Marijuana in Jamaica: all you need to know to partake legally

06.03.2024 - 00:29 / lonelyplanet.com / Bob Marley

Nearly 50 years after reggae legend Peter Tosh first sang “Legalize It,” Jamaica has recognized the economic potential of perhaps its most famous homegrown industry.

Licensed medical dispensaries are popping up all over the island – but with the government opting for the decriminalization of ganja rather than full legalization (there are important differences), many questions remain. Here’s what you need to know about smoking weed legally in Jamaica.

For many tourists, marijuana has long been an important if unspoken part of any Jamaica experience. Known universally in the country as ganja (or herb to Rastafari adherents), marijuana can seem as Jamaican as Bob Marley or Usain Bolt. The minute the disembark from their cruise ships, tourists will hear whispers from touts offering them a smoke, while vendors openly sell pre-rolled spliffs at dancehall street parties in downtown Kingston.

Until relatively recently, possession of even small amounts of ganja could land visitors in jail. But a wholesale revision of drug laws over the past 10 years has seen all that change. Concluding that ganja is a positive part of the country’s brand – and eying potential tax revenues from a newly legal industry – Jamaican authorities decided to embrace reform.

In 2015, the Jamaican government passed a series of important amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Act, decriminalizing ganja and introducing licenses for its cultivation and sale. But since decriminalization isn’t quite the same as full legalization, what are the implications for visitors to Jamaica?

Since 2015, possession of up to two ounces (57g) of ganja is no longer a criminal offense. Carrying this amount in public can still attract a fixed penalty fine similar to a parking ticket – J$500 (around US$3) – but no criminal record will result. People under the age of 18 caught in possession may also be referred to the National Council on Drug Abuse for counseling. Possession of amounts over two ounces remains a criminal offense.

The possession fine does not apply to medical marijuana, including products purchased at licensed dispensaries. Possession of up to two ounces of weed by visitors for medical purposes is fully legal (with no ticket levied). Possession is also legal for sacramental purposes for followers of Rastafari.

As with cigarettes, smoking ganja in public places is prohibited, with a fixed fine of J$500. It is legal to smoke in licensed dispensaries, but smoking in private residences is no longer an offense.

Jamaica’s revised drug laws have allowed the creation of medical-marijuana dispensaries, the first of which opened in 2018. Equal parts doctor’s clinic, Amsterdam-style coffee shop and hipster boutique, these are currently the only places where travelers to