The small islands of Antigua and Barbuda now allow people who follow Rastafari to grow and use the herb that is important to them in their religious practices.
The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, said in an interview with The Associated Press that his government is trying to stop the mistreatment and show respect for the Rastafari religion.
Some Rastafari people in other places want to have the same rights to practice their religion without being discriminated against. People who know a lot about this topic and who are involved in it think that a law in Antigua and Barbuda might help to make it easier to use marijuana for medical or fun reasons all around the world. This is happening because more people are starting to think it is okay to use marijuana for these reasons, and governments are changing their rules to allow it.
Here is a brief explanation of what this religion believes and its past:
Origins means where something originally comes from or was started.
The Rastafari religion started in Jamaica during the 1930s. Black people turned to the religion as a way to respond to the unfair treatment by white colonizers. The ideas come from teachings in the Old Testament and wanting to go back to Africa. In the 1970s, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, who were famous for their music, shared a message around the world about a religion.
A Rastafari thinks it’s important to have a strong connection with Jah or God in their faith.
Marijuana that is used for religious or spiritual purposes.
Rastafarians think that smoking marijuana is talked about in the Bible and that it can help them become closer to God by making them feel peaceful. People who believe in it use it as a holy thing in special pipes or cigarettes called “spliffs. ” They also put it in natural stews and burn it as an offering to their faith.
Many Black people who use cannabis for religious rituals have been unfairly judged and targeted because of their actions.
“Ganja” refers to a type of drug made from the cannabis plant.
In the Caribbean, they call marijuana “Ganja. ” It has been used in Jamaica for a long time, even before the Rastafari religion. Long ago, workers from India brought a special plant called cannabis to the island. People liked to use it as medicine.
Haile Selassie was an important leader in Ethiopia a long time ago.
Most of its groups follow and honor the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, even after his death. This comes from when a Jamaican leader named Marcus Garvey said that a black king would be crowned in Africa, which would be a day of freedom. When a prince named Haile Selassie became emperor in Ethiopia in 1930, people in Jamaica who were descendants of slaves felt that Garvey’s prediction was coming true.
Haile Selassie went to Jamaica in 1966 and everyone was very happy to see him. Some Rastafari people believed that he did magic or other special things while he was there.
