Jamaica's Rastas ready for ganja decriminalisation......Justice Minister Mark Golding says Jamaica's Cabinet has approved a plan to decriminalise marijuana....Bunny Wailer, himself, was convicted of possession in 1967 and did more than a year of hard labour.

By DAVID McFADDEN  Tuesday, September 16, 2014   

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — 

Taking a deep draw on a pipe that glows with burning marijuana, reggae luminary Bunny Wailer gives a satisfied grin through a haze of aromatic smoke in his concrete yard painted in the red, green, gold and black colours identified with his Rastafarian faith.

In this August 28, 2014 photo, legalisation advocate and reggae
 legend Bunny Wailer smokes a pipe stuffed with marijuana during
a “reasoning” session in a yard in Kingston, Jamaica, decorated
with Rastafarian colours and images of former Ethiopian Emperor
Haile Selassie. Wailer, a founder of the iconic Wailers reggae group
 with late superstars Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, and fellow
Rastafarians have long called for legalisation of the herb that
 they smoke as part of their spiritual worship.
(PHOTOS: DAVID MCFADDEN)

These days, the baritone singer from the legendary Wailers, the group he formed in 1963 with late superstars Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, has reason to feel good. There is unprecedented traction building in Jamaica to decriminalise pot, meaning the dreadlocked Wailer and other adherents of Rastafari — a home-grown spiritual movement that considers the drug divine — may soon be able to smoke without fear of arrest.

"Rastas have treated marijuana as something legal all along, even though we have been sent to prison for using the herb in our prayer. But this is the time for all these pressures to stop. The world is catching up now," the 67-year-old three-time Grammy winner said at his modest Kingston home.

Jamaica is known internationally for its marijuana. The hardy plant grows easily on the tropical Caribbean island, where its use is culturally entrenched despite being legally banned for 100 years. Cultivation is kept hidden, with small patches tucked into mountainsides, in swamps and between rows of other crops. Wailer, himself, was convicted of possession in 1967 and did more than a year of hard labour.

Previous moves to decriminalise the drug failed to advance mainly because officials feared they would violate international treaties and bring sanctions from Washington. But now, with a number of US states relaxing their marijuana laws — Colorado and Washington even allow recreational use — Jamaica is rethinking its position.

Justice Minister Mark Golding says Jamaica's Cabinet has approved a plan to decriminalise marijuana, including for religious purposes, and legislators are expected to authorise it before the end of the year. more