Subj: Caribbean: Ganja-ho operation faces Spliff resistance 



Source: Scotsman (UK)



Pubdate: 8 Dec 1998





Ganja-ho operation faces Spliff resistance 

ALLAN HALL  In New York 



CHRISTMAS is coming and the plants are getting ripe, but Scrooge - in the

form of President Bill Clinton - is about to deliver a serious case of

humbug to marijuana producers in the Caribbean. 



As the weeds mature in the sunshine of St Vincent, the US government has

authorised a pre-Yuletide slash-and-burn operation on the cash crop it

frowns upon. 



As a president who once smoked, but never inhaled, the hallucinogenic drug,

Mr Clinton is yo-ho-olier than thou in the run-up to the festive season. He

has sanctioned the use of US marine corps helicopters to train Caribbean

troops in exercises before the elimination of the ganja fields. 



This has, to say the least, put the farmers' noses out of joint. They

predict the island's economy will fall further than the US president's

reputation if the crops are destroyed. 



Consequently, one Junior "Mr Spliff" Cottle has rallied 800 hash growers in

a last-ditch effort to stave off the flame-throwers and the machetes. 



Mr Cottle, organiser of the Marijuana Farmers' Movement, wrote to

Washington on behalf of his producers, saying: "At this time of year, if

the US comes here and destroys our plantations, that will spell hardship

and the business sector will feel the pinch for Christmas. We have 8,000

people whose livelihoods depend on marijuana. Please, do not proceed with

this action. There is no legal livelihood for us here and to go ahead with

this action could result in unemployment higher than the current 40 per cent. 



"We demand compensation from you if this goes ahead." 



Mr Spliff and his brotherhood are unlikely to get a "carry-on-fertilisin'"

green light from Washington and, consequently, will have to sit back this

coming weekend to watch troops from the Caribbean Regional Security Service

drop from helicopters into dense jungle in preparation for Operation Burnup. 



Six US helicopters have been allocated for the weekend manoeuvres in the

remote northern region of the island. 



An estimated 12,350 acres of land on St Vincent are planted with cannabis.

That makes the island the largest production centre in the eastern

Caribbean and the reason why its prime minister, Sir James Mitchell, called

for US assistance in making it dope-free. 



The so-called "hash mashers" on St Vincent have the implicit approval of

local business people who realise that the marijuana crop is important to

their economy, especially as the US has challenged a European Union quota

system essential to the less-narcotic, but vital, regional banana industry. 



Exactly how much St Vincent's marijuana crop is worth is not known. But

Martin Barnard of the Kingstown Chamber of Commerce said: "Stores do a

brisker business when it is harvested. What can I tell you? The farmers

told me they are in trouble, the jobs are not there, they have children to

support, they have to turn to the hills to farm marijuana. 



"I am sympathetic to all that, but at the end of the day we had to say:

'Fellows, it is illegal'." 



US officials say the marines will only transport troops, not destroy plants

- yet the big hand of big brother Washington is seen to be behind the move. 



Johnson Brindle, a local farmer, predicted growers would dig pits filled

with sharpened sticks and erect crude pipe bombs to save their crops. 



"It's all we got, man," he said. "Let Clinton go after the Columbians - he

wouldn't dare 'cos they got more firepower than us. But we won't go down

without a fight."