**** The following message is written entirely by Ras Jahsee of the Lion of Judah House of Rastafari.****
Rastafari love and blessed Holydays and New Year to everyone.
Thank you for your individual efforts and personal struggles to defend cannabis in Wisconsin.
Although I hold the position that cannabis is already lawful via our state and federal constitutions, we share the same oppressive, systematic, unjust treatment regarding our cannabis use as a community.
I write to provide a brief update in this letter, with further details available in the attached video release on YouTube.
After nearly six years and no attorney, the state has still not brought me to trial for charges stemming from May 2019. Our church, Lion of Judah House of Rastafari, like other churches and cannabis THC businesses in Wisconsin and across the USA, has been endorsed as legitimate for all cannabis THC activities, as stated in our state-endorsed paperwork.
However, Judge Ellen Berz—whose unjust treatment and recent meltdowns have been widely reported—has refused to dismiss the charges, despite the state conceding to all points and facts in our dismissal motion.
Key points include:
Admissions from the state that they converted THCA into delta-9 THC.
They used a cocaine and heroin test to analyze our sacramental cannabis.
The state tested the cannabis 5.5 years after seizure, in conditions where chemical composition degraded due to heat, time, and improper storage.
They possess a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) proving I was in possession of at least some hemp sacrament but refuse to acknowledge their error.
Trial Date: January 14, 15, 16 - I hope you can attend, bring others, and share this information on social media.
The previous judge on my case was Kris Taylor, who sponsored the 100% state-control cannabis bill—a clear conflict of interest, as she was appointed by Governor Tony Evers.
I am defending our collective right in Wisconsin to use cannabis for sincere religious purposes and according to our own adult good conscience.
Separately, I am defending the current lawful possession of cannabis, hemp, and THC, which is already legal without question federally and specifically in Wisconsin under the Hemp Pilot Program and the Hemp Bill of 2019.
This issue is simple, yet the state has deliberately tried to obscure it with complexity, slander, and libel—not only against me but against many members of the cannabis community.
Do you value our country's law of separation of church and state?
Do you support our constitutional freedom of religion and free exercise of conscience?
Do you stand for equal protection under the law?
Do you support someone who is risking their life, freedom, and respect to defend our collective right to cannabis?
Now is the time to act:
Write to Judge Ellen Berz.
Show up in court on January 14, 15, and 16.
Share this information widely.
The Rastafari Church is all-denominational, welcoming all races, walks of life, and even those who have stumbled. It is a community of diverse backgrounds and shared struggles.
For the full details of the case and the journey of the past six years—or 26 years if you include my travels to Jamaica and Africa to meet Rastafari Elders—please watch the linked YouTube video.
Once again, thank you for all your efforts.
"Behold, the conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah has prevailed, to open the seals" (Revelation 5:5).
Hope to see you on January 14, 15, 16, as we bust down Babylon one more time.
Ras Jahsee
Lion of Judah House of Rastafari