 47 Cannabis and Environmental Considerations ................................................................................................... 48 8. HUMAN RIGHTS ARGUMENT AGAINST PROHIBITION ................................................................... 48 Proportionality in Administration of Justice Approaches to Cannabis ............................................................. 50 9. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH............................................................ 51 Education and Children .................................................................................................................................... 52 10. WHITHER AN ECONOMIC BASIS FOR LAW REFORM ................................................................. 53 Results of Economics Study- ........................................................................................................................... 53 State Control Most Beneficial .......................................................................................................................... 53 Protecting Regional Hegemony, Finance, Fair Trade and Land......................................................................
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