https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/374/addisababa.shtml

Hundreds of thousands of people streamed into the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa Sunday to commemorate the anniversary of the birth of reggae superstar and iconic pot-smoker Bob Marley. The dreadlocked singer who popularized both reggae and Rastafarianism, the religion based on the belief that former Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie (Ras Tafari) is God and marijuana is a holy sacrament, would have turned 60 on February 6, but he died of cancer in 1981 at the age of 36.

Despite warnings last week from the US State Department that Ethiopia has strict drug laws and would be practicing heavy security, Sunday's concert featuring Rita Marley, Ziggy Marley, and African performers Youssou D'Nour and Baaba Maal, among others, went off without a hitch, although some Ethiopians pronounced themselves bemused both by Rastafarianism and its use of Jah herb as a sacrament.

While the city's Meskel Square was packed with humanity and the Rasta colors -- green, yellow, and red -- were prominent, as were posters of Marley and Selassie, the sweet scent of the weed provoked no police response. "No problem has been witnessed and reported so far in the city. We are doing our best for the security of this big gathering," a police officer at the square told All Africa News. Addis Ababa residents were more inclined to take a mellow attitude toward the visitors and their strange customs than the State Department was. "I don't have much affection for them, but I am not against them," said Zenbe Biru, a 22-year-old student at Addis Ababa University. "I have a problem understanding their philosophy," he told the Khaleej Times.

"I have my own reservations about the Rastafarians," added 18-year-old high school pupil Alem Desta. "I hate the way they dress and mostly I hate what they smoke. I have never dreamed of considering them as one of us. They have their own home, we have our own," he said. "But I like their music."

The Ethiopian government was also disinclined to chastise the Rastas, thousands of whom have resettled in Ethiopia, which they consider the promised land. "The government is not interested in contesting religious claims," said Information Minister Simon Bedekat, responding to complaints from Christian conservatives that the celebrations were blasphemous. "This is a secular government that acknowledges the right to believe in what you believe," he said. "Basically the Rastafarians have the right to believe in what they believe and the evangelicals also have that right."

Still, Bedekat expressed dismay at the Rastas' marijuana use. "We're worried about it," he said. "We believe that an emerging society must guard itself from any scourge, be it drugs or other types of negative influences." But not too much, especially on Bob Marley's birthday.

	Please make a generous donation to support Drug War Chronicle in 2007!

PERMISSION to reprint or redistribute any or all of the contents of Drug War Chronicle (formerly The Week Online with DRCNet is hereby granted. We ask that any use of these materials include proper credit and, where appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If your publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet requests checks payable to the organization. If your publication does not pay for materials, you are free to use the materials gratis. In all cases, we request notification for our records, including physical copies where material has appeared in print. Contact: StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network, P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8340 (voice), (202) 293-8344 (fax), e-mail [email protected]. Thank you.

Articles of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of the DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Out from the Shadows HEA Drug Provision Drug War Chronicle Perry Fund DRCNet en Español Speakeasy Blogs About Us Home Why Legalization? NJ Racial Profiling Archive Subscribe Donate DRCNet em Português Latest News Drug Library Search special friends links: SSDP - Flex Your Rights - IAL - Drug War Facts StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet) 1623 Connecticut Ave., NW, 3rd Floor, Washington DC 20009 Phone (202) 293-8340 Fax (202) 293-8344 [email protected]