From the Sacrilegious to the Sacramental: A Global Review of Rastafari Cannabis Case Law

The end of Afropessimism andtheir-story: Rastafari as ethos

“…The politics of hair is unfortunately a protracted one, within a population that has been responsible for contributing its aesthetic as a religious politics. According to Bone (2014) the absence of respectability of Rastafari in its homeland has hampered the legal successes of Rastafari in other jurisdictions seeking to secure their Human Rights. Ironically, Rastafari, or more specifically those who wear dreadlocks in both the United States of America and the United Kingdom, have secured access to uniformed services in the military (Lopez 2017) and navy of the respective countries, where in the latter's case it is said that "it is now the fastest-growing faith in the British armed forces."…”

Religión y drogas: otra arista de la laicidad

“…De hecho, dentro de una de las líneas del Santo Daime, se realizan ceremonias específicas con marihuana. También cabe mencionar los usos del cannabis por parte, por ejemplo, del rastafarismo, con acepciones religiosas y disputas legales, donde nuevamente, las definiciones de lo que es religioso o deja de serlo vuelven a estar en primer plano (Bone, 2014). El cannabis (aunque su éxito mundial asociado al uso recreativo, médico e industrial es evidente) puede ser considerada también una planta sagrada, como lo es la ayahuasca, solamente que ha transitado un proceso mucho más extendido en el tiempo y el espacio y sus "usos seculares" la han alejado mucho de su polo "sagrado", como también ha sucedido con el tabaco, pero que no sucede del todo aun con la ayahuasca.…”

Introduction: cultivation, medication, activism and cannabis policy

“…The ambivalent situation of cannabis, now legal in Uruguay, parts of the USA, and soon, Canada, widely consumed all over the world, but still controlled under the international conventions throws up a dilemma for a country like Jamaica. Here cannabis is deeply embedded in social and cultural history, a sacrament in the Rastafari religion, and a potent symbol in the anti-colonial struggle and rejection of Babylon and all things western (Bone, 2018).…”