Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, 2015-


AN ACT to Amend the Dangerous Drugs Act so as to provide for, among other things, the modification of penalties for the possession of ganja in specified small quantities and the smoking of ganja in specified circumstances, and for a scheme of licences, permits and other authorizations for medical, therapeutic or scientific purposes.

BE IT ENACTED by The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Representatives of Jamaica, and by the authority of the same, as follows:


1. This Act may be cited as the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, 2015, and shall be read and construed as one with the Dangerous Drugs Act ( hereinafter referred to as the principal Act) and all amendments thereto.

2. This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as specified by the Minister by notice published in the Gazette, and different days may be specified in respect of different provisions of this Act.

3. Section 2 of the principal Act is amended—

(a) by deleting the definition of “ganja” and substituting therefor the following—

“ “ganja” includes all parts of the plant cannabis sativa from which the resin has not been extracted and includes any resin obtained from the plant, but does not include—

(i)medicinal preparations made from that plant;

(ii)hemp;”;

(b) by inserting in the appropriate alphabetical sequence the following definitions—


“ “hemp” means the plant cannabis sativa or any part thereof, with a THC concentration of no more than 1.0% or such other concentration as maybe prescribed by the Minister by order published in the Gazette-,

4. Section 7A of the principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1 )by deleting the words “ Every person” and substituting therefor the words “Subject to subsection(4), every person”;
 

(b) by inserting next after subsection (3) the following subsection —

“  (4) Nothing in subsection (1) shall apply to any person who is certified by a registered medical practitioner to be —

(a)suffering from cancer or any other terminal or serious chronic illness; and

(b)a person the use by whom of any medicinal or therapeutic product comprising, derived from, or containing ganja, is recommended by that registered medical practitioner, as regards the importation of that medicinal or therapeutic product in an amount not exceeding that recommended by the registered medical practitioner and, in the case of a medicinal or therapeutic product comprising ganja plant material, in accordance with regulations made under section 9A.”.
 

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