Policy Analysis
The Dangerous Drugs Act Amendment in Jamaica: Reviewing goals, implementation, and challenges

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2016.08.007Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

After decades of internal discussion, the Government of Jamaica recently amended its laws to create a regulated and licensed cannabis industry for medical and scientific purposes. The new law also decriminalizes personal possession and use of cannabis; allows cannabis to be used by individuals for religious, medical, scientific and therapeutic purposes; and permits home cultivation of up to five plants.

Methods

We first describe the statutory changes under the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act of 2015 and compare it with other jurisdictions. We provide an analytical framework for understanding how the DDA Amendment affects key populations and achieves its stated goals, drawing on publicly available information and unstructured interviews with non-governmental stakeholders in Jamaica.

Results

The Amendment’s primary goals are to deliver economic impact and reduce criminal justice costs. A relaxed policy of enforcement toward possession and use seems to have occurred even before the law’s passage; after the law’s passage, enforcement remains limited. To access medical cannabis under the DDA residents must receive authorization from a certified health professional in Jamaica; tourists may self-declare their medical need; and Rastafarians may grow and exchange non-commercially for religious purposes.

Conclusion

Internally, many see “ganja” as an industry sorely needed to drive economic growth in Jamaica. Indeed, the potential impacts could be large, especially if Jamaica draws additional tourism or creates a viable export industry. A growing cannabis-related tourism industry seems more realistic. We maintain that policymakers and observers should proceed in an orderly fashion, continuing to identify and resolve remaining uncertainties, initiate new types of data collection, and make decisions based on realistic assessments of potentials for economic impact.

Section snippets

Background

In April 2015, the Government of Jamaica amended its drug law, the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA), to decriminalize cannabis possession, legalize home cultivation for medicinal and sacramental use, and create a new, licensed industry for medical cannabis and hemp.

With the Amendment to the DDA (“The Amendment”), Jamaica becomes the first country in the Western hemisphere to allow the use of cannabis for sacramental purposes, and one of few developing countries working to establish a regulated

Methods

To analyse the Amendment and identify the related prospects and challenges regarding its implementation, we proceed with (1) a review of what is currently known about cannabis access, use, and commerce in Jamaica, (2) an analysis of the Amendment and its accompanying regulations, comparing it with other medical cannabis regimes, and (3) a review of the progress of implementation of the regulatory framework, including which policy components have been decided and which others remain unfixed.

Illicit supply and trafficking

Stories from the media and other sources document Jamaica’s substantial trade in illicit cannabis exports (Jamaica Observer, 2013, Dyer, 2015a, Dyer, 2015b, Phillips, 2015). The US State Department reports in 2015 that Jamaica cultivated 15,000 ha of cannabis (Department of State, 2015), although previous research suggests that one cannot take such estimates at face value (Reuter, 1997, Thoumi, 2005).

Jamaica is rumoured to have thousands or tens of thousands of dedicated small-scale cannabis

Conclusion

Although it is far too early to evaluate whether the Amendment will (or even can) accomplish its economic or criminal justice-related goals, herein we have attempted an early assessment, drawing on the text of Amendment and interim regulations and on preliminary data relating to criminal justice outcomes, demographics, cannabis use, and market characteristics. More detailed assessments will be feasible as regulations are developed and outcomes observed.

Will the Amendment take a substantial bite

Acknowledgements

Authors were stationed in Kingston, Jamaica for 7 weeks during mid-2015, working on a research project for BOTEC Analysis at the behest of the Jamaican Government. Nothing in this research divulges any government or private information that was learned during our stay in Jamaica. Work during that project helped serve as a basis for this research. Authors would also like to thank Mark Kleiman, Beau Kilmer, and Greg Midgette for their insights.

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