Back in the old, old days of Negril, marijuana ruled Negril. Growers had plenty of money to burn and they spent it. The economy was good. Tourists and locals had it made. It's no secret that many of today's resorts had their origin in the ganja trade. Our (the U.S.) government was determined to end this. The DEA poured money and manpower into little Jamaica. The CIA did their best to overturn, or at least influence Jamaica's government. The price went up, friends turned in "friends" for money and to stay out of jail. Meanwhile Columbia drug lords, who were not nice people at all, started feeding America's desire to escape reality by importing coke and smack to the U.S. Jamaica's location was the perfect stop for them. A friend that owned a nice resort in Jamaica told me (and she knew plenty) that the Columbians never paid in cash. They gave coke and smack to their mules, boat owners, etc. That meant in order to survive Jamaicans had to sell to Jamaicans for $$$. Some became addicted and in turn tried to sell to stupid tourists who thought, sure, why not, I'm on vacation. This crime is roosters coming home to roost. My friend sold her resort and moved to the States where she feels unhappy but safe. She said she would never consider coming back. Yell at the next bozo that taps you on the shoulder and then nods and taps his nose. The longest journey starts with taking that first step. Cocaine needs to disappear from Jamaica and maybe if we all do our part we can sleep without any flashlights poking in our windows. I've been going to the South Coast for about a dozen years now and if someone tries selling Coke to the tourist, he gets a visit in the middle of the night along with a one way trip out of town. They don't ***** around and that town is very coke and crime free. That's my rant and I applaud those who posted above for some very good posts.
~Peace~