Rastafari Sacramental Rights to Marijuana
Francis, a Rastafari member, waves a former Ethiopian flag with the Lion of Judah during service in the tabernacle on Sunday, May 14, 2023, on the Ras Freeman Foundation for the Unification of Rastafari property in Liberta, Antigua. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Ras Tashi, a priest with the Ras Freeman Foundation for the Unification of Rastafari, left, and fellow member Ras Wilkins, stand for a portrait at the entrance of the tabernacle on Sunday, May 14, 2023, in Liberta, Antigua. The Rastafari tabernacle sits on an old plantation where their enslaved ancestors were forced to plant sugar cane, and where they now legally grow and ritualistically smoke marijuana. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Ras Richie stands on the Rastafari farm and sacred grounds of the Ras Freeman Foundation for the Unification of Rastafari on Saturday, May 13, 2023, in Liberta, Antigua. He is a co-founder of Humble and Free Wadadli, which leads eco-tours to the farm where cannabis, fruit and vegetables are grown. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Ras Richie holds a freshly picked onion on the Ras Freeman Foundation for the Unification of Rastafari farm and sacred grounds, Saturday, May 13, 2023, in Liberta, Antigua. Richie is a co-founder of Humble and Free Wadadli, which leads eco-tours to the farm where cannabis, fruit and vegetables are grown. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
A dirt path leads down to the farm fields of the Ras Freeman Foundation for the Unification of Rastafari where the community grows fruit, vegetables, and cannabis, in Liberta, Antigua, on Sunday, May 14, 2023. Rastafari eat Ital, a vegetarian based diet developed by the spiritual movement. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Marijuana plants grow on the Ras Freeman Foundation for the Unification of Rastafari farm and sacred grounds, Sunday, May 14, 2023, in Liberta, Antigua. The twin islands of Antigua and Barbuda recently became one of the first Caribbean nations to grant Rastafari authorization to grow and smoke their sacramental herb, which is a practice that brings them closer to the divine. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Ras Jah, a member of the Ras Freeman Foundation for the Unification of Rastafari, smokes cannabis from a chalice during service in the tabernacle on Sunday, May 14, 2023, in Liberta, Antigua. For Rastafari, the practice of smoking the herb brings them closer to the divine. But for decades, many have been jailed and endured racial and religious profiling by law enforcement because of their marijuana use. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Ras Iko Francis builds a sacred fire outside of the tabernacle where services are held at the Ras Freeman Foundation for the Unification of Rastafari, Sunday, May 14, 2023, in Liberta, Antigua. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Huge Andrew and his son Hile Andrew, 2, step out of the Rastafari tabernacle during service on Sunday, May 14, 2023, on the Ras Freeman Foundation for the Unification of Rastafari property in Liberta, Antigua. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Ras Kiyode Erasto, a priest and chairman of the Ras Freeman Foundation, cleans the leaves from a cannabis plant while standing outside of the tabernacle on Sunday, May 14, 2023, in Liberta, Antigua. Erasto suffered bullying and discrimination growing up as a Rastafarian. At one point his mother had to cut his dreadlocks so he could be allowed in school. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Rastafarians, Ras Wilkins, left, and Ras Richie, pass the chalice made of coconut and clay, in which they smoke marijuana, during service in the tabernacle on Sunday, May 14, 2023, on the Ras Freeman Foundation for the Unification of Rastafari property in Liberta, Antigua. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Ras Richie, left, talks with fellow members of the Ras Freeman Foundation for the Unification of Rastafari as he prepares food for their Sunday service on May 14, 2023, in Liberta, Antigua. Rastafari eat Ital, a vegetarian based diet developed by the spiritual movement. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)