This card will be just as effective at preventing your arrest for cannabis as the THC Ministry's ID Card
Roger Christie is the head of an organization in Hawaii calling itself The Hawai’i Cannabis Ministry. According to their website, “We use Cannabis religiously and you can, too.” For a mere $50 donation, you can become a “Practitioner” and you will receive a plaque, an “affidavit of religious use”, two ID cards, and seven “Sacramental Plant Tags”. For just $250, you get a “Sanctuary Kit” which also includes the “THC Minsitry [sic] Cannabis and Religion Guide”.
These ID cards and plant tags, according to Christie’s organization, are all you need to show you are religious user of cannabis and that you are immune from federal, state, and local arrest and prosecution because your religious beliefs are protected by the First Amendment. See, it’s just that simple; we could end the 850,000+ annual arrests for marijuana violations if only every pot smoker sent in $50 for a laminated ID card from Hawai’i.
At least, that was the understanding of a 25-year-old man in Colorado named Trevor Douglass:
{Georgetown, CO} — Trevor Douglass, a 25-year-old Avon, Colorado resident, is fighting his charges of marijuana possession based on his religious use of cannabis as a sacrament. His case goes to trial on Tuesday, March 9, 2010, in the Clear Creek Courthouse in Georgetown at 2pm.
Trevor was pulled over for having an expired vehicle registration in Clear Creek County in August 2009. The deputy claimed he smelled cannabis in the vehicle. Trevor admitted that there was some aromatic cannabis inside the vehicle, and voluntarily gave it to the officer. Trevor explained to the officer that he uses cannabis for religious purposes.
Remember, this is in Colorado, where Douglass could get a medical recommendation for cannabis use, a registration card from the state of Colorado, and actually be protected from arrest and prosecution. But since Douglass has his magical religious Get Out Of Jail Free (or, at least, for $50) Card, he felt perfectly at ease driving a vehicle with expired tags while carrying cannabis in a non-smell-proof container in the driver’s area of the vehicle and surrendering it to the officer without a lawful search. Because, after all, that’s what religious people do… think of all the Roman Catholics who get pulled over with an open bottle of wine or all the Native Americans who get pulled over with a baggie of peyote on the front seat. You never know when you’ll need to pull over on the highway and engage in some religious sacrament.
Trevor admits that he was guilty of having expired registration and had it immediately renewed after his citation. However, he will defend himself against the charges of possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana and for possession of paraphernalia. Trevor uses cannabis religiously and believes that both acts should be protected by the Constitution.
Remember, this is in Colorado, where possession is decriminalized, a petty offense with a maximum fine of $100. So Douglass will have spent $50 on his Get Out Of Jail Free card and a few hours of his and the court’s time to get out of a $100 ticket.
Trevor feels so strongly about his beliefs that he is taking his case to trial. He missed the deadline to pay his $25 jury fee, so he will be tried by the Honorable Judge Rachel J. Olguin-Fresquez. Trevor cannot afford an attorney, so he is representing himself.
Which makes sense, since he’s already out $50 for a laminated card, a plaque, and some zip ties. But not to worry, Douglass is representing himself in a case that, if decided in his favor, would shatter existing US Supreme Court precedent regarding the complex Constitutional issues around First Amendment freedom of religion and the Controlled Substances Act. Never mind that civil rights attorneys who went to law school and studied and litigated the issue for decades now have been unable to get one single US court to recognize a First Amendment right cannabis as a sacrament. Douglass has a magic ID card and a Hawai’ian website on his side.
In a statement to the Court, Trevor wrote: “The religious use of cannabis is mandated by my god, just as wine and bread are used by Christians or peyote used by Indians. Cannabis has been used by my family for generations for prayer, communion, healing and spiritual enlightenment. My religion is that of my fathers. My religious beliefs are protected by our Constitution and the Church ID I showed Trooper Graham clearly states so.”
And I have no doubt that Douglass believes that. The THC Ministry has a list of links to Legal Precedents they believe guarantee the religious right to use cannabis, including the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act that has led to favorable decisions for Native Americans who use peyote, Brazilian Indians who use ayahuasca, and the inference that a Rastafarian in Guam might be able to possess marijuana in Guam, even though he was convicted and punished for importing marijuana into Guam.
But here’s the point upon which all attempts to recognize a First Amendment right to religious cannabis use have failed:
The Sherbert Test consists of four criteria that are used to determine if an individual’s right to religious free exercise has been violated by the government. The test is as follows:
For the individual, the court must determine
- whether the person has a claim involving a sincere religious belief, and
- whether the government action is a substantial burden on the person’s ability to act on that belief.
