Peter Tosh’s Legalize it ahead of its time
Events to celebrate his 82nd birthday today
Mark Golding, who led the push for decriminalisation of ganja in Jamaica in 2015, believes Peter Tosh would welcome the strides made in getting the plant legalised.
The firebrand singer-songwriter, who died in 1987, was an unapologetic advocate for open use of ganja.
Golding, leader of the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP), spoke to the Jamaica Observer during the launch of Tosh Week at Pulse headquarters in St Andrew on October 14. “I think Peter would have been pleased to see there has been progress and anxious to see more progress. And I’m looking forward to the opportunities to ensure more progress,” he said.
Last week’s function, hosted by Tosh’s daughter Niambe, also acknowledged the 50th anniversary of Legalize It, his first album for Columbia Records. Driven by the defiant title track, it called for global legalisation of ganja. Golding was a teenager when the album was released. He remembers it having an immediate impact on him.
“The album cover, it was striking. It had Peter Tosh in a herb field with a pipe in his mouth. And, of course, Legalize It is a powerful piece of music,” said Golding. In early October, Legalize It was named in Rolling Stone Magazine’s The 76 Best Albums of 1976. It came in at #35.
Golding was minister of justice in February 2015 when legislation was made to amend Jamaica’s ganja laws. He recalls working with a “strong legal team” from that ministry to ease stringent measures that included imprisonment for people arrested for small amounts of weed.
Under the current laws, a person found with a small quantity of ganja is exempt from prosecution. Limited cultivation of the plant is legal, and Rastafarians are allowed to use ganja for religious purposes. A former member of The Wailers, alongside Bob Marley and Bunny Livingston, Peter Tosh was murdered by gunmen at his St Andrew home in September 1987. He was 42.
On October 17, a concert was scheduled to celebrate his 82nd birthday (he was born on October 19) at Woodstock Cafe in Negril, Westmoreland. Andrew Tosh, his son; Anthony B; and Mutabaruka join the line-up. There will be a celebration of Tosh’s life at his mausoleum in his hometown of Belmont, Westmoreland, on October 19.
