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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Judge respects Rasta's drug use
Michael Horsnell The Times
Saturday 13 Jan 2001 A RASTAFARIAN who asked an undercover policeman if he fancied some “weed” was spared a spell in prison yesterday by a judge who said his crimes were “very much bound up” with his beliefs. Rasta Brown, 37, who explained to Judge Charles Gibson that his religious and cultural beliefs permitted him to smoke and sell cannabis, was ordered to do 150 hours’ community service. At an earlier hearing, Brown had insisted that the Human Rights Act effectively allowed such behaviour because of its protection for an individual’s freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The judge 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. Because he believed it was permissible, Brown was to be “distinguished quite sharply from many people who deal in illegal drugs in this country. “I hope you will see in what I have said that I am seeking to give you every possible credit and I am showing respect for the sincerity of your beliefs. In return, society is entitled to require that you show respect to those who do not share your beliefs and who argue that the law should remain in its present form.” Parliament, the judge said, had clearly decided when incorporating the European Convention on Human Rights into English law that other statutes, such as the Misuse of Drugs Act, could not be interpreted “in an elastic way” and must continue to have an effect. He went on: “I am sentencing you today in what many would regard as a lenient way. However, you should not leave court believing that the same leniency will be available to you on any future occasion. Nor should others construe this sentence as a standard to which I, let alone any other judge, should apply to a case of a Rastafarian defendant in the future.” Brown, who told Inner London Crown Court he had simply been trying to raise cash to clear a loan and support the mothers of his three children, was found carrying seven bags containing 20.36 grams of cannabis when arrested. Another 516 milligrams were found in his shorts and 128 grams at his home in Stockwell, South London. He said that in his view he had done nothing wrong as both the use and sale of marijuana was a recognised part of his faith. It was a “sacred commodity” and there was authority for its use in the Bible. He had prepared special infusions to help to alleviate various ailments among fellow believers. Brown pleaded guilty at an initial hearing before magistrates to one count of possessing cannabis and two of possession with intent to supply. After the Human Rights Act became law recently he unsuccessfully sought permission to “vacate” his admissions and be allowed to fight his case. Outside court, Brown said that he was “well pleased” with the result. He planned to continue with an information technology course he had started and to “get on with my life and my family”.
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