Contents - Beth Lesser

Foreign Mind
“The ‘80s is the drug decade when the whole cocaine thing started
to filter into Jamaica and all kinda shit started happening”
DENNIS ALCAPONE
Cocaine had been around Jamaica before. People were using it in the ‘70s,
but it was too expensive for the average entertainer, let alone for the kids
living in the ghetto. In the ‘80s, that changed. “When crack cocaine made its
way across the island of Jamaica in the 1980s, it made our experience with
Hurricane Gilbert on September 12, 1988 seem like child’s play,”* wrote Philip
Mascoll in an article in the Toronto Star. The already well established drug cartels
in South America saw Jamaica as a new frontier. There was already a system
of ganja smuggling in place and a base of well organized criminal gangs. The
leaders were happy to be paid with a portion of the drug to sell locally which
increased use throughout the island.
Ganja was a native and abundant herb growing wild all over Jamaica. Arriving
in the island from India, Marijuana quickly became so commonly used
by such a large percentage of the population (either smoked or as tea) that in
the 1970s a team of American researchers traveled to the island to study the
effects of long term ganja use. **
Ganja cultivation was widespread and thought of as a way a farmer could
make a little extra cash on the side. But in the ‘70s, ganja became big business
with the target market the United States. Light aircraft flew regular missions
from the ganja field of Jamaica to landing strips up north. The reaction by the
U.S. government was to proclaim a “War on Drugs” which cut deeply into
ganja exporting. The Jamaican government was asked to cooperate, which it
did wholeheartedly.
When Edward Seaga came into office, he arrived with the backing of then
president Ronald Reagan who had every reason to expect that Seaga would
give the U.S. free reign in its proposed campaign to eradicate the ganja production
on the island. Seaga didn’t let them down. He allowed the U.S. to fly
into the country and to cut and burn the ganja fields. When John Holt sang
* Media Awareness Project, Jamaica: The Guns Of Kingston, Philip Mascoll, Tue, 24 Jul 2001,
Toronto Star (CN ON
** Boekhout van Solinge, Tim (1996), Ganja in Jamaica. Amsterdams Drug Tijdschrift, nr two, December
1996, pp. 11-14. English translation by Jeanette Roberts.
338 | RUB A DUB STYLE – The Roots of Modern Dancehall