Jamaica decriminalizes marijuana possession under two ounces

It's not quite what Peter Tosh wanted, but it's a start.

Jamaica's Parliament on Tuesday approved a law to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana and to establish a "cannabis licensing authority" to regulate medical and scientific weed use. The law will make possession of up to two ounces of marijuana a petty offense instead of a criminal one. And in a victory for Rastafarians, marijuana use will for the first time be legal for religious purposes.

"The passage of this legislation does not create a free-for-all in the growing, transporting, dealing or exporting of ganja," Jamaica's national security minister, Peter Bunting, said, adding that the country would continue to "rigorously enforce" international counter-narcotic measures.

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