If these two elements are established, then the government must prove
- that it is acting in furtherance of a “compelling state interest,” and
- that it has pursued that interest in the manner least restrictive, or least burdensome, to religion.
So in order for Douglass to prevail, the court would have to find that ordering a $50 laminated card over the internet represents a “sincere religious belief”. If that’s true, then certainly proscribing that religion’s sacrament would create a substantial burden for the believer; however, the “compelling state interest” of maintaining cannabis prohibition for the non-religious would be impossible if all the 22 million American cannabis users only had to order a $50 card on the internet. Furthermore, the ban on cannabis is applied equally to the religious and non-religious and nothing about banning cannabis seriously impacts the practices of religion other than the sacrament.
In other words, it’s OK for Native Americans and Brazilian Indians to use peyote and ayahuasca because it is clear through generations of history and ritual that these tribes have a sincere religious belief (even without paying $50 for a Get Out Of Jail Free card) and peyote and ayahuasca are so rarely used by the non-religious that allowing them the sacraments doesn’t substantially burden the government in its “compelling state interest” to keep those drugs illegal for the non-religious. But cannabis is so widely used by people of so many religions and backgrounds and the non-religious that granting a religious exemption would suddenly result in 22 million newly-religious Americans.
Shorter: Your God’s sacrament is too popular, so you can’t use it.
Now before the Rastas, Coptic Christians, and others pile on about the sincerity of their religion and sacrament, let me emphasize: I believe you and I agree with you. If the First Amendment doesn’t mean we have the right to expand our consciousness without government interference, it’s not worth the hemp paper it was drafted on. I truly do believe and support a religious right to use cannabis because I think it is part of the overall human right to use cannabis.
However, my opinions are not matched in law, precedent, or opinion by any court in the United States, and I’m not going to take $50 from you for the promise my opinions will keep you out of jail.
UPDATE: I received my callback from the court clerk in Clear Creek (try saying that three times fast):
- Unregistered Vehicle (violation) = GUILTY, $35 fine
- Possession of < 1 ounce of marijuana = GUILTY, $100 fine (suspended)
- Possession of drug paraphernalia = GUILTY, $100 fine, 15 hours of community service
I wonder if Roger Christie will be mailing to Trevor a refund for his $50 Religious Defense card and $135 (plus fees & court costs) he now owes the county?
UPDATE II: Oh, this just gets funnier… or more tragic, depending on how you look at it. This just in from The Church of Lighter Wallets:
Judge Fresquez reasoned that Trevor’s acts were not part of an “organized” religion. She said that what Trevor was engaging in was more philosophical beliefs than organized religion. She said since the Church of Universal Sacraments, a Hilo campus-based church, was now defunct, that Trevor could not claim he was a member. She also said that since Trevor’s affiliation with the THC Ministry came after his citation, it was not relevant to the case.
So we have a guy caught with less than an ounce of weed in a decrim state, where the fine would be only $100, who then decides to send in $50 after the bust to get out of the charge. He claims that and his membership in a defunct church demonstrate his “sincere religious beliefs”.
I’m not comfortable with government deciding what is and isn’t a real religion. I don’t think my self-determined spiritual beliefs, lack of affiliation with others who think like me, and the fact I have no ancient holy book make my First Amendment rights to freedom of religion any less valid than the billions of Christians or even the thousands of Rastafarians, for that matter. I think our system takes the word religion too literally, as if the Enlightenment-era Deists who wrote the Bill of Rights were carving an exception only for those who put on nice clothes and go to a specific building once a week to sing praises to a deity written about in millennia-old folklore. I think freedom of religion really means freedom of thought, freedom of conscience, and freedom of identity, so long as that practice does not interfere with the rights of others.
But once again, I know the difference between my opinions of the ideal and the facts of reality. The courts have shown time and again they aren’t going to accept a religious use of cannabis defense, period. That doesn’t mean earnest people shouldn’t still take those cases to court, but it’s not going to be a 25-year-old white guy named “Trevor” in Colorado caught with a baggie and a pipe in the driver’s area of his car who bought a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card after his arrest that is going to set that precedent. Maybe an elderly dreadlocked Ethiopian immigrant Rastafarian caught with a personal amount while kneeling in ceremonial prayer in a temple has a slim shot at some sort of judicial relief… maybe, but I doubt it.
