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Title: All Hail The Chronic: Introducing Bizarre Pot Churches
Source:
DailyWire
URL Source: https://www.dailywire.com/news/2581 ... bizarre-pot-churches-paul-bois
Published: Jan 13, 2018
Author: Paul Bois
Post Date: 2018-01-13 10:27:09 by Tooconservative
Keywords: None
Views: 1357
Comments: 6
Prepare ye, the way of the chronic. Welcome to the age of marijuana-laden church services, where stoners gather to worship God by getting high, according to California Healthline. “Breathe deep and blow harder," Pastor Grant Atwell tells those in his congregation as he passes out marijuana joints. “Nail the insight down, whether you get it from marijuana or prayer. Consider what in your own life you are thankful for.” “Thank you, God, for the weed,” responds a middle-aged man. “I’m thankful for the spirit of cannabis,” says one woman. “I am grateful to be alive,” says another. Though the church adopts some Christian symbolism and phrases, their beliefs stand more in line with Unitarian Universalists than anything else, describing itself as a "Rastafarian church." "Rastafari is a political and religious movement that originated in Jamaica," notes California Healthline. "Combining elements of Christianity, pan-Africanism and mysticism, the movement has no central authority. Adherents use marijuana in their rituals." Throughout California, such "Rastafari" churches have popped up in Oakland, Roseville, Modesto, San Diego County, Orange County, and Los Angeles County. Similar churches have opened in Indiana, Michigan, and Colorado. In states where marijuana is still illegal, congregants argue the same "court rulings that made it possible for some groups, including Native Americans, to use federally banned drugs like peyote in their religious ceremonies" allow them to smoke pot as a sacrament. A coalition of Native American churches has disavowed such "Rastafari" churches in response. “Marijuana churches have brought religious liberty claims for years, and they have always lost,” says Douglas Laycock, a University of Virginia Law School professor specializing in religious liberty issues. “Marijuana is a huge recreational drug, and a religious exception … would make enforcement nearly impossible. So the courts have always found a compelling government interest in marijuana enforcement.” That may be subject to change, however, as more states legalize marijuana. “Legalization changes everything,” he said. “Religious use may not violate state law in some of these states. And if it does, legalizing recreational use but not religious use clearly discriminates against religion.”
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#2. To: Tooconservative (#0)
Satan is always busy.
#3. To: IbJensen (#2)
(Edited)
I think these pot churches will be wedge litigants to overcome the last holdouts against legalizing pot in all 50 states. Medical pot? Recreational pot? How about religious pot instead? TheSheet: TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE!!! Do You Know There Is A Church That Worships Marijuana In Indiana? Because the church has been deemed a charity, donors can deduct gifts made to the church on federal tax returns, and when the cannabis congregation finds a location, it will be eligible for a property tax exemption — even though neither medical nor recreational marijuana is legal in the state of Indiana. . . . Levin, a 59-year-old carpenter, started the church on March 26, 2015, to push the limits of Indiana’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which prohibits the government from “substantially burdening” anyone’s right to exercise his or her religion. Earlier this year, the controversial bill sparked protests from gay rights groups claiming it would allow for businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbians citing religious beliefs. Levin also protested the bill, but said that in signing it, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence provided the “fertilizer” that allowed his new religion to bloom. “After Pence made the announcement that he would sign it in a private ceremony, I became born again,” Levin said. . . . Note how they want to use RFRA laws to promote their legal pot use in a state that still outlaws it. And they will try to use the IRS religious donation as well.
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