JAMAICA'S decision to decriminalise small quantities of cannabis for personal use has attracted attention here in Britain. The BBC treated the announcement as important news and posted on its website the dramatic headline 'Jamaica Government announces major changes to drug laws'. The Guardian newspaper had the more factual 'Ganja free: Jamaica decriminalises marijuana for personal use'.

Comments online were largely favourable, but many referred to the perception that Jamaica had always been relatively tolerant of marijuana use. One comment was: "Even 20 years ago all you had to do to get stoned in Negril was to stick your head out the window and breathe in. Rasta men, both there and in Kingston, used to walk around with their own personal 'cloud' around them long before Apple".

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There has long been a worldwide debate about the need to legalise marijuana. Perhaps the most important argument in favour of its legalisation is that marijuana is far less damaging to a person's health than alcohol and cigarettes.

Here in Britain, the statistics show that many more crimes are committed by persons under the influence of alcohol than marijuana. Almost as significant is the argument that it is the illegality of marijuana which causes criminality. If it were legal, the argument goes, the gangs and the violence associated with the drug would disappear overnight. Supporters of decriminalisation have also pointed out that despite the so-called "War on Drugs", consumption of drugs around the world has never been higher.

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The election of Portia Simpson Miller to the leadership of Jamaica has caused considerable euphoria. But, as the exhilaration wears off, one of the biggest problems facing her will be the drug trade and the crime that goes with it.

One of the key drivers of the drug trade is demand. So it is worth looking at the history and pattern of drug use in America and here in Britain in order to relate it to the situation in the Caribbean.

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