And I would never take $50 of your money to tell you:
- Do you have a THC Ministry id card, yet? They work under ‘arrest conditions’ to help set people free. Zero arrest. Zero court. Zero jail. All good.
- Is your THC Ministry paperwork in place? Is our id card in your wallet along with your wallet id from the Universal Life Church as a minister? Is there a sacrament ‘tag’ in with your ’stash’? Are your plants identified with our all-weather plant tags? Is there a Sanctuary sign on the wall near the inside of your front door? Is there another one in your greenhouse? If so, sleep well tonight and every night.
- Remember: your religious freedom ‘defense to prosecution’ is good for the rest of your life. It’s always working for you 24/7 – forever. Year after year after year.
- We have had a total of ZERO negative experiences with those who have used our kit. As far as we know we have a perfect track record and we want to keep it that way, for your benefit and ours.
- Enjoy more ‘peace of mind’. Say good-bye to fear and shame and worry over herb. Start feeling really good about yourself and your herb enjoyment. You are safe and loved. All is well.
Unless your name is Trevor Douglass.
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[...] Trevor Douglass sent $50 to Roger for his card, argued his religious use, lost, was fined $135 + court costs and given 15 hours of community service… in Colorado, where decrim fought for by NORML would have made it just a $100 ticket. (http://stash.norml.org/yet-another-member-of-the-church-of-lighter-wallets-about-to-lose-a-religious…) [...]
[...] Trevor Douglass sent $50 to Roger for his card, argued his religious use, lost, was fined $135 + court costs and given 15 hours of community service… in Colorado, where decrim fought for by NORML would have made it just a $100 ticket. (http://stash.norml.org/yet-another-member-of-the-church-of-lighter-wallets-about-to-lose-a-religious…) [...]
I don’t know about you, but I spend most of my time in court and administrative cases and I’m winning. I won my case against the Board of Pharmacy last April 2009 and got a favorable ruling from the Board of Pharmacy in February 2010. No wonder I think I have something going.
Amazing. I post two separate stories on cannabis and religion, and between them they’ve generated over 100 comments, easily 50% of them from Carl Olsen.
Meanwhile, articles I post about actual, tangible, provable things regarding cannabis may generate five comments apiece, if I’m lucky.
If all the people who spent time and energy arguing over what God thinks about cannabis spent that time instead lobbying over what their neighbor thought about cannabis, you’d have the right to your sacrament already.
We’ve heard it before. The Jews were the ones who accused Christ, so the fact that pot smokers hate us is the same old story.
I never claimed to represent anyone but my self.
A regular guy, a smoker, not a lawyer.
I state my opinion based on what I know.
The more the distance between you guys and future MJ reform the better.
Who is worthy to defend my right to life and liberty? You? I’ve been hearing this all my life (people telling me I’m not worthy to fight for my own rights). You fight for your rights and I’ll fight for mine. You are not worth to represent me.
You answered nothing, you rather lie by omitting facts, a true esquire….
To be clear, I support your right to smoke weed for what ever reason you please.
IT is clear that your lack of support didn’t start with me. Many, smarter than me, have heard your rant before and chose to not be involved with you and maybe your cause.
I think that you and your peers in this argument are very passionate about your cause and thats great.
The thing with Passion is that it can also be BLINDING.
I believe you may be so blinded that you can’t seen reason and reality. (Some might call it crazy)
You’ve been So involved for SO long that any argument that in any way doesn’t fall in line with your agenda is a threat.
I’m not saying that your agenda isn’t worthy, It’s just that your not worthy of the agenda.
Your no longer affective as spokesman for your cause, possibly hurting more than helping.
Thanks to Carl and Rev and you Pat, for this entertaining bit of conversation over the last few days.
Rev I’m not quite on board with all your beliefs but I think you have represented well, those of us who are interested in Marijuana Freedom for everyone. You’ve taken the high road, when it would have been easy to fall.
To the others, just realize that all this has gained you more foe than friends when it Could have brought good attention to your cause.
Despite your personal feelings about NORML, MPP, etc. they are your best chance at ever seeing religious freedom, Like it or Not.
You have successfully ensured that you’ll get no support from these groups, and their 1000′s of supporters, in the future. Good Job!
No, I wont keep doing this back and forth with you. It’s pointless!
Smoke your weed and be happy!
