A new U.S. State Department report on religious discrimination across the world looks at how marijuana laws in various countries either respect or violate the rights of certain believers to practice their faiths.<\/p>\n
But although the federal government is again making it a point in the latest edition of the annual report to outline ongoing cannabis-related discrimination in some foreign countries, the new 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom continues to decline to recognize ongoing marijuana prohibition laws<\/a> that remain on the books in the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cThe report is designed to spotlight examples of government and societal action that typify and illuminate issues reported in each country,\u201d a description of the report<\/a> says. \u201cSpecific inclusions or omissions should not be interpreted as a signal that a particular case is of greater or lesser importance to the U.S. government, or that a case is the only available example. Rather, the goal is to shed light on the nature, scope, and severity of actions impacting religious freedom through illustrative examples.\u201d<\/p>\n The latest State Department document, published early this month, discusses cannabis policies in about 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\u00a0found:<\/strong><\/p>\n A recent policy decriminalizing cannabis \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 \u201cThe law allows these persons to apply 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 it continues. \u201cThe special religious license, however, does not permit any commercial or financial transaction involving any part of the cannabis plant.\u201d<\/p>\n Rastafarians in the Bahamas \u201ccontinued to state the government violated their constitutional right to religious freedom by prohibiting the legal use of marijuana in ceremonial rituals and detaining community members for using it,\u201d according to the report.<\/p>\n \u201cThe previous government had advanced, but not passed, legislation to permit limited use of marijuana, including for religious purposes,\u201d it says. \u201cThe new administration of Prime Minister Philip Davis had not stated by year\u2019s end whether it would reintroduce this or a similar bill. In October the government began reviewing expungement applications from individuals convicted of possession.\u201d<\/p>\n Rastafarian in Barbados fought hard for reform and successfully helped usher in an era of decriminalization that makes possession of up to 14 grams of cannabis a non-criminal offense, the U.S. government noted.<\/p>\n \u201cIn March, with the stated intention of making better use of police and court resources, among other reasons, the government decriminalized the personal possession and use of up to 14 grams of marijuana, a change in the law that the Rastafarian community supported,\u201d the State Department said. \u201cAccording to media, Attorney General Dale Marshall said that cannabis possession of 14 grams or fewer would result in a fine rather than criminal charges.\u201d<\/p>\n The report on Belize cites significant pushback to efforts to legalize marijuana in the country, particularly from the National Evangelical Association of Belize (NEAB). The organization characterized the reform proposal as \u201cshockingly offensive.\u201d<\/p>\n The Belize Council of Churches (BCC) also resisted the policy change. NEAB, for its part, said that the push for legalization was financially motivated.<\/p>\n \u201cOn July 2, the government introduced a bill to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act, which would authorize the legalization of marijuana,\u201d the report says. \u201cThe bill sought to establish a provision for the licensing and registration of enterprises operating in the cannabis industry that would allow persons to cultivate, process, distribute, and deliver cannabis for adult use.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn October, the NEAB stated it was \u2018deeply concerned\u2019 that government involvement in the marijuana business meant the official promotion of marijuana use and development. NEAB officials said they had been voicing their concerns to the Minister of Home Affairs and New Growth Industries Kareem Musa but were still waiting for a formal meeting. The BCC also expressed concern that the government did not \u201cseek and consider input on important moral and societal issues.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe BCC said that legalizing the cultivation and distribution of marijuana would encourage widespread use of the drug, causing effects on the human body, particularly young people, and was \u2018not a path civil society should choose to take,’\u201d the department said. \u201cIn response, Minister Musa said the bill was intended to regulate an already existing industry and, after meeting with the BCC, he said that requirements in the law would prevent the easy accessibility of marijuana to minors. At year\u2019s end, the bill remained pending before parliament.\u201d<\/p>\n In Dominica, \u201cRastafarians continued to press the government to legalize marijuana use,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n \u201cIn October 2020, parliament decriminalized the possession of up to 28 grams of marijuana to individuals 18 years and above for personal religious use,\u201d it notes. \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 government of Guyana put forward legislation last year to \u201cremove custodial sentences for the possession of fewer than 30 grams of cannabis and remove fines for using cannabis.\u201d But after being transmitted to a select legislative committee, it has so far stalled.