Jolie Lee

USA TODAY Network

Possession of small amounts of marijuana in Jamaica will soon no longer be a criminal offense. Ganja, as pot is known locally, will also be allowed for religious, scientific and medical purposes.

Jamaica's Justice Minister Mark Golding said Thursday the government is supporting a plan to make possession of up to two ounces of marijuana a petty offense, punishable by a fine but not an arrest.

Under the plan, Jamaica's government will also expunge the criminal records of people who were convicted for smoking small amounts of marijuana.

The proposal is expected to be approved by Parliament in the coming months.

"I wish to stress that the proposed changes to the law are not intended to promote or give a stamp of approval to the use of ganja for recreational purposes," Golding said. "The objective is to provide a more enlightened approach to dealing with possession of small quantities."

The announcement is a big win for Jamaica's homegrown Rastafari spiritual movement. Many Rastafarians smoke marijuana as a sacrament.

Although the Caribbean island is sometimes identified with its pot culture, marijuana has been outlawed for a century.

Jamaica's reluctance to decriminalize marijuana was in large part due to "the fear of a hostile U.S. response," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a pro-legalization group based in New York City, in an interview with USA TODAY Network.

But in recent years, the USA has signaled a growing acceptance of marijuana. Many states have loosened marijuana laws, with 22 states and the District of Columbia now allowing legal medical marijuana.

Jamaica's proposal is not as expansive as the laws in Colorado and Washington, where recreational pot is legal, or in Uruguay, which became the first country in the world to create a legal marijuana market.

Contributing: Associated Press