Peace to all,
Adam
As the Iowa Board of Pharmacy ruled on July 21, 2009, “Olsen is, after all, the same person who argued in federal court that unloading 40,000 pounds of marijuana from an ocean going vessel is equivalent to ceremonial use of peyote by Native Americans.”
Actually, Keith Stroup is not the only one who wants to avoid defending religious use of cannabis. The Marijuana Policy Project was offering a grant to help with a religious case until I applied for it. My case, Olsen v. DEA, 878 F.2d 1458 (D.C. Cir. 1989), is cited in the majority of religious claims for marijuana as the reason for denying the claim. Nobody wants to have the guy who got busted with 20 tons of marijuana and claimed it was sacrament as a client, other than a conservative Christian civil rights organization known as the Rutherford Institute that paid my legal expenses on my last go around, Olsen v. Mukasey, 541 F.3d 827 (8th Cir. 2008). I’ve also been rejected by the ACLU, the Drug Policy Alliance, and on and on. Since the war on marijuana users is driven by religous rhetoric claiming marijuana is evil, it makes sense that marijuana users are gun shy of religion. If your religion is not politically correct, it isn’t accepted. Justice Scalia even said so in Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872, 890 (1990) (“It may fairly be said that leaving accommodation to the political process will place at a relative disadvantage those religious practices that are not widely engaged in; …”).
Hey Adam, I was waiting for a response, any?
I’ve tried to use both of those cases, Guerrero and yours, as well as United States v. Bauer, and lost in the Eighth Circuit. Trying to use those cases in the Eighth CIrcuit is like trying to use medical marijuana in a state that does not have a medical marijuana law. The law only applies to certain areas of the country. I’m very happy for your victory, but this is still far from being over. Guerrero never took his case to the U.S. Supreme Court, and neither did you. I did, and I lost. I took my religious claim to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1990 and again in 2009. The court refused to provide me the protection of the First Amendment in 1990, and refused to provide me the protection of RFRA in 2009. The standard is threat to public health and safety. The courts where I live are going along with Reefer Madness, which just assumes harm without any actual proof of any harm.
In this world many people practice many different religions and our founding Fathers knew as to make the freedom to choose one or another the very first 10 words of our Bill of Rights. They didn’t put a freedom to choose a medicine, they specified, religion. It is impossible to know exactly why they chose religion as our first right as a citizen, but they did.
My choice to use cannabis as a sacrament or a medicine should be accepted either way, since the only “victim”, is myself. I am not here to make Roger look any other way then the Creator wants him to be seen, or yourself, I am here to speak the truth.
The truth needs to be told about certain aspects of NORML, and I will tell you a couple things that bother me, try and prove me wrong.
I have been bamboozled by more then one lawyer listed on NORML’s website, so called 420 attorneys. They show up when the time is convenient and they answer to a higher power inside of the NORML pool of lawyers. They don’t charge reduced rates, at least not to anyone I know that has used any of them, they actually charge more. They like to take plea bargains rather then fight the case in trial. I have had a patient serve 6 months in jail for 4 plants just because he had an expired rec. He payed $15,000 for a plea bargain and 6 months in jail, ouch.
As to what NORML has done for actual legalization, you jumped from what happened in the 1970′s with some states decriminalizing cannabis to 1998 when some NORML employees who jumped ship actually made some headlines. What happened to the 20 something years in between?
I have had conversations with Keith Stroup and Allen St. Pierre, both said to me four years ago that NORML will never support the religious use of cannabis. I believe that this type of thinking has been trickling down for years in the organization known as NORML.
Carl:
Guam Vs. Geurrero found that the possesion of cannabis was legal as it pertains to the religious practice of Rastafarians, but the importation was not, which is ridiculous but it’s the ruling.
The case I was involved in the judge said :
“At most, defendants’ testimony suggests that Rastafarians cannot practice their religion without some freedom to possess marijuana, but the Regulation criminalizes the possession of marijuana only in national parks. Since the Regulation does not forbid Forchion and Duff from possessing marijuana outside of national parks, it creates no impediment to the free exercise of their faith in their homes, their houses of worship, or other non-federal locations. With so many alternative places to practice Rastafarianism, the ban on marijuana possession in national parks does not force Forchion and Duff to choose between abandoning their faith and facing criminal prosecution. Thus, Judge Rapoport did not clearly err in finding that the Regulation did not substantially burden their religious beliefs.”
I don’t know how you read that but every attorney who does admits that gives me the right to practice my religion in my home, house of worship or and non-federal location.
