50-year-old Jamaican musician Ziggy Marley recalls how he was encouraged to dabble into cannabis at his very tender age by his father, Bob Marley, noting that it is part of their religion.
Ziggy revealed this while speaking with Reader’s Digest recently, where he opened up about life and his career. Ziggy said that smoking was not a bad thing in Rastafarian culture and parents mostly introduced their children to it.
“Smoking marijuana wasn’t considered a bad thing in Rastafarian culture. It wasn’t something to hide from the kids. I can’t even remember when I had my first spliff, I was around nine. I was very young, too young. I wouldn’t have let myself do it in my father’s place. But it was a part of our religion – we’re one of those ancient cultures with traditions that modern society wouldn’t accept“, he said.
He further revealed that when he finally decided to smoke intentionally, his perspective was from a spiritual point of view, to give him more insight into the spiritual realm. “When I first consciously decided to smoke weed as a teenager, I approached it from a spiritual point of view. It’s given me more insight into myself and into my spirituality, and I use it as a form of influence when reading scriptures and books about spirituality.
I use it to give me a different perspective so that my mind isn’t in the same place that it normally is. I turn into a shaman. It was never just about getting high – I educated myself about it in terms of how yogis in India use it and I went down that route with it, I didn’t go down the fun route.”
READ ALSO: You Are Not The Queen Of Dance Anymore, We’ve Taken Over Naira Marley Fires Back At Kaffy
Ziggy recently launched a ‘Grow Your Own’ campaign to encourage weed users to ensure that the weed they inhale is organic and not deadly. “It is up to us, the people, to make sure the people’s plant doesn’t actually cause people pain. Ask questions and demand answers, and let those in the industry know that you will not accept anything that includes pesticides. And if all else fails, grow your own. The most effective way to avoid potentially poisoning yourself with pesticides is to grow and use your own“, he said.
