Ganja Use Cases For Petty Sessions Court

KINGSTON — Certain ganja related cases may soon be heard in the Petty Sessions Court, as the Government seeks to reduce the backlog of cases in the Resident Magistrate's (RM) Court.

This was disclosed by Minister of Justice and Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon Delroy Chuck, during Tuesday's (November 1) sitting of the House of Representatives.

Mr. Chuck said that a submission was made to Cabinet seeking approval to transfer certain ganja-related cases from the Resident Magistrate’s Court to the Petty Sessions Court, and Cabinet has approved, in principle, the proposal.

"We have looked at the overwhelming volume of ganja related cases currently before the RM Court, and the urgent need to free up the judicial officers and Court staff, so that they can address the more serious and complex matters in their caseload, with a view to reducing the backlog,” Mr. Chuck said.

However, he explained that the proposal was not a signal that the Government is advocating decriminalisation of the use of ganja, as was recommended by the National Commission on Ganja in 2001.

"My Government intends to continue to hold steadfast to the hard line it has taken against the use of illegal substances, and the attendant nefarious and criminal activities associated with it, such as drug trafficking," Mr. Chuck said.

Ganja related cases to be transferred to the Petty Session Court involve possession of less than 8 ounces of ganja.

The Justice Minister also stated that the Government was moving ahead with its proposal to increase penalties for more serious drug-related offences, and was conducting, with the assistance of the Commissioner of Police, research to do a comparative analysis of what obtains in other jurisdictions relating to penalties for serious drug offences.

"As soon as that research is completed, I will be making the appropriate submissions to Cabinet, with a view to having the necessary amendments made to the relevant laws,” Mr. Chuck said.

The Dangerous Drugs Act prohibits the possession and smoking of ganja, and prescribes that every person who has in his possession any ganja shall be guilty of an offence and, if convicted before a Circuit Court, shall be sentenced to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both a fine and imprisonment.

Alternatively, upon summary conviction before a Resident Magistrate, the offender is liable to a fine not exceeding $100 for each ounce of ganja, provided that the fine does not exceed  $15,000, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years, or both such fine and imprisonment.

Persons convicted of ganja possession of whatever quantity, also incur a criminal record, the expungement of which is available only if the offence attracted a non-custodial sentence or a sentence of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years; and the offender does not commit another offence during the period of rehabilitation, as provided in the Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act.

A recent study found that the majority of more than 6,000 cases involving the possession of illegal substances disposed of in 2009 in the Resident Magistrate’s Court were for possession of ganja in quantities of less than one ounce (28 grams). As of the end of July 2011, more than 1,100 of the 8,700 persons appearing before the Resident Magistrate’s Court were on charges of possession of ganja in quantities similar to those revealed in the study.

By LaTonya Linton, JIS Reporter