<\/p>\n \u201cAccording to media, representatives of the Rastafarian community continued to state a law criminalizing the possession of 15 grams or more of marijuana infringed on their religious practices,\u201d the report says, citing a Rastafarian leader who said that \u201cto deny me the holy herb for my sacrament is to deny me my human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Guyana Rastafari Council continued to petition the government to legalize the use of small amounts of marijuana for religious purposes, holding regular protests in front of the office of the Attorney General,\u201d the State Department said. \u201cIn October, the general secretary of the council told media that authorities had conducted raids on their places of worship to seize marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA Rastafarian member of the IROG said he did not believe that the measures taken by the government to introduce but not pass legislation were sufficient and asked for international support to lobby the government,\u201d it continued.<\/p>\n One of the countries most commonly associated with cannabis, Jamaica still struggles with restrictive policies, the report notes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe [Jamaica Defense Force] generally continued to refuse acceptance of Rastafarians into its ranks,\u201d the State Department said. \u201cThe JDF previously noted it did not discriminate based on religion or denomination, but it stated that the force\u2019s strict codes of conduct regarding hair length and the prohibition of marijuana use among its members were the obstacles to Rastafarian participation in the force.\u201d<\/p>\n However, \u201cRastafarians continued to report wider societal acceptance, despite continued negative stereotyping and stigma associated with their wearing locs and smoking marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n \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 the report says.<\/p>\n The State Department report says that the law of Saint Kitts and Nevis \u201cpermits the private use of marijuana away from public places, including for religious activities, as well as in registered places of worship for members of the Rastafarian faith.\u201d<\/p>\n In Saint Lucia, Rastafarian representatives have said that the government\u2019s move to decriminalize possession of up to 30 grams of marijuana represented \u201ca welcome step.\u201d However, \u201cRastafarians called for further action, such as legalizing cannabis production or expunging criminal records of those previously convicted.\u201d<\/p>\n The report cites comments from Prime Minister Pierre, who apologized for the past policy of criminalization and said that the modest policy change \u201cis the first step of many as we seek to create a medicinal and recreational cannabis industry and decriminalize the use of cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRastafarians in Saint Lucia will be able to practice their religion without fear of flouting our country\u2019s law,\u201d the prime minister said.<\/p>\n The State Department report noted that \u201csome Rastafarians stated the law\u2019s focus on possession was illogical because production remained illegal, while other Rastafarian community members stressed the potential economic gains from legal, large-scale cannabis production.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRastafarians said they were increasingly accepted in society, and overall, the country\u2019s citizens were becoming more tolerant of their way of life, including in their use of cannabis,\u201d the report notes. \u201cPossession and use of two ounces or fewer of marijuana is permitted, including for religious sacraments.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn March, the government publicly stated that marijuana use and possession of 56 grams (two ounces) or fewer was now decriminalized,\u201d it continued. \u201cDuring the year, the Medical Cannabis Authority reported it granted some licenses to \u2018traditional cultivators,\u2019 including members of the Rastafarian community.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cObservers said there was widespread and increasing use of cannabis on the country\u2019s main island, which they believed suggested broader societal acceptance of its use.\u201d<\/p>\n Rastafarians in Trinidad and Tobago say that \u201cthe government continued to prohibit the production, sale, and consumption of marijuana, although they did not report any arrests or fines of their members during the year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRastafarians said this prohibition under the country\u2019s law was an infringement on their religious freedom to access cannabis, which they said was a core component of their religious practices,\u201d the report says.<\/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 New Details On Congressional Marijuana Omnibus Bill Emerge As Lawmakers Work For 60 Senate Votes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post State Department Says Marijuana Reform Helps Address Religious Discrimination In Other Countries, While Ignoring U.S. Policy<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A new U.S. State Department report on religious discrimination across the world looks at how marijuana laws in various countries either respect or violate the rights of certain believers to practice their faiths. But although the federal government is again making it a point in the latest edition of theContinue 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\/55198"}],"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=55198"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55199,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55198\/revisions\/55199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Antigua and Barbuda<\/a><\/h3>\n
Bahamas<\/a><\/h3>\n
Barbados<\/a><\/h3>\n
Belize<\/a><\/h3>\n
Dominica<\/a><\/h3>\n
Guyana<\/a><\/h3>\n
Jamaica<\/a><\/h3>\n
Malawi<\/a><\/h3>\n
Saint Kitts and Nevis<\/a><\/h3>\n
Saint Lucia<\/a><\/h3>\n
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines<\/a><\/h3>\n
Trinidad and Tobago<\/a><\/h3>\n
United States<\/h3>\n
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\nRead More: State Department Says Marijuana Reform Helps Address Religious Discrimination In Other Countries, While Ignoring U.S. Policy<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"