Ganja Struggles: Rastafari and the Contestation for Cannabis Rights in Jamaica
This essay examines the theological and socioeconomic impacts of the creation of the Jamaican marijuana industry on the Rastafari faith in Jamaica and, mainly, how Rastas are navigating the forces of governmental regulation and global capitalist control of the holy herb. I argue that the scope of th...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
University of Pennsylvania Press
[2020]
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| In: |
Journal of ecumenical studies
Year: 2020, Volume: 55, Issue: 4, Pages: 569-594 |
| IxTheo Classification: | BR Ancient religions of the Americas KBR Latin America XA Law |
| Further subjects: | B
Rastafari
B Resistance B Ambivalence B Sacralization B herbalism B Postcolonial B Marijuana B Babylon B Natural Theology B livity |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This essay examines the theological and socioeconomic impacts of the creation of the Jamaican marijuana industry on the Rastafari faith in Jamaica and, mainly, how Rastas are navigating the forces of governmental regulation and global capitalist control of the holy herb. I argue that the scope of the Rastafari reactions to the dominating force of cannabis legislation in Jamaica is fundamentally a function of their longstanding precarious status in Jamaica. Rastas' rejection of the colonial and postcolonial state, proclamation of black redemption, deification of Emperor Haile Selassie I, and sacralization of marijuana brought them into conflict with the state, thereby reinforcing their liminal position as an "other." Throughout this essay, I draw upon the themes of postcolonial theory to understand the history of colonial and postcolonial legislative repression of Rastafari and how Rastas have deployed strategies of resistance and survival within and against the Jamaican society. |
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| ISSN: | 2162-3937 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of ecumenical studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/ecu.2020.0046 |