Ciao
I just don’t get it !?!?
First off, If you think NORML is getting some one rich your ignorant as hell! All the financial records for NORML are available on-line for anyone to dig through… I have, no ones getting rich!
Are the Churches records public? Most church leaders make a “fair” salary….
The Legal committee is made up of Lawyers across the country who support Marijuana Reform and do tons of work for a reduced rate or FREE.
You brag about a 106-7 record in court cases, My guess is that number would be drowned in the flood of cases defended and won by the NORML lawyers in 30 years of work. If I ever get busted I’m calling a NORML lawyer not a strip mall church with good intentions but no real defense in court.
I see these folks all pissed off and upset by this story. NORML didn’t make this news. Norml reported this story just like many blogs and news sites, the listeners dictate much of the Stash sites content.
The Cannabis community made this news.
This in it’s self says to me that anyone who wants a card and be a member of this church, NO need to actually “believe” to qualify. You did a nice thing by trying to help this guy but if I can see right through this attempt to hide behind a religious defense, so will any Judge or Jury.
You may have been being nice, but it bit you in the Butt.
In the future you should be more careful who you allow to “USE” your church and it’s good name in this way.
I personal think this guy is an idiot who was smoking weed with no idea of the laws in his state, If he had he could have made much better decisions in his defense.
This story isn’t embarrassing because NORML reported the story or because Russ shared his opinions.
This is embarrassing because someone within your church showed poor judgment.
There is no NORML conspiracy, no Lawyer’s making bank and no hard feeling from NORML to your church.
Give up the pity party and realize that NORML is here to help us and you! Don’t make this into a competition, I don’t think it’s the right thing to do.
BTW: Patrick Duff make you look bad too, his comments haven’t helped your case in this matter!
Adam
Hello Russ,
Aloha. A point well taken. You’ve quoted a very old page of my website that obviously needs to be updated. Thank you for that.
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Hey there Patrick, aloha! Great to see you ‘here’. Thanks for the kind words of support. Love and respect to you, brother.
Roger
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Everyone gets a defense to Cannabis charges in court. What’s YOURS?
‘Getting high’ is a spiritual activity.
The First Amendment protects (many) spiritual practices.
People must be convicted beyond a reasonable doubt.
Membership in the THC Ministry can provide that ‘doubt’.
My ordainment is real.
The church I was ordained in was declared “bona fide” by Hawai’i Courts many years ago.
My license to marry people specifically as a “Cannabis sacrament” Minister is good for life.
Comity. States often accept other state’s licenses.
The world history of Cannabis sacramental use is legendary for millenia.
If Cannabis is truly a person’s sacrament, then that’s their TRUTH. Combined with the other points it makes the best defense to prosecution that I know of. What’s any better?
Again; what’s YOUR defense for using Cannabis? Getting high? See my point?
All the best to everyone,
Roger Christie, Founder
THC Ministry
http://www.thc-ministry
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Bob Randall won his medical marijuana case in federal court. We have two people on our board of directors who use marijuana legally here because of Bob Randall. Both of them are authorized by state and federal law to use marijuana. I not only see them use marijuana in public, I have permits from the state police allowing them to use it at the state capitol building. Although some federal courts have found a right to use marijuana, like Guam v. Guerrero, Guerro actually lost that case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit because the court said importation was not protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). I’ve read your case and it simply says the court must hold a hearing on a RFRA claim. The court in your case never actually had the hearing.
http://www.ethiopianzioncopticchurch.org/Cases/forchion.aspx
In a way, yes I’d love to be banned since I have only made two or three small postings and it might be my record for getting banned so quickly. In another way, I’d like to show people that your argument is wrong, but you’ll ban me if I go on my current train of thought. I am in kind of a catch 22, don’t you think?
I am not here to argue with you, but when you take cheap shots at people I consider to be at the top of our movement in both knowledge and action, I call your bluff.
PS: You don’t know how to read our decision in my Liberty Bell case, because we won the right to practice our religion in our “Homes, house of worship, or any other NON-federal location”.
That’s one religious victory, another is Guam Vs. Guerrero. So please show me a medical case that has won in a federal court?
Not yet. You want to be?
Am I banned again?
We can start with the states in the 1970s that decriminalized marijuana.
Then there’s the MassCann/NORML folks who passed 30 decrim resolutions in cities in Massachusetts, leading to MPP-sponsored decrim in that state in 2008 (and let’s not forget, MPP was formed by former NORML employees who only got their connections and database from NORML)
Medical marijuana laws in Oregon have been defended and expanded thanks to the work of Oregon NORML.
