Ziggy Marley, the son of late legendary Jamaican singer, Bob Marley has revealed he started smoking marijuana at the age of nine, with the blessing of his father.
The 50-year-old, who followed in his father’s footsteps to become a musician is a Rastafarian like his reggae legend father, who died in 1981 at a young age of 36.
According to The Daily Mail, the singer who is also a dad admitted he was ‘too young’ to start smoking the hard drug but said it was always a common thing in the Rastafarian culture. Ziggy told Reader’s Digest:
”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.”
He further admitted that if not for his father’s blessing he wouldn’t have started smoking at a young age. He explained:
”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.”
Ziggy explained that he didn’t smoke marijuana for ‘fun’ and instead used it to heighten his spirituality. He added:
”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.”
Ziggy recently launched a campaign to encourage users to “grow your own” in a bid to rid pot of pesticides as he wants to ensure the weed he inhales is organic. He said at the time:
“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.”
