Babylon caught me with an ounce of cali..

http://www.mycaribbeannews.com/entertain/111203.htm''

Banton Pleads Innocent to Pot Charges

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - Grammy nominee Buju Banton pleaded innocent to marijuana charges in a Jamaican court.

Police were conducting routine anti-drug raids in Jamaica's capital last week and officers found three fully grown marijuana plants in the entertainer's home weighing 2 pounds, authorities said.

A police official initially said officers found 30 plants. Officers arrested Banton and released him Wednesday on his own recognizance.

He pleaded innocent Monday in Resident Magistrate's Court to marijuana possession and cultivation charges, which carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail and fines. He posted $3,000 bail and was scheduled to appear in court again on Jan. 9.

Banton's "Friends for Life" album was nominated Thursday for best reggae album at the 46th annual Grammy Awards, set for Feb. 8 at the Staples Center arena in Los Angeles.

Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, angered gay rights groups in the United States several years ago, is scheduled to appear in Magistrate's Court to answer the charges on Monday.

Banton first gained prominence as a teenager in the early 1990s when he recorded several songs, including "Batty Rider" and "Boom Bye Bye," which condemned homosexuality and glorified the shooting of gay men.

He converted to Rastafarianism in 1994 and the following year released the roots-reggae "'Til Shiloh" album which became a minor hit in the United States, but a block buster in the Caribbean and Europe.

While on tour in the United States to promote the album in 1995, gay rights groups, including the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, denounced "Boom Bye Bye" and called on sponsors not to support Banton's music.

His "Inna Heights" album was nominated for a Grammy in 1999. Banton's latest album, "Friends For Life," was released in the United States in March.