The growing number of countries that are moving to repeal harsh penalties against marijuana use are helping to reduce religious discrimination against Rastafarians and other groups, the U.S. State Department noted in an annual report released on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
But while the federal government is again making it a point to outline<\/a> ongoing cannabis-related discrimination in some foreign countries and territories, the latest edition of the Report on International Religious Freedom declines to recognize the inherent discrimination that exists in the U.S., where marijuana remains federally illegal.<\/p>\n \u201cReligious freedom is a human right; in fact, it goes to the heart of what it means to be human\u2014to think freely, to follow our conscience, to change our beliefs if our hearts and minds lead us to do so, to express those beliefs in public and in private,\u201d Secretary of State Antony Blinken said<\/a> in a briefing about the report. \u201cFor many people around the world this right is still out of reach.\u201d<\/p>\n The new State Department document discusses cannabis policies in more than a dozen nations and how they intersect with religious liberties, including by noting that a growing movement toward legalization and decriminalization is helping to reduce discrimination that has been prevalent in the past.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a breakdown of what the\u00a0report<\/a> found:<\/p>\n This country is one that is enacting reforms that are leading to a reduction in feelings of religious discrimination connected to cannabis.<\/p>\n It decriminalized marijuana \u201cfor any use\u201d and the new law \u201crecognizes the government\u2019s responsibility to uphold the religious rights of persons of the Hindu and Rastafarian faiths,\u201d the State Department said.<\/p>\n Further, members of these faith groups are allowed to \u201capply for a special religious license to cultivate the plant within their private dwelling, use the plant for religious purposes within their private dwelling or within their approved place of worship, and transport the plant between their private dwelling and approved place of worship.\u201d<\/p>\n The special license does not provide for commercialization or legal sales, however.<\/p>\n \u201cSome Rastafarians continued to state the government violated their constitutional right to religious freedom by prohibiting the legal use of marijuana in ceremonial rituals,\u201d the report states. \u201cRastafarians said police continued to arrest them for possessing small quantities of marijuana used in ceremonial rituals.\u201d<\/p>\n Members of this group said law enforcement has been \u201cdisrespectful and intimidated them during detention.\u201d<\/p>\n But change could be coming, with Prime Minister Hubert Minnis backing a policy change that would enable \u201cRastafarians and other religious groups who use cannabis for sacramental purposes be allowed to possess, cultivate, and use it for that reason.\u201d<\/p>\n The prime minister said that, beginning this year, people with prior marijuana possession convictions could have their records expunged. However, that would require legislative action.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the State Department notes that the Bahamas Christian Council opposes legalization, quoting the group as saying it \u201ccan see no societal or national advantage\u201d to the reform.<\/p>\n This is another nation that is seeing moves to reform cannabis laws.<\/p>\n The government last year announced its intention to decriminalize marijuana, which would be a welcome reform to the Rastafarian community, the report notes. Still, members of that group said they \u201choped eventually further measures would enable them to cultivate marijuana on their farms for personal as well as commercial use.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBased on media reports, there appeared to be minimal opposition from mainstream religious organizations to the government\u2019s marijuana decriminalization decision,\u201d the department said.<\/p>\n Rastafarians the State Department spoke to noted that the \u201ccommercial and medicinal benefits of marijuana cultivation were well established, and the community was optimistic about further liberalization.\u201d<\/p>\n This nation has seen cannabis reforms that are seen as not going far enough by some.<\/p>\n Last year, the government decriminalized the possession of up to 28 grams of marijuana for adults for personal religious use.<\/p>\n But \u201cRastafarians continued to press the government for complete legalization of marijuana use, stating they considered decriminalization to be a commercially focused half-measure,\u201d the report says. \u201cRepresentatives of the Rastafarian community said authorities did not enforce the law against using marijuana when the community used it in its religious rites.\u201d<\/p>\n The report briefly notes that the Evangelical community discussed the possibility of cannabis legalization in talks with Rastafarian leaders.<\/p>\n Rastafarians \u201ccontinued to state a law criminalizing the possession of 15 grams or more of marijuana infringed on their religious practices\u201d and late last year the government\u2019s cabinet responded by approving a decision to amend the law to remove custodial sentencing for small amounts of cannabis.<\/p>\n \u201cRastafarians continued to report wider societal acceptance despite continued negative stereotyping and stigma associated with their wearing locs and smoking marijuana,\u201d the report says, adding that there was significant media attention paid to the 75th birthday of the late cannabis icon Bob Marley, \u201ca Rastafarian advocate whose music and rhetoric helped popularize the religion in the 1970s.