Despite Jamaican reggae’s pro-cannabis stance over the past six decades, the plant remains illegal in the music’s birthplace.Jamaica’s reggae artists are unrivaled in their vociferous championing of marijuana usage and persistent rallying for its legalization.

A primary tenet of the island’s indigenous Rastafarian way of life, which is inextricably linked to the cultural identity of roots reggae, regards cannabis, or ganja, as a sacred herb; since the late 1960s Rastafarian artists have promoted ganja’s healing properties in their song lyrics, which has resulted in an organic decriminalization campaign summarized by the title track of the late, visionary Peter Tosh’s 1976 debut album Legalize It Columbia Records.

via Marijuana’s Relationship with Reggae and Its Future Prospects in Jamaica.

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