Jamming the poor, still in T&T
On August 28, 1884 Governor Arthur Havelock wrote to Lord Stanley, the secretary of state, as follows: “The effects of the use of Ganja, to which reference is made in paragraph 8 of your dispatch, have been frequently brought to my notice. I have made exhaustive inquiry into the subject. A large mass of evidence has been brought forward showing conclusively that the statements that have been made by medical officers, ministers of religion and others, of the injurious effects arising out of the habit of smoking ganja, are by no means exaggerated. It appears that not only is the Indian population becoming from day to day, more addictive to this habit, but that the Creoles are also falling victims to it.”
In March 1885 the governor informed the secretary of state: “An Ordinance to impose a license duty in respect of the cultivation of Ganja was passed on the 22nd of February and assented to by me on the 28th of February.”
Last week, when defence lawyer Lester Chariah told the court that Ragbir was a gardener who sold produce at the Debe market and that the marijuana may have “grown accidentally” in his home, the magistrate asked “if the birds had brought them.”
While I cannot judge the fairness of what transpired in that court, it is clear that a piece of legislation that was introduced into our legal system to criminalise the poor, especially, the Indians, is still being used to do so.“Son fined $3,250 for ganja.” The story opened: “Two shrivelled marijuana plants and 4.1 grammes of marijuana were brought to court yesterday as evidence in the case against Kevin Ragbir, whose home was raided by police officers on Wednesday...
In March 1885 the governor informed the secretary of state: “An Ordinance to impose a license duty in respect of the cultivation of Ganja was passed on the 22nd of February and assented to by me on the 28th of February.”
Last week, when defence lawyer Lester Chariah told the court that Ragbir was a gardener who sold produce at the Debe market and that the marijuana may have “grown accidentally” in his home, the magistrate asked “if the birds had brought them.”
While I cannot judge the fairness of what transpired in that court, it is clear that a piece of legislation that was introduced into our legal system to criminalise the poor, especially, the Indians, is still being used to do so.“Son fined $3,250 for ganja.” The story opened: “Two shrivelled marijuana plants and 4.1 grammes of marijuana were brought to court yesterday as evidence in the case against Kevin Ragbir, whose home was raided by police officers on Wednesday...
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