Guyana has debated for too long, the use of marijuana for religious, medicinal, and recreational use. Central Government ought to remove by way of amending the legislation, the custodial sentences for quantities of marijuana used by individuals in general and members of the Rastafarian Community in particular.
This is the view of Mayor Ubraj Narine.
Cabinet has agreed in principle, according to reports in the press, to allow for the production of industrial hemp, he said.
Cabinet must have also noted, if not directed, the vigorous campaign of the anti-narcotics agencies to seize, destroy marijuana seeds, plants, and fields and to jail users of marijuana even for medicinal or religious use.
Mayor Narine said that Guyana must adopt a comprehensive policy on marijuana, a product that has been in this country and Caribbean culture for centuries, even as it forges ahead with hemp production.
I join the calls by the Rastafarian Council, the rest of the Community, and recently the Inter-Religious Organization for the decriminalization of marijuana use for specific purposes and to respect Rastafarians’ religious and cultural rights, Mayor Narine said.
