Mutabaruka, the prominent Jamaican dub poet, broadcaster and social activist, has taken the message of ganja legalization to the African state of The Gambia.
The Standard newspaper has reported that Mutabaruka, during a visit to The Gambia, endorsed calls in that country for legalisation of ganja (cannabis sativa).
Mutabaruka, visiting the country for the first time to attend an international roots festival, reportedly highlighted the fact that in recent times has been an upsurge in legal reforms on the use of Marijuana. According to the report, he asserted that the practice of jailing young people for possession of ganja should cease, pointing out that many countries are making it legal.
Momentum in Jamaica
In Mutabaruka's home country of Jamaica, calls for ganja law reform were for a long time confined largely to artistes, members of the Rastafari community and some academics. That has changed significantly in recent years, with the Government, responding to pressure from some members of both major political parties and lobby groups, exploring its legal options for liberalizing the current restrictive policy regime, within the context of its international treaty obligations.
A three-day conference, under the theme ‘Wake Up Jamaica , Our Opportunities are Slipping Away,’ will be staged in Kingston from May 22-24, in furtherance of the reform initiative.
This theme is considered particularly appropriate, in light of the fact that several advanced countries, such as Canada and Israel, and some American states - led by Colorado and Washington - are far advanced in their own ganja law reforms and research and development programmes, based on the medicinal and commercial qualities of the plant.
The Conference is being stged jointly by the Cannabis Commercial and Medicinal Research Task Force (CCMRTF) and the University of the West Indies, underlining the prestige that is now attached to the drive towards a more liberal policy in Jamaica.
According to conference organizers, "the main outcome expected, is a ‘Conference Position Paper and Declaration’ setting out a roadmap and a recommended timeframe for the decrimalisation of ganja, including its use for sacramental rights of Rastafarians and its wider medicinal uses."
The Conference is also expected to result in a framework being established for a regulated commercial industry "... from which increased and sustained public education and advocacy will commence."
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