roger williams1

The Healing Church Smokes Weed at Roger Williams National Monument

Yesterday, on May 17th 2015, a group of five people gathered for a religious ceremony at the Roger Williams National Monument in Providence, Rhode Island. Such a small crowd might have gone unnoticed and unreported, but for the fact that they were members of The Healing Church — and they were smoking weed.
The setting is most appropriate: Roger Williams was an early settler and Protestant Reformer who founded the town of Providence in 1636, after he was exiled from Salem, Massachusetts for preaching unpopular doctrines. Those ideas that were so demonized are sacred to us now, such as the separation of church and state, the abolition of slavery, and the rights of Native Americans. The monument that bears his name also enshrines the values of universal human rights and religious freedom.
So it’s only fitting that The Healing Church would choose it as a place of worship.
The religious ceremony was led by Anne Armstrong, ordained minister since 2002. She led the group in prayer, which included smoking marijuana and annointing members foreheads with cannabis oil. It didn’t take long for park officials to take notice, and soon enough a park ranger came to inquire. They told the church members that they could not violate the Controlled Substances Act on park grounds. Armstrong presented her ordination papers, as well as a permit that she had acquired to hold a church service of 100 people in the park on May 23rd, 2015. Park officials tried telling her that the group needed a permit for their gathering yesterday, but Armstrong defended the groups right to assemble, to pray, and to use cannabis as a religious sacrament, citing a 2010 free speech ruling (Boardley v. U.S. Dept. of Interior) that upholds the right of small groups to gather and express themselves in public parks.
The group then proceeded to smoke and pray for another hour, with being disturbed. On their way out of the park, they were questioned by the police, and that encounter was recorded and posted to YouTube:

As you can see, there were no fines, citations or tickets issued (personal use is decriminalized in Rhode Island; possession of less than an ounce warrants no arrests or jail time). It was a peaceful end to a peaceful gathering, and it sets a major precedent in the move toward cannabis legalization and decriminalization.
It may not seem like a big deal at first glance, but it is. A group of citizens were able to smoke pot on government property and walk away unmolested. Constitutional rights—freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion—triumphed over the federal ban on cannabis and controlled substances. That’s pretty big.
It clearly shows that there is indeed a seismic shift going on in the way the public, the government, and even law enforcement approaches marijuana. If it can happen in Providence, it could happen anywhere.
Cannabis smoking could be coming soon to a park near you 😉
statue of Roger Williams, photo from wikipedia

FCOC

Indiana's Religious Freedom Act Results in First Church of Cannabis

Indiana signed a new bill into law last week, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). This controversial law was intended to protect business owners who object to serving the LGBT community on religious grounds. But it has already begun to have some unforeseen consequences…
The same day the bill was signed into law, Indianapolis businessman Bill Levin filed paperwork to start a new church called The First Church of Cannabis, Inc. The application was approved the next day.
In just six days, The First Church of Cannabis has already reached 11,000 likes on Facebook, where Bill greets his flock every morning with a message of love and encouragement, and announces the times of the communal “prayer puffs.” They have also raised more than $3,000 toward construction of their first temple – which they plan to build out of hempcrete. Members of the church are known as “cannataerians,” and will be asked for a monthly donation of $4.20.
The church doctrine lists marijuana as it’s official sacrament, and Levin (who humorously refers to himself as the “Grand Poohba and Minister of Love”) told the Washington Post that the church plans to grow hemp, although it will not be buying or selling marijuana. He also said that his new religion does not have any traditional notions of sin or guilt, and will not use any conventional holy books, but instead will teach the contents of Jack Herer’s cannabis classic, “The Emperor Wears No Clothes.”
Besides advocating for cannabis, the church also plans to offer addiction counseling, and to teach and demonstrate a proper way of life, showing love and compassion to all. Toward that end the church has established the “Deity Dozen,” a modern 12 commandments for living a good life. Number one on the list is (and I quote) “Don’t be an asshole.” The Deity Dozen also encourages members to laugh often and be positive, to grow their own food, “Don’t be a troll on the internet,” and of course, smoke cannabis.
Both medical and recreational cannabis are currently illegal under Indiana state law, but the RFRA defends a person’s right to practice their religion without being prohibited by law. Bill Levin and his cannataerians are putting Indiana’s new law to the test by claiming the right to get high as a religious freedom, a religious right.
According to RFRA, the state cannot impinge upon a citizens religious rights unless it can demonstrate a “compelling interest” in doing so. Furