EDITOR, The Tribune.
IN Jamaica, grass is heralded as the weed of knowledge. If you want to become wise, light up a spliff. Each household can grow as much as five plants. Small amounts of marijuana for personal use has been decriminalised. It is also legal for religious purposes. Rastafarians can use marijuana openly as a part of their ceremony. Jamaicans are excited about the possibilities of the country becoming a grass tourism destination.
Recently, in Montego Bay, tourists were told not to leave their rooms after a state of emergency was declared due to the increase in violence. For several years, Jamaica has recorded more than 100 murders a month. The following is an excerpt taken from trip savvy. “As most places, murder in the Caribbean are often linked to the drug trade and largely confined to known trouble spots typically poor communities.
“Tourists are rarely victims of homicide, which is why such killings spark headlines when they occur.”
Jamaica is known for its involvement in the drug trade. Hard on the heels of Honduras and El Salvador, Jamaica is rated high on the list in murder per capita.
According to worldatlas.com, some of the most dangerous cities in Jamaica are Montego Bay, Kingston and Spanish Town. Jamaica is also rated high in firearm deaths internationally.
In America, nine states have allowed the use of recreational marijuana and thirty states give it the OK for medicinal purposes. Grass is now big business in the United States. It is speculated that America is the number one user of marijuana in the world. Of all Americans, two in five twelve and older have used it.
Five years ago, the office of the National Drug Control Policy opposed the legalisation of marijuana and other drugs mainly because legalisation would increase the availability and use of illicit drugs pose significant health and safety risks.
Several inner cities in states throughout America are burdened down with drug affiliated crimes. But does all of the above make America unwilling to move ahead in its quest to legalise. In America, the almighty dollar is king and it is willing to sacrifice its people at all cost.
Someone said that when America sneezes The Bahamas catches the cold. So now that America has decided to lessen their outlook on weed The Bahamas is debating following suit.
The fragrance of the almighty dollar has permeated our nostrils and whetted our appetite. what are we going to do, will we make the same sacrifices as our neighbour to the north or will we stand up for our children? While we ponder on this take a walk down memory lane and relive the nightmare of the eighties of which I am a survivor.
T P
Nassau,
July 15, 2018.
Comments
Porcupine 5 years, 9 months ago
Sorry, don't agree based on my reading or experience. Extensive marijuana use leads to no increase in violence. The research supports this and my personal experience on college campuses in the 70's and 80's led me to believe the same. I never had an ounce of violent tendency while smoking plenty for those years. Never a scuffle. What does get me plenty mad are the authoritarian tendencies of those who argue using flawed analysis, and then have the nerve to force their warped thinking on my freedoms. Perhaps, when using Jamaica to such a large degree in your argument you could casually mention the state of their economy, rate of inflation, joblessness, homelessness, and the many factors that are proven to cause an increase in crime. For god's sake, it is so tiring to have to start at square one each week. Did you not read your own post? The violence is spiking because of the drug trade. Hey, did you see those two men, dressed as women who robbed John Bull of watches? Should we criminalize watches? The trade, is underground, which makes it prone to violence. Once it is placed back out of the mere mention of it by government, where it belongs, as a personal freedom, the sooner violence associated with the marijuana "trade" will virtually disappear. You state, "Several inner cities in states throughout America are burdened down with drug affiliated crimes." Really? Now, are these affluent, or even middle class inner cities? Or are they poor as dirt? Starving, homeless, suffering inner cities, without any hope? No TP, the nightmare of the 80's, of which you survived, was a nightmare not because people smoked marijuana. It was because of greed and a lack of morals. Poor upbringing, worse education and a nauseating hypocrisy of politicians and pastors who claimed the illicit money was "a blessing". Sorry, I respectfully disagree with your entire premise.
DWW 5 years, 9 months ago
the violence is a direct result of the legal (or illegal) status. If you remove the impetus, i.e. make it legal it becomes taxable and regulated and therefore a direct result is to remove the aspect of violence. if you can't' see that then perhaps you are one of the few who are profiting immensely from the illegal status of same. All points of Porcupine are much more valid than Toilet Paper's garbage unfounded statements.
With one exception, there without doubt a small percentage of persons who will develop severe violent tendencies from marijuana, but the incidence is likely comparable to that of alcohol or any number of 'legal' medications.
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