[UPDATED] AG: ‘Male’ cannabis plant specification removed

ATTORNEY General Faris Al-Rawi said the stipulation of the four cannabis plants per household under decriminalisation legislation to be male has been removed.

He was piloting debate on the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill and the Cannabis Control Bill (which were debated simultaneously) in the House on Wednesday.

Al-Rawi announced that following public critique (including from cannabis activists) the “male” specification of the allocation of four cannabis plants per household had been struck off. He added that both male and female cannabis plants were necessary for cultivation.

He reported that that from 2008-2018 there were 85,000 cannabis cases (about 7,500-8,500 per year), which was a significant number. He said of these cases, almost 85 per cent were for simple possession while trafficking was about 12-14 per cent and cultivation and gathering were 0.6 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively.

He described as “alarming” the fact that from 2014-2019, 4,694 people were arrested for possession, could not access bail, were put on remand and exposed to the “tragedy of incarceration”.

“It is a staggering number.”

Al-Rawi recalled that he had reported the average cost of keeping someone on remand was between $15,000 and $25,000 a month, and therefore from 2014-2019 billions had been spent on people on remand for simple possession. He said the vast majority of those remanded were aged18-35 or 35-50, and stressed that they were kept with hardened, serious criminals.

He said the ethnic distribution for 2014 showed 352 African, 185 mixed, 124 East Indian, three Hispanic and zero Asian. He added the distribution was equal between people from urban and rural areas.

He reported of the 146,000 cases annually in the magistracy, approximately 8,500 were for cannabis, whether possession, trafficking, cultivation or gathering. Of these cases the disposition was only 24 per cent per year. “Just too many cases in the system.”

He explained that 104,000 cases would be removed for motor vehicle and road traffic cases, 26,000 more for preliminary enquiry, and about 8,000 for possession of marijuana.

That would leave only about 8,000 cases a year for the country’s 43 magistrates and 12 courts, which was a huge reduction from 146,000.

Al-Rawi also said the decriminalisation for under 60 grammes would reduce the workload on the forensic unit which had 75-85 per cent of its case load for cannabis. He said the forensic unit could now focus on more serious matters like rape analysis or drugs like cocaine, opium, ketamine, metaphetamines and LSD.

He reported the All Mansions of Rastafari group had written to his office and requested a two kilogramme limit but no jurisdiction had a limit beyond 56 grammes. He added that Jamaica’s limit was 56 grammes.

“We are four grammes higher than everybody else.” He said that Caricom was working to harmonise the limit across the country.

He added that while some people were calling for cannabis to be legalised and others for it to be decriminalised it was “far past time” the issue of the most vulnerable being exposed to incarceration was addressed.

This story was originally published with the title "AG: Almost 5,000 on remand for weed, billions spent" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

ATTORNEY General Faris Al-Rawi said in the past five years, almost 5,000 people have been incarcerated and billions spent on them while on remand.

He was piloting debate on the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill and the Cannabis Control Bill (which were debated simultaneously) in the House on Wednesday.

He reported that from 2008-2018 there were 85,000 cannabis cases (about 7,500-8,500 per year), which was a significant number. He said of these cases, almost 85 per cent were for simple possession while trafficking was about 12-14 per cent and cultivation and gathering were 0.6 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively.

He described as "alarming" the fact that from 2014-2019, 4,694 people were arrested for possession, could not access bail and were put on remand.

"It is a staggering number."

Al-Rawi recalled that he had reported the average cost of keeping someone on remand was between $15,000 and $25,000 a month, and therefore from 2014-2019 billions had been spent on people on remand for simple possession. He said the vast majority of those remanded were aged18-35 or 35-50, and stressed that they were kept with hardened, serious criminals.

He said the ethnic distribution for 2014 showed 352 African, 185 mixed, 124 East Indian, three Hispanic and zero Asian. He added the distribution was equal between people from urban and rural areas.

He reported of the 146,000 cases annually in the magistracy, approximately 8,500 were for cannabis, whether possession, trafficking, cultivation or gathering.

He explained that 104,000 cases would be removed for motor vehicle and road traffic cases, 26,000 more for preliminary enquiry, and about 8,000 for possession of marijuana. That would leave only about 8,000 cases a year for the country's 43 magistrates and 12 courts, which was a huge reduction from 146,000.

Al-Rawi also announced that following public critique, the "male" specification of the allocation of four cannabis plants per household had been removed. He added that both male and female cannabis plants were necessary for cultivation.