LIBERTA, Antigua (AP) 鈥 On the same ground where their enslaved ancestors were forced to plant sugar cane, Rastafari in this small island nation are now legally growing and ritualistically smoking marijuana.
For Rastafari, the practice brings them closer to the divine. But for decades, many have been jailed and endured racial and religious profiling by law enforcement .
The government of Antigua and Barbuda has sought to right that wrong. The twin islands recently became one of the first Caribbean nations to grant Rastafari authorization to grow and smoke their sacramental herb.
鈥淲e鈥檙e more free now,鈥 said Ras Tashi, a member of the Ras Freeman Foundation for the Unification of Rastafari, who was arrested for growing cannabis.
On a recent Sunday, he led chants in the tabernacle on the foundation鈥檚 farm located in Liberta鈥檚 lush agricultural district. Tashi puffed on a corn husk-wrapped joint while others passed chalice pipes and waved Rastafari flags in green, gold and red.
鈥淭he government gives us our religious rights 鈥 we can come and plant any amount of marijuana 鈥 and no police can come and take up any plant. We fight for that right 鈥 and we get that right,鈥 he said.
Rastafari elsewhere are pushing for similar religious protections. Experts and stakeholders think the Antigua and Barbuda law could boost these efforts worldwide at a time when public opinion and policy continue to shift in favor of medical and recreational marijuana use.
Under the same law change, the island government also decriminalized the use of marijuana. In addition to the expansive religious use granted Rastafari, people outside the faith can grow four cannabis plants each and possess up to 15 grams.
鈥淲e believe that we have to provide a space for everyone at the table, irrespective of their religion,鈥 Prime Minister Gaston Browne told The Associated Press at an interview in the capital city of St. John鈥檚.
鈥淛ust as we鈥檝e recognized other faiths, it鈥檚 absolutely important for us to also ensure that the Rastafari faith is also acknowledged.鈥
Rastafari reject materialist values and often practice a strict oneness with nature, eating only unprocessed foods as part of 鈥淚tal鈥 their faith鈥檚 vegetarian diet. They also let their hair grow, uncombed, into dreadlocks.
But many were long treated as second-class citizens across the Caribbean islands, looked down on for their .
The prime minister said that growing up in Antigua, he witnessed how adult Rastafari were chased by police, while . Browne also recalled how members of the Rastafari fed him 鈥淚tal鈥 meals when his single mother, who had a mental illness, struggled to raise him and his siblings.
In 2018, Browne apologized publicly to the Rastafari community for the oppression and religious persecution they suffered. He also said that Rastafari should be given a stake in the production and economic benefits derived from medicinal marijuana as reparations 鈥渇or the wrongs inflicted on this significant minority group in our countries.鈥
His government also led efforts to decriminalize marijuana use. Earlier this year, he met with Rastafari groups and granted them licenses from the country鈥檚 medical cannabis authority to grow the plant for religious purposes.
The changes faced some opposition from some politicians and Christian leaders in the socially conservative Caribbean region. But Rastafari academics praised Browne鈥檚 apology and his government鈥檚 actions, saying this tiny nation of about 100,000 people has gone further than regional efforts by larger countries, and could set a global example.
and granted sacramental rights to cannabis. But Charles Price, a professor at Philadelphia鈥檚 Temple University who focuses on Rastafari identity, said that Antigua and Barbuda鈥檚 comprehensive initiative could spur more organizing for the sacramental recognition of cannabis in other islands.
They've become 鈥渢est cases for the rest of the Caribbean,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l suggest the viability of this 鈥 so other nations can now look to these two nations and say, 鈥楢h, they鈥檝e done it.鈥欌
Through a lease from the government, a former sugar cane plantation 鈥 a symbol of slavery and British colonial oppression 鈥 in Antigua has been transformed into worship grounds, sustainable farmland and the headquarters for , one of the island鈥檚 main Rastafari groups.
鈥淭his might be a small win, but it鈥檚 something we can definitely celebrate and feel proud of 鈥 that lands that were once used to enslave our people, we鈥檙e using it to liberate our community,鈥 said Ras Richie, a member of the group. He鈥檚 also co-founder of , which leads eco-tours to the Rastafari farm and sacred grounds where cannabis, fruit and vegetables are grown.
During that recent Sunday worship service, the breeze fluttered leaves on the marijuana fields surrounding the stone remnants of a sugar mill.
Inside the nearby tabernacle, it moved clouds of fragrant marijuana smoke that hung in the air while Ras Freeman members chanted psalms, ululated and banged on drums.
鈥淭he attitude towards it has dramatically changed and it鈥檚 more in a positive light,鈥 Ras Kiyode Erasto, Ras Freeman鈥檚 chairman said outside the tabernacle, while he grasped branches of dry cannabis.
鈥淲e give thanks for the prime minister 鈥 his government bravely stand up with courage to decriminalize, and to even give sacramental rights to the Rastafari community.鈥
Erasto suffered bullying and discrimination growing up. At one point, he said, his mother had to cut his dreadlocks so he could be allowed in school.
Throughout his adulthood, he joined marches demanding fair treatment for his community and traveled to conferences led by the Caribbean Rastafari Organization to advocate for the sacramental right to cannabis.
鈥淥ne go through a lot of struggle, especially with the cannabis,鈥 said Shakie Straker, Erasto鈥檚 mother, after she sang and praised for hours during Sunday worship. 鈥淥ne pay a lot of money, fines to the court. Man go to jail. Man even lose their life. And this is the struggle, but (now), it鈥檚 100% better.鈥
To purify the land, the group keeps a bonfire always burning near their house of worship. They cook and share meals of coconuts, cassava and carrots produced on their land. They keep a strong presence on social media with images introducing visitors to their culture and faith. And they have plans to expand, hoping to build a museum, a store to sell their Ital food and a sacramental cannabis dispensary.
鈥淲hat gives me hope is now that we are reaching out to different parts of the world and realizing the respect that Rastafari has,鈥 Ras Richie said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the power we have now.鈥
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
