Court orders cops to return confiscated ganja to grower Zion Yard

In a celebrated ruling in August, the St Elizabeth Parish Court ordered the release of 295 pounds of marijuana seized from Zion Yard, a Rastafari community authorised to cultivate the herb for sacramental use.

The marijuana – also referred to locally as ganja, herb and weed – was never intended for commercial sale, but similar amounts would retail for over US$1 million ($160 million) on the market.

So far, 171 pounds of the confiscated crop have been recovered from the Narcotics Division of the Jamaica Constabulary Force in Kingston. Attorney Dr Marcus Goffe, who represented the grower charged in connection with the seizure, described as unacceptable the delay in releasing the rest of the product.

“This is harassment,” Goffe said in an interview with the Financial Gleaner.

“We intend to issue a formal demand within seven days. Otherwise, we will file a court action.”

The herb was confiscated in July during a routine police check on grower Andy Blake, who was later discharged on all counts. “No evidence was offered” against Blake when the case came up in court.

Blake cultivates marijuana on behalf of Zion Yard, which is listed under the Dangerous Drugs (Designation of Land for Cultivation of Ganja for Sacramental Purposes) Amendment Order 2023, and is therefore permitted to engage in ganja cultivation.

“Under the law, Rastafari does not require a licence, only authorisation from the Ministry of Justice,” Goffe explained. “Even if the grower lacked full documentation, the police should have conducted a proper investigation. A simple check would have confirmed Zion Yard’s status,” the attorney said.

The court’s written order, signed by Clerk of the Courts Kara Cardis, instructed that the marijuana seized on July 3 be “released forthwith and returned to the owners/representatives of Zion Yard”.

Advocates said the ruling fortifies the rights of religious cultivators.

“It’s a win for small farmers,” Blake told the Financial Gleaner by phone last week while bagging some of the recovered ganja.

Blake said the ganja operation is co-owned by Leon Lee, another Zion Yard member, who was overseas at the time of the seizure.

“But they charged me,” Blake said. He was initially granted bail at $250,000. The Constabulary Communications Network said at the end of August that it had no information on the case.

Ten years after the decriminalisation of cannabis, Rastafarians and grassroots growers remain at the frontline of regulatory friction, Goffe said. This is not the first case brought by Goffe on behalf of ganja farmers, but it is the largest legal recovery to date.

The quantum of 295 pounds sounds like a lot of ganja, but there are a lot of Rastafari in and around the community whose needs are supplied by Zion Yard, Goffe explained.

“Under the law, it is not the amount that limits you, but the purpose. The law says once in possession for religious purposes, then, you are exempt. A lot of ganja is used in the community, not for trade but as a sacrament,” he said.

Kamau Janai, a former director of the Cannabis Licensing Authority, said the case highlights persistent gaps in enforcement and police sensitivity. “I think there was some misunderstanding,” Janai said. “But the police eventually recognised that a great error had occurred.”

Janai confirmed that the ganja of that quantity in the retail space would surpass the $100 million mark in Jamaican currency.

The products sold by licensed herb houses, which are retailers of medical marijuana, are priced between $1,000 and $2,000 per gramme, depending on the potency. One pound of ganja is equivalent to 454 grammes.

steven.jackson@gleanerjm.com