National

Rasta Community Fed Up With Delay

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Rastafarian Community is once again sounding off against the Davis Administration insisting they have not kept their promise to “respect and protect” their sacramental right of cannabis possession.

Published

3 years ago

May 3, 2023

Joshua Williams

The Rastafarian Community is at its wits end when it comes to government respecting and protecting what they describe as their constitutional rights.

Leader of the Ethiopian Africa Black International Congress in The Bahamas Ambassador Rithmond McKinney says they are tired of the back and forth and a lack of response from the Supreme Court after two years of deliberations.

One of those rights they say involves the use of the marijuana as a sacrament, something public relations representative for the movement Tafari Thompson says is no different than what other religious groups practice in their services.

Priest Jevon Thompson says daily life as a Rastafarian is hard.

Cannabis legislation has been on the table for years without success, despite several neighbouring countries already having passed similar laws.

Last June Attorney General Ryan Pinder said the Davis Administration intended to advance comprehensive legislation to regulate a medical cannabis industry and a separate framework for industrial hemp.