The ganja is burning...
A poignant critique of colonial exploitation, economic disparity, and the hypocrisy of international drug policy.
The Ganja Is Burning
Danine Kami Jones
The new colonizers came with their choppers, guns, and rifles.
They said they came to rid the fields of the ganja, to comply with international conventions.
The ganja is burning.
For many years, they came—
the new colonizers—
with their choppers, guns, and rifles.
We did not stop them. We could not stop them.
The ganja is burning.
Then they went to war with us—a trade war.
The new colonizers said our old colonizers were protecting us.
They used global weapons to remove the protection on our only cash crop.
The ganja is burning.
We held our heads and bawled.
The new colonizers could not be bothered that we had to feed our children and ourselves.
Hungry people have to do radical things.
The ganja is burning.
They built labs we could not afford to build.
The new colonizers staffed them with scientists and started making medicine from the ganja.
This ganja? To make medicine—
Where did it come from?
When the fields burned, did they burn everything...
The ganja is burning.
The treaties still stand. According to international law, marijuana is illegal—but…
The new colonizers dictate what happens in the Western world...
The ganja is still burning.
Danine Jones is a distinguished legal professional with 24 years of experience across corporate, quasi-governmental, and healthcare sectors. She has achieved notable milestones including resolving a landmark liability case involving a sunken ship with the St. Louis ANC Post Authority. Holding multiple degrees in law, international commercial law, and legislative drafting, she is a member of both the St. Lucia and…
