BUJU'S TROUBLES WITH 'BABYLON' & GANJA

'I smoke herb on a meditative vibe. It's a spiritual thing to me, yuh know
whah ah mean?'

Reggae superstar Buju Banton

Like Michael Jackson, Buju Banton's latest troubles have received worldwide
attention. His arrest three weeks ago for marijuana possession was carried
as breaking news by Rolling Stone, MTV, Billboard, Yahoo, ABC News, the BBC,
the Scotsman, the Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, even the Springfield News
Sun in Ohio.

But unlike the Gloved One, the shocked outrage that greeted the Gargamel's
crime was that a Jamaican reggae star should be arrested for smoking weed in
the Land of Ganja. "A how dem can lock up Buju fi a likkle ting like that?!
More fire!"

On a routine anti-drugs raid, the police say they saw a man run into
Banton's studio, bawling, "Police!" so they followed him in. The officers
say they asked to search the premises and all the people present. But Buju,
well-known for his mercurial temper, refused and told them they had to get a
warrant.

One of the officers told the Jamaica Observer afterwards that the head of
the St Andrew North Division, Superintendent Assan Thompson, didn't take too
kindly to Buju's attitude. "Buju behaved disrespectfully... Him say we can't
just come inna him private property and come search up him brethren dem,"
the policeman said. "Him can't chat to police so, especially in front of the
big superintendent."

This may or may not explain initial false reports that the police had found
30 fully grown plants, after arresting Buju for smoking a spliff in public.
In any event, the 30-year-old, whose latest album, Friends For Life, has
been nominated for a Grammy award, appeared in court a few days later and
pleaded not guilty to charges of possession and cultivation of marijuana. It
turns out the police found only two plants. He was granted bail of
Ja$150,000 (TT$15,000) and will appear in court on January 7. No mention was
made of his licensed firearm and ammunition, which had been seized.

"Smoking marijuana to me is not something that is taken casually," Buju said
in an interview last August while on a UK tour to promote Friends For Life.
"To me it's a divine thing. My first time smoking marijuana I was about 14
years old, 15 years old. Just taking a one draw, yuh know, and the
experience was one where your eyes was immediately opened to things that
maybe you were blinded to."

Was it scary?

"Everything at first is scary, it's life experience you know and brings
wisdom."

How much does he smoke a day?

"I do not treat herb like a cigarette smoker," he replied with disdain. "I
smoke herb on a meditative vibe. It's a spiritual thing to me, yuh know whah
ah mean? When I meditate or I'm doing something that involves a lot of
concentration I would take a joint periodically, to calm myself and get
myself on the same wavelength as what I'm working on synchronise, so to
speak."

Does he think it should be legalised?

"It's already being legalised all across the world, secretly, covertly, and
it's legalisation and distribution process is being streamlined to a
selected few. So this is already in the making."

But what about young boys lighting up?

"In legalisation, there are rules and laws. Just like minors cannot freely
approach and go and buy alcohol and cigarette, which is much more dangerous,
then if one does not reach a certain age limit, then one shouldn't have
access to it."

"But you had access at 14."

"Where I'm from is different. I have a different culture. I have a different
upbringing. That doesn't say that you who are affluent and able to live your
life in a different way should follow the way I live my life."

How important is ganja to Jamaica?

"Ganja can be a very important source of our economic earnings, if taken and
used in the proper manner. We can legalise it in many forms. We can legalise
it in the form of hemp, and be very productive. While the outside market and
major conglomerates have been using hemp and making an industry of hemp, we,
who are capable of growing the highest form of hemp known to the outside
world, haven't. We can't remove the veil from our eyes to capitalise on this
vast amount of natural resources which we can produce just like that."

He wasn't saying anything new. In fact he was echoing the words of a task
force set up by his own government to decide once and for all, how to deal
with ganja in Jamaica.

The Ganja Commission, as it's known, submitted its report two years ago to
Parliament. It not only recommended that Jamaicans be allowed to smoke in
the privacy of their homes, but that a Cannabis Research Agency be set up to
coordinate research into all aspects of cannabis, to ensure that "Jamaica is
not be left behind" in the growing medicinal market.

"The Catholic Church, the Council of Churches, the Medical Association of
Jamaica, the legal fraternity-in our meetings across the country with
various stakeholders there was an overwhelming support for the use of
marijuana in your private space, in your home, of small quantities for your
own use; for smoking, for medicinal use, because of the imbedded cultural
practices that we have in Jamaica," says Anthony Freckleton, who served on
the body.

But not even support from the Church can persuade the Jamaican government to
take such a big step and cross Uncle Sam.

"Over the years, several governments have been doing a balancing act-walking
a tightrope between the people who desire it and our powerful North American
neighbour, the United States," said attorney Michael Lorne.

"Most governments, not wanting to lose aid and all the benefits of
co-operating with our neighbour, have been trying to side-step the main
issue, but now I don't think that any government can continue to do that; it
is much too strong a feeling, a fervour, an agitation," he said.

"Even the United Kingdom, former owner and lawmaker of Jamaica, has freed up
the weed. Far too much police time has been wasted needlessly on prosecuting
people for smoking weed, the British government says. In fact, from this
month, marijuana is to be reclassified as a Class-C drug-putting it in the
same category as tranquilisers or steroids. In the First World, the "evil
weed", for which hundreds of thousands have been jailed around the world, is
now on par with Prozac. But cheaper.

Meanwhile, in the Third World, where even Vision 2020 is short-sighted,
smoking ganja still means doing time in filthy, overcrowded prison cells for
our citizens-jobless youths and reggae stars alike.