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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Community service for drug charge Rastafarian
Ananova Friday 12 Jan 2001 Rasta Brown, 37, had been trying to raise cash for his family when he asked an undercover policeman if he wanted some weed. Brown, who had admitted two counts of possessing cannabis with intent to supply last June and one of possession, was given 150 hours of community service. Brown was found to be carrying seven bags containing 20.36 grams of the drug when he was arrested. Another 516 milligrams was discovered later in his shorts. Shortly afterwards officers visited his home in Stockwell, south London, and recovered a further 128 grams. Brown says he was selling the cannabis to raise cash to clear a loan and support the mothers of his children. He told Inner London Crown Court that in his view he had done nothing wrong as both the use and sale of marijuana was a recognised part of Rastafarian culture and religion. He said that apart from it being a "sacred commodity", with authority for its use derived from the Bible, he also prepared special infusions to help alleviate various ailments among fellow believers. At an earlier hearing Brown insisted that the recently introduced Human Rights Act effectively allowed such behaviour because of its protection for an individual's freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Judge Charles Gibson rejected that argument, but said it was clear that Brown "sincerely believed that what the law calls cannabis and what you call herb is simply a product of nature" and not a drug.
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