---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 05:13:11 -0500
From: pfx@InfoChan.COM
To: rasiya37@hotmail.com, makahna@m-net.arbornet.org
Subject: GANJA LAWS IN ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA CHALLANGED

LEGALIZE GANJA CAMPAIGN [Jamaica]
News Bulletin

Mission: To campaign by all legitimate and democratic methods to bring about reforms in the laws of Jamaica relating to ganja, and in particular to secure that no person should be punished under law for simple possession, use or cultivation of ganja.

Directors: Sandra Alcott . Paul Chang . Sydney daSilva . Dr. Dennis Forsythe . Lord Anthony Gifford . Barbara Blake-Hanna . Antonnette Haughton-Cardenas . Dr. Ronnie Lampart . Junior Manning

Tel: [809] 924-1787 Fax: [809] 924-2500 E-Mail: lgc@infochan.com
Mail: POB 357 . Kingston 10 . Jamaica

Affiliates:

Dear all:

Copied below is an article from Cana [Caribbean News Agency] printed in today's Jamaica Daily Gleaner.  Please note that one of our directors "Lord Tony Gifford" is on the legal team.  Another director, Dr. Ronnie Lampart is also a witness for the defence.

On our board, we have five [5] Rastafari out of nine directors:

• Sister Sandra Alcott Entertainment Lawyer & Political activist
• Ras Sydney daSilva Chairman of the Rastafari Centralization Organization [umbrella group]
• Lord Anthony Gifford Although not a Rastafari, he's married to a sister. Lawyer & human rights activist [yes, and a member of the House of Lords, UK]
• Sister Barbara Blake-Hanna Film maker, music/media promoter & writer
• Sister Antonnette Haughton-Cardenas Lawyer, radio talk show host & media personality
• Ras Junior Manning Writer & publisher [Rasta Vibrations]

The constitution in Antigua and Barbuda differs slightly from ours in Jamaica.  The main difference is that in Jamaica, the Bill of Rights is not retroactive as it is in Antigua and Barbuda [both ex-British colonies].

DONATIONS TO SUPPORT THE ANTIGUA EFFORT CAN BE SENT AS FOLLOWS:

ANTIGUA NYABINGHI CHALLANGE
C/O LEGALIZE GANJA CAMPAIGN

PO BOX 357 or ACCOUNT 3020-38-544 [LEGALIZE GANJA CAMPAIGN]
KINGSTON 10 NATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANK
JAAMICA WEST INDIES HALF WAY TREE
KINGSTON 10
JAMAICA WEST INDIES
[funds can be wired here]

Your funds will be much appreciated. The legal team and expert witnesses from Jamaica are not earning fees and are recovering expenses only.

One love,

Paul Chang
Director
Legalize Ganja Camapign [Jamaica]

ANTIGUA RASTAS CHALLANGE GANJA LAWS

ST. JOHN'S, Antigua, Cana, March 18th, 1997

In a landmark high court matter in regional jurisprudence, Rastafarians in Antigua and Barbuda are challenging the laws governing the use of marijuana in hearings beginning next week.

A letter from the Nyabinghi Theocracy Order of Antigua, sent to regional media houses and journalists, said the Rastafarians are, "mounting a serious challenge against the unjust, unnatural, and hypocritical laws governing the use of herb [cannabis, marijuana]" in the two-island state.

UNFAIR PENALTIES

They are also protesting "the harsh and unfair penalties that are levied under the laws of Antigua and Barbuda".

The challenge was initiated following a charge against Rastafari Nyabinghi Theocracy Order member Franklin Francis, more popularly known as King Frank I, for possession of marijuana.

By means of the historic motion brought before Justice Kenneth Benjamin on November 23, 1996 by members of the Nyabinghi Theocracy Order and mounted by local legal luminary Harold Lovell, the applicants are seeking "redress and relief" pursuant to section 18 of the Antigua and Barbuda constitution and the Supreme Court Rules of 1970.

The Rastafarians, through this motion, are requesting the High Court to make three declarations, namely:

• - Rastafari is a religion entitled to protection under section 11 of the constitution of Antigua and Barbuda;
• - That the provisions of section 11 of the Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda, protecting the right of freedom of conscience have been, are being, and are or likely to be contravened by the inclusion of marijuana under the Misuse of Drugs Act;
• - That the charge against the applicant [Francis] for possession of cannabis in unconstitutional and a violation of the provisions of section 11 of the constitution of Antigua and Barbuda.

The Rastafari Nyabinghi Theocracy Order said that the implications of this seminal case will reverberate throughout the Caribbean as well as Commonwealth jurisprudence, based as it is on British law and judicial precedents.

PROPERLY CONDUCTED

"Regardless of the outcome of this important case, as long as it is properly conducted, the deliberations are bound to stimulate serious consideration of legalization or decriminalization of herb throughout the Caribbean and at the very least to a review of the harsh penalties inflicted by the present laws," the letter said.

It said further that, "a successful proposition will benefit all those committed to the use of this medical, therapeutic God-given plant".

The hearing of the constitutional matter, scheduled for March 17 and 18, will feature prominent legal minds and medical experts including Lord Gifford from Jamaica, a noted lawyer with a specialist background on marijuana legalization issues.

--- Internet Message Header Follows ---
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 08:46:30 -0500 (EST)
From: Ras Iyah Ben Makahna <makahna@m-net.arbornet.org>
To: "Carl E. Olsen" <iowanorml@commonlink.com>
Subject: GANJA LAWS IN ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA CHALLANGED (fwd)