Michigan NORML members worked hard to get medical marijuana passed there.
New Jersey NORML was instrumental in lobbying for medical marijuana in that state.
PhillyNORML and Pittsburgh NORML are lobbying in Pennsylvania and Madison NORML in Wisconsin for medical marijuana bills they had a large part in writing.
Then there are the archives of news and our NORML white papers, testimony, interviews, that have contributed to the education of lawmakers and the general public regarding the truth about cannabis. That’s just off the top of my head in response to an ignorant and insulting demand.
Jack Herer, Dennis Peron, and even Roger Christie, in his work with to get lowest-law-enforcement-priority passed in Hawaii County, are all great activists who have done wonderful things to further legalization. I don’t begrudge any of them – why do you feel the need to attack NORML?
I’m not going to go another bunch of rounds with you Patrick; I’m not letting you hijack threads in a forum that NORML supporters donate money to support to allow you to trash NORML. There are plenty of other forums where that dialogue will be welcome.
But I will, once again, try to make it exceedingly clear what I am against:
If you want to have a cannabis church, I will defend it to the end.
If you want to take donations from believers and give them a laminated card, I’m even cool with that.
All I am upset about is the sales pitch: “Join our church, get this card, and YOU’LL NEVER BE ARRESTED AND NEVER GO TO JAIL”.
You wanna sell the card and say, “We believe in cannabis sacrament. This card affirms your membership in our church. However, US courts have not yet recognized our rights. Your act of joining the church and participating in sacrament is an act of civil disobedience, since no legal religious use to cannabis has yet been recognized in the United States. You may use your church membership as a religious defense to charges, but we cannot guarantee that police and courts will recognize this right, so you may be subject to arrest and trial.” then I am 100% on your side and defending the people who get these cards.
It’s not the religion I have a problem with, it’s the fraud.
Tell me what state law NORML has changed or lead the charge in changing? Also, give me a list of their accomplishments in the legalization movement and compare it to three people, Jack Herer, Dennis Perron and Roger Christie. Who has done more for the legalization, those three or NORML?
If you’re going to admit your record is 106-7, then Roger, the least you could do is change these false claims on your website:
Do you have a THC Ministry id card, yet? They work under ‘arrest conditions’ to help set people free. Zero arrest. Zero court. Zero jail. All good.
We have had a total of ZERO negative experiences with those who have used our kit. As far as we know we have a perfect track record and we want to keep it that way, for your benefit and ours.
Aloha. To help set the record straight; Trevor Douglas was NOT a member of the THC Ministry when he was ticketed for possession and expired tags. I made him a member a few weeks ago to assist the young man in his legal situation. He donated zero. He did get lots of publicity for the righteous cause of spiritual use of Cannabis sacrament for his small kine trouble.
It’s free to join the THC Ministry. We ask for donations to support our shared cause, and for document packages, holy anointing oil, etc., etc. What’s not to like?
THC Ministry has been partly responsible for approximately 106 ‘wins’ for Cannabis charges and approximately 7 losses to date. Who else can beat that record of accomplishment?
All the best to everyone,
Roger Christie, Founder
THC Ministry
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[...] Some guy thought a “Cannabis Ministry” religious use card would exempt him from arrest. Oops. [...]
Membership in a church should be free. The church can set up a legal committee and ask for donations to pay for the work it will take to get a legal declaration from the state and federal government that the church is lawful to its sacrament. Check out the history of the Native American Church for instructions on how to get this accomplished.
If you study the history of the religious peyote exemption, you’ll find it was written into the drug laws when they were created. The religious peyote exemption was not put there after the fact because someone got arrested. The Native American Church saw drug prohibition coming in 1918 and got their exemption written into it right from the beginning. That took a lot of planning and work. How much work goes into getting arrested?
I agree with everyone that religious freedom should make all of this work unnecessary, but the reality is there in the history of the religious peyote exemption. It’s there because some folks did a lot of work to get it there. That is going to be what it takes to get a religious exemption for cannabis, a lot of work up front.
Good one, Russ.
Agree with it all.
If they want to throw their money away, good luck.
I’d rather send that money to NORML.
Very good point. Remember, I don’t dismiss the religious use; I dismiss the notion that it will work in our courts the way precedent is set on the issue.
We really don’t have religous freedom in this country or this case would never have made it to this website.