Rastafarians and marijuana. It seems to be an on going battle. Should Rastafarians be legally allowed to use marijuana because it is part of their religion? They use it, many times referred to as ganja, to spiritually get closer to Jah (God) as well as to cleanse themselves. They justify using ganja from scriptures such as Genesis 1:29, "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." and Psalms 104:14 "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man."

I asked many adults if they believe Rastas should be allowed to use marijuana. Their first thought was no. But once I gave them more information and they thought about it, it was about half and half. Half the people believe that freedom of religion should give people the right to do whatever their religion requires. The other half believed that it should be illegal. The argument is that if someones religion required them to murder another person, it would still be illegal.

Here is what the law says. It is illegal to use marijuana. This does inclued Rastafarians. What they generally do though, is take it on a case by case basis. However, in the most recent case, a Rastafarian was caught with marijuana and the judge said, "the law is the law". Of coarse there are places where Rastafarians are free to use marijuana whenever they like, in places like Amsterdam where it is legal for anyone. But it is still a battle in the US.

- Kayleigh