# Kenya Court Rejects Rastafari Religious Exemption for Marijuana
A Kenyan court has rejected a bid by the country's Rastafarian community to gain a religious exemption allowing them to smoke marijuana. The community had sought legal permission to use the drug under Kenya's constitutional protections for freedom of religion.
The judge ruled against the exemption, determining that the Rastafarians had failed to demonstrate that marijuana consumption is a necessary component of their religious worship and practice. This decision effectively upheld Kenya's existing drug laws as they apply to all religious groups in the country.
The case represents an attempt by Kenya's small Rastafarian population to obtain legal accommodation for a practice central to their faith tradition. The court's rejection suggests that constitutional religious freedoms in Kenya do not automatically extend to exemptions from drug prohibitions, even when practices are religiously motivated.
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