On December the 10th 2009, Buju Banton was arrested at his Tamarac, Florida home allegedly trying to purchase more than 5 kilograms of cocaine from undercover officers. Banton plead not guilty to the charges of conspiracy to possess and intent to distribute cocaine. The loss of Buju’s freedom on U.S federal charges has the power to further sully his image internationally and subsequently trickle down to affect the reggae/dancehall brand globally. Buju Banton did one song, 18 years ago, which has haunted, or stifled, his career for the past several years. The gay community has used Buju among other Jamaican artistes as a rallying point for publicity for their issues. It has to be acknowledged that Buju’s musical and spiritual journey has taken him far from his early recordings but unfortunately those activists will not make the issue die. The reason why I even mention Buju’s never-ending fight with the gay activist groups is that by all accounts at the time of his arrest Buju was at his Florida residence preparing to come home after a U.S. tour which was dubbed successful however was hit with protests and cancellations at various venues across the country. After his arrest, on various websites and message boards, many people have commented that this is actually chickens coming home to roost for Buju and are correlating his 18 year old recording with his subsequent arrest. So while all of his detractors are in celebratory mood, I must ask that we, the dancehall community, must come together and support Gargamel and although we all detest the ‘white lady’, cocaine for the uniformed, we should remember that all the facts are not in and Buju Banton has not be convicted of anything. Fast forward a couple of months and the Banton is once again the focus of the American legal system. This time the allegations are that Buju has lost significant weight while being detained in the Pinellas County Jail because he was denied the vegetarian diet he requires for religious reasons. However the jail officials counters that Buju has actually gained weight in prison. On top of that, a lawyer for Buju filed a motion saying his client had been placed in maximum security because he "had the audacity to share his food with another inmate." According to Pinellas sheriff's Capt. Mark Fletcher he couldn't tell from the records whether Banton shared his commissary purchases with others, which would be a violation of jail rules. "Food is money in jail," Fletcher said. "It's a commodity. We have to make sure it goes where it's supposed to." But Fletcher insists that Buju has not been placed in maximum security. He said Banton is being kept in an older part of the jail where the security arrangements are different, but not punitive. Fletcher said deputies moved Banton after he argued with a corporal who told him not to give his food away. As with these cases generally the truth on both sides lies somewhere in the middle. Buju Banton has been a polorazing figure internationally throughout his career and even while he is incarcerated he still commands the public's attention. Watch this space