Amtrak ousts Rastafarian over Tucson pot use

Henry Brown, who goes by his Rastafarian name Aminifu, said Amtrak officials threw a wrench in his holiday travel plans from Los Angeles to Texas so he could spend Christmas with his family when they kicked him off the train Monday in downtown Tucson.

“The train stopped in Tucson so some people got off to smoke cigarettes,” Brown, 65, said yesterday afternoon outside the Joel D. Valdez Main Library downtown. “And I went to the delicatessen and got a snack. And then I was ready to do my morning devotionals, which I do every morning.”

Brown, who has practiced Rasta since 1975, found a secluded part of the train yard to smoke his marijuana.

“So when I went to get on the train, an agent comes and shows me his badge,” Brown said.

The agent smelled marijuana and asked Brown if he was carrying the drug, Brown said.

“I told him I didn’t because I just had that one morning devotional piece,” he said.

Brown told the agent his story and wanted to show him his tax returns listing him as the head priest at the First Church of Rasta and his medical marijuana card.

“We’re legitimate with the federal government. Because of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, we can possess and use marijuana for our sacraments,” Brown said.

But when the agent and Brown arrived at his seat, Brown’s possessions had been gathered up and removed by Amtrak personnel.

“All my stuff was already taken off,” he said.

Brown protested the decision, but Amtrak wasn’t buying it.

“I made speeches, but they eventually ejected me off,” he said.

An Amtrak spokesman said even though various states have passed laws legalizing marijuana and medical marijuana, the company’s policy reflects federal law.

“Amtrak views marijuana use and possession as an illegal act in violation of federal law,” spokesman Craig Schulz said.

Amtrak’s smoking policy states that “the use or transportation of marijuana for any purpose is prohibited, even in states where recreational use is legal or permitted medically.”

As for Brown, he was going to rent a $35-a-night hotel room recommended by a cabdriver and hope for some good news this morning.

Brown said his iPad was still on the train and he didn’t have a cellphone, limiting his ability to contact friends and family, although he managed to call his sister, who is waiting on word about the fate of his iPad, he said.

But with travel prices and demand spiking near Christmas, Brown wasn’t sure how he would get to Texas.

“Now, everything is sky-high and booked up,” he said. “So I’m stuck in Tucson.”