\u201d<\/p>\n That said, the Jamaican Defense Force generally does not accept Rastafarians into its ranks, with the \u201cstrict codes of conduct regarding hair length and the prohibition of marijuana use among its members [being] obstacles to Rastafarian participation in the force.\u201d<\/p>\n The report says that \u201cRastafarians continued to object to laws making the use and possession of cannabis a criminal offense in the country, stating its use was a part of their religious doctrine.\u201d<\/p>\n This is another country where recent legal changes related to cannabis are helping to address aspects of discrimination against certain faithers.<\/p>\n Saint Kitts and Nevis legislators approved a bill last year that establishes a medical cannabis program, \u201caligning the law with a 2019 High Court ruling that the country\u2019s prohibition of the cultivation and possession of cannabis was unconstitutional and an infringement on the freedom of conscience and religion of the Rastafarian community.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe law permits the private use of marijuana, including for religious activities,\u201d the report says. \u201cUnder the legislation, the newly created Medicinal Cannabis Authority is responsible for issuing cultivator\u2019s licenses exclusively for citizens of the island to grow cannabis for use in private residences and registered places of worship.\u201d<\/p>\n The report notes that representatives of the Rastafarian community say \u201ccontinued government enforcement of marijuana laws discouraged Rastafarians from using marijuana for religious purposes,\u201d noting that \u201cpolice increased enforcement of marijuana laws, including raids on marijuana plantations during the COVID-19 lockdown period.<\/p>\n But Rastafarians say they have had \u201cconstructive dialogue\u201d with community leaders and local governments, and the \u201cprimary issue discussed was encouraging the government to legalize marijuana for religious purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n A government commission was created to create recommendations on potential cannabis reforms. Rastafarians said \u201cthey were awaiting the public release of the report and were encouraged by the general trend towards decriminalization and legalization of marijuana in the Caribbean.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey said this trend could eventually lead to legal reforms that would allow Rastafarians to legally use marijuana for religious purposes,\u201d the State Department notes.<\/p>\n \u201cMarijuana use is permitted for medical purposes and scientific research,\u201d the report says. \u201cAccording to government statements, the use of marijuana is also permitted for religious sacraments, but this policy is not enshrined in law.\u201d<\/p>\n The State Department also noted that \u201cofficials continued to support Rastafarians and all other religious groups\u2019 use of cannabis for sacramental purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawmakers are considering broader marijuana reform legislation, with government officials noting to U.S. personnel that Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves\u2019s position is that \u201cRastafarians and all other religious groups were permitted to use cannabis for sacramental purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe government continued to enforce a law prohibiting the production, sale, and consumption of marijuana, which Rastafarians said infringed on their freedom to access cannabis,\u201d the report says, noting that marijuana use is \u201ca core component of their religious practices.\u201d<\/p>\n Possession of to 30 grams of cannabis is lawful, but public consumption remains prohibited, the report says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe law also provides a pathway for the expungement of prior marijuana convictions, including for those using marijuana for religious rituals, and it allows individuals to cultivate plants for personal use,\u201d it continues.<\/p>\n The State Department report again does not discuss domestic cannabis policy or its discriminatory effects on marijuana consumers, even as U.S. courts have continually rejected cases arguing that religious exceptions should be made to the country\u2019s cannabis criminalization laws that result in hundreds of thousands of arrests every year.<\/p>\n Congressional Bill To Federally Legalize Marijuana Filed By Republican Lawmakers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Feds Note Marijuana Reform Helps To Address Religious Discrimination In Other Countries, While Ignoring U.S. Policy<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The growing number of countries that are moving to repeal harsh penalties against marijuana use are helping to reduce religious discrimination against Rastafarians and other groups, the U.S. State Department noted in an annual report released on Wednesday. But while the federal government is again making it a point toContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47682"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47682"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47683,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47682\/revisions\/47683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Antigua and Barbuda<\/a><\/h2>\n
Bahamas<\/a><\/h2>\n
Barbados<\/a><\/h2>\n
Dominica<\/a><\/h2>\n
Grenada<\/a><\/h2>\n
Guyana<\/a><\/h2>\n
Jamaica<\/a><\/h2>\n
Malawi<\/a><\/h2>\n
Saint Kitts and Nevis<\/a><\/h2>\n
Saint Lucia<\/a><\/h2>\n
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines<\/a><\/h2>\n
Sierra Leone<\/a><\/h2>\n
Trinidad and Tobago<\/a><\/h2>\n
United States<\/h2>\n
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\nRead More: Feds Note Marijuana Reform Helps To Address Religious Discrimination In Other Countries, While Ignoring U.S. Policy<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"