Jamaica Considers Cannabis Legalization

Jamaica, home of world renowned Rastafarian cannabis user Bob Marley, has moved forward this fall on the cannabis legalization front.  A bill decriminalizing the possession of 2 oz or less has now been drafted and the Jamaican Justice Minister has told international press that this measure should become law by the end of the year.  Cannabis will also be decriminalized for religious use.

The impact of U.S. domestic and federal policy cannot be overstated here and in fact Jamaican political leaders reference the failure of the U.S. federal government to intercede in the recreational markets in Colorado and Washington State as a major component of their decision to proceed.   This is a sentiment seen all over the Caribbean and Central and South America, a region of the world in “America’s back yard” that has traditionally, and since the beginning of America as a country, seen the heavy boot of U.S. military enforcement, including for reasons of international drug interdiction.

Jamaica now joins the list of countries south of the U.S. border, but dramatically influenced and affected by U.S. foreign policy in particular, of which the Drug War has long been a major component.  Uruguay and Columbia have also moved forward on reform this year.

With the U.S. Territory of Guam also moving forward with reform this year with a widely expected to pass reform ballot at the polls in November, it is also very likely that more (particularly) Caribbean and Central American countries will rapidly now move forward with some kind of reform on this front as well.