Kenya's High Court has dashed the hopes of Rastafarians seeking to legally smoke cannabis for religious purposes, ruling that the ban on the herb does not violate their constitutional rights. The Rastafari Society of Kenya had argued that cannabis is a sacred sacrament and sought permission to grow, possess, and use it privately during worship without fear of arrest. They insisted they weren't asking for wholesale legalization, just a limited religious exemption for private homes and designated places of worship.

Justice Bahati Mwamuye, in a landmark judgment, said the community failed to prove that drug laws infringed on their rights, though he acknowledged the need for a broader national debate on cannabis. He found the evidence on cannabis's centrality to the Rastafari faith inconsistent and insufficient. "We ought to have frank conversations on cannabis and which directions we should take," the judge mused, adding that it's a national question, not just for Rastafarians.

Under Kenya's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, possession of cannabis remains a criminal offense, punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to $800. Cultivation carries a fine of $1,900 or three times the market value, and/or up to 20 years in jail. The state argued that a religious exemption would undermine enforcement and create loopholes for trafficking.

Rastafarian lawyer Danstan Omari vowed to appeal, declaring, "Kenya cannot be the only country that is harassing the Rastafarian people." The ruling comes seven years after another High Court decision recognized Rastafarianism as a protected religion, following a school's expulsion of a student over her dreadlocks. The number of Rastafarians in Kenya is unknown, but the movement is growing, especially among young people, and their dreadlocks echo the anti-colonial Mau Mau fighters of the 1950s.