Weed legal for Rastafarians in Italy

[Štulic]

Rasta pot smokers win high court fight | Oddly Enough | Reuters

ROME (Reuters) - Rastafarians caught in possession of marijuana in Italy may now have legal recourse, thanks to a high court ruling made public on Thursday.

Italy's Court of Cassation ruled that since the Rastafari religion considers marijuana a sacrament, its members should be given special consideration when it comes to possession -- and how much makes a drug trafficker.

The case before the judges dealt with a reggae musician who was sentenced to 16 months in prison by a lower court in Perugia after being found in possession of enough marijuana to roll 70 cigarettes.

The Court of Cassation annulled his sentence, saying the amount appeared appropriate for personal use considering the heavy amounts that Rastafarians smoke, and ordered an appellate court in Florence to review the case.

"He was convicted because of the amount ... for trafficking, but it was for his own personal use," said the defendant's lawyer, Caterina Calia.

Rastafari, a religion that emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s, considers Ethiopia its spiritual home and that country's former emperor, Haile Selassie, a divine figure.

Up to 10 percent of Jamaicans identify themselves as Rastas, but they are virtually unheard of in Roman Catholic Italy.

[HCL]

Awesome. I love the Rastafarian culture, but even if I were to become one I don't think they'd believe a white guy was one.

[pacman]

Originally Posted by Štulic

Rasta pot smokers win high court fight | Oddly Enough | Reuters
Up to 10 percent of Jamaicans identify themselves as Rastas, but they are virtually unheard of in Roman Catholic Italy.

I'm sure they wont be unheard of in Italy sooner or later...

[Štulic]

Originally Posted by HCL

Awesome. I love the Rastafarian culture, but even if I were to become one I don't think they'd believe a white guy was one.

That's the point, there is no way a judge or a jury can make a decision based on skin color or race whether the accused belongs to a particular religion or not.
There are no legal grounds for it so basically the court's decision made weed legal for everybody who declares himself as a Rasta in front of a court in Italy, and it could soon work EU-wide.

[HCL]

Originally Posted by Štulic

That's the point, there is no way a judge or a jury can make a decision based on skin color or race whether the accused belongs to a particular religion or not.
There are no legal grounds for it so basically the court's decision made weed legal for everybody who declares himself as a Rasta in front of a court in Italy, and it could soon work EU-wide.

I would think they'd have a certain amount of questions to be able to justify if you follow the religion or if you just say it to smoke. Either way, I'm going to start following the rasta culture when I grow out my hair for dreads.

DREADS FTW!