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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Jamaica: PNP NEC Backs Patterson's Call for Ganja Debate
Jamaica Observer
Tuesday 02 Oct 2001 THE National Executive Council (NEC) of the ruling People's National Party (PNP) has endorsed the proposal by party president, Prime Master P J Patterson, for a national debate on whether or not to decriminalise the use of ganja. At a meeting of the NEC in Ocho Rios Sunday, Patterson said there were several implications inherent in the recent report of the National Ganja Commission which was set up to study the issue. These implications, he said, required full discussion and careful evaluation. He noted that the commission had recommended decriminalisation for personal use in private places, religious sacraments and defined medicinal purposes, but that issues of lawful access would need to be further explored. The prime minister added that the commission's report had itself identified the need for diplomatic efforts to be pursued in order to avoid international repercussions. The NEC, according to a statement from the PNP, has endorsed the commencement of the parliamentary process in which the matter will be put as a resolution before the House of Representatives and the Senate for full debate. The statement said Patterson stressed that the parliamentary debate would be free, without the party whip being applied or any specific positions taken beforehand. The matter is also to debated within the party's organs including the youth organisation, women's movement, regional executives and constituency organisations. A paper outlining the international implications should ganja be decriminalised for personal uses is to be prepared by the party's legal adviser, A J Nicholson, the attorney general.
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