'Not Essential': Kenyan Court Denies Rastafarians' Right to Smoke Weed

A Kenyan court refused to grant Rastafarians the right to smoke weed on religious grounds in a long-awaited ruling on Wednesday, which some members of the community saw as an attack on "African spirituality".Rastafarians, who often use marijuana as part of their religious meditation, have been pushing Kenyan courts since 2021 to allow them to use the herb under the constitutional right to freedom of religion.But the High Court ruled the community had failed to show that marijuana was a necessary part of their practise, and so did not give them the right to bypass the country's drug laws, under which possession is punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment and a substantial fine.While all witnesses "agreed that cannabis is used as a sacrament, they could not agree on whether its use is essential or merely preferred," the judge said in his ruling.One of the petitioners, Ras Dimo, 40, told AFP…