Whiteman Reprimands Sun Newspaper Over Derogatory Comment About Jamaica

Jamaica’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK), Burchell Whiteman, has reprimanded the Sun Newspaper in London, England for describing the island as a “druggie paradise”.
In an article claiming that popular British singer Amy Winehouse plans to record a third album in Jamaica, the Sun used the derogatory terms to describe the island.
Mr. Whiteman, in a release sent to the paper’s editor and the writer of the article, said that the Jamaican High Commission took great offence to the Sun’s description of Jamaica.
He told the newspaper that the article was an insult and seriously defamed all responsible Jamaicans and persons of Jamaican heritage living and working in the UK.
“Contrary to your report and as observed by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, there are severe penalties for all drug offences, including those involving ganja (marijuana),” Mr. Whiteman’s letter to the paper said.
It noted further that “possession of even small quantities of illegal drugs can lead to imprisonment. Contrary to popular myth, it is illegal to smoke ganja in Jamaica. Several British nationals have been arrested, fined and even imprisoned for this offence. Cultivation, importation, possession, or use of ganja has been illegal in Jamaica since 1913.”