#BTEditorial – With rites come responsibilities

“Oh be careful little lips, what you say” – Traditional children’s song

As Barbados continues debate on the eventual legalisation of marijuana for medicinal purposes, a Minister of Government who is a prominent member of the Pan-Africanist movement has voiced his support for the Rastafarian community’s calling for the use of the drug in its religious rituals.

No problem there, but Minister of the Environment  Trevor Prescod, speaking at the National Botanical Gardens last week. should have erred on the side of caution in voicing his support for marijuana consumption.

He stated: “I personally believe that if you use a little marijuana no harm will be done to you as a result.”

What did he mean by this? Smoking the occasional joint? Taking a pinch of it for pain management in the wake of a terminal illness? Boiling a portion in “tea” as many older people, herbalists and “bush doctors” have done for centuries? Substance abuse agencies would tell another story, for marijuana, like all other potentially addictive drugs, has different effects on different people. There are some who can drink a case of beer with seemingly no immediate adverse effects, while another may drink a small glass of wine and become heavily intoxicated.

We have heard passing references to the Rastafarian religion throughout the public discussions and debates on this topic from time to time.

Prescod referred to members of the group as well. He said: “Caribbean people view Rastafari as a cult, because of the stigma attached to it over the years and the use of cannabis itself.

“They probably see it that way because of their black consciousness, their connection to Africa, Haile Selassie and Marcus Garvey.

“In my opinion, Rastafari can be seen as a genuine religion and if they use cannabis for sacramental purposes, I personally believe they should be allowed to do so.”

Other countries that have allowed the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes have made that concession – St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda and Jamaica.

Rastafari is not the only religion that uses marijuana, or indeed, what can be considered mind-altering substances in its practices, and all of the religions that indulge in such say it is for greater spiritual connection to a higher, spiritual power.

The roots in Rastafarian ritualistic smoking of cannabis may be traced to the African diasporic religion of Kumina, based on the practices of the Bakongo enslaved people who were brought to Jamaica in the 1800s. Cannabis was smoked during religious ceremonies in the belief that it allowed the user to be possessed by ancestral spirits. Kumina was largely practised in the south-eastern Jamaican parish of St Thomas. It was there Leonard Howell lived while he developed many of Rastafarian beliefs and practices.

But ganja – as Hindu Indians named it – was also used in the rites of devotees who migrated from British India to Jamaica as indentured labourers between 1834 and 1917.

Hindus associate the cannabis plant with the god Shiva, who they believe gave it to humanity as a sign of gratitude. A Jamaican Hindu priest, Laloo, was also one of Howell’s spiritual advisors and may have influenced his adoption of ganja.

It is noteworthy that Rastafari considers the recreational use of marijuana a sin in their religion.

Ras Simba of the Afrikan Heritage Foundation called for a moratorium on the arrest of Rastas for the possession of “small amounts of cannabis” and for “small home garden cultivation”.

However, this could be relative.

Not everyone sporting dreadlocks is a Rastafarian so how would law enforcement officers know the difference? What constitutes a “small amount” is yet to be determined.

And in all fairness, should infidels – “baldheads” – caught with “small amounts” be granted the same privilege?

Ras Simba added: “The law should look at what the prohibition has done to communities and how it has dismantled at-risk communities, and there should be community cannabis programmes.

“My organisation has put a proposal to the Minister of Agriculture for one such proposal, in which we are looking at the re-empowerment economically and socially as well as from a health perspective for the community.”

He did not elaborate on the specifics of the programme, but would it be advisable to base community re-empowerment on a commodity that, owing to turf wars and other issues regarding its supply and demand, has created some of the problems in the said at-risk areas?

The Afrikan Heritage Foundation leader, as well as Adonijah of the Ichirouganaim Committee for the Advancement of Rastafari, have both called for greater involvement of the Rastafarian community in the shaping of what is currently believed could become a significant money-spinner for Barbados.

They have a right to be heard.

Equally,  beyond an invitation from the Government, they should be actively lobbying on their own behalf, in terms of educating the public further about their religion, which has indeed been stigmatised by many over the years, how they use marijuana, and what benefits and drawbacks they see from its use.

Indeed, Government should take their knowledge and input seriously as it might guide them in their final decision on this highly divisive issue that has not only economic but some serious social and health implications associated with it.