Francis, a Rastafari member, waves a Rastafari flag during service in the tabernacle on Sunday, May 14, 2023, on the Ras Freeman Foundation for the Unification of Rastafari property in Liberta ...

Ras Jah, a member of the Ras Freeman Foundation for the Unification of Rastafari, prepares to pass a chalice pipe with marijuana to the left during service in the tabernacle on Sunday, May 14 ...

For decades, members of the Rastafari community have been persecuted and imprisoned for their ritualistic marijuana use. But the islands of Antigua and Barbuda recently became one of the first ...

Ras Jah, a member of the Ras Freeman Foundation for the Unification of Rastafari, smokes cannabis from a chalice pipe during a service May 14 in the tabernacle in Liberta, Antigua.

For Rastafari, the practice brings them closer to the divine. But for decades, many have been jailed and endured racial and religious profiling by law enforcement because of their marijuana use.