Many of these Rastafarians also pray for and await the day that they all will return to Ethiopia, and it will once again become the "promised land" mentioned in the Bible (Lieblich).
Although some believe that dreadlocks attack our moral standards, dreadlocks heighten the Rasta's relationship with Jah, a shortened form of Jehovah. Some closed-minded citizens look negatively upon this customary Rastafarian hairstyle. Dreadlocks often draw negative connotations and are used to unjustly profile the peaceful Rastafarian. Claiming that the hairstyle is unsanitary and disrupting to other students, a public school in Louisiana banned students from attending on account of their dreadlocks (Louisiana). In addition, both UPS and Federal Express have recently been involved in lawsuits with employees who lost their jobs over the sacred locks (Dreadlock Deadlock). The dreadlocks adorned by the Rasta have become one of the criteria for the members of the movement. Although dreadlocks sometimes must be avoided as precautionary measures, some view dreadlocks as the only true criteria of the Rastafari (Dread). The dreadlocks also serve as a semi-permanent symbol of the Rasta's devotion to Jah (Dreadlocks). This Rastafarian practice was also confirmed in Biblical verses such as Leviticus 19:27 "Ye shall not round the corner of your heads, neither shall thou mar the corners of thy beard" (Bible).
Despite society's overall disapproval of marijuana, ganja adds to the spiritual experience of the Rastafari. Those opposed to the religion hope to stop the Rasta's use .
Edwards iii.
of ganja. Hoping to completely end its use, many nations worldwide have banned the use of marijuana (Rosenberg). Also, concerned parents fear that the smoking of marijuana by the peaceful Rastafarians will increase the public's acceptance of the plant's use. Winston Mendes Davidson, the chief of the Medical Association of Jamaica, goes so far as to label marijuana "the single greatest detriment to the development of Jamaica" (Rosenberg).
