Kenyan court rejects Rastafarian bid to legalize cannabis

Kenya’s High Court has rejected a bid by a Rastafarian group to legalize the use of cannabis for religious purposes.

The Rastafarian community has argued that the ban on smoking cannabis violates the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of religion and belief.

Justice Bahati Mwamuye said the community had failed to prove that drug laws infringed on their constitutional rights, but acknowledged the need for a wider national debate on cannabis.

Continued progress has been made to legalize cannabis in Kenya, with advocates arguing that controlled cultivation and trade will create jobs, increase tax revenue and support industrial and medicinal uses.

Possession of cannabis is a criminal offense under Kenya’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act.

A person convicted of possessing cannabis for personal use faces up to five years in prison or a fine of up to $800 (£600).

Cultivating cannabis is punishable by a fine of $1,900 or three times the market value of the plant and/or up to 20 years in prison.

More severe penalties apply to people-trafficking and other drug-related crimes.

In their petition, the Kenyan Rastafari Association stated that cannabis is sacred in their faith and asked for permission for its followers to grow, possess and use it privately without fear of arrest.

He stated that he was not calling for the wholesale legalization of cannabis, but rather a limited exemption for religious purposes in private homes and designated places of worship.

In their speech, Rastafarians argued that smoking cannabis should be respected and supported by their religious teachings.

But the state opposed the petition, arguing that the religious exemption would undermine the enforcement of Kenya’s anti-narcotics laws and create loopholes for the illegal trafficking of cannabis.

Justice Mwamuye found that the evidence presented to the Rastafari faith on the centrality of cannabis was inconsistent and insufficient to establish that its use was an essential part of the religion.

In a major blow to Rastafarians’ six-year legal battle, it upheld the constitutionality of drug laws banning the cultivation, possession and use of cannabis.

The judge pointed out that any liberal constitutional and legal basis is needed to allow the use of cannabis for religious purposes.

“We need to have an open discussion on cannabis and what directions to take,” said Justice Muwamuye.

“This is not a question that concerns the Rastafarian community, it is a national question that cuts across the entire society,” he added.

The ruling comes seven years after another high court ruling recognized Rastafarianism as a protected religion in Kenya, ruling that a school’s decision to expel a student for beating her violated her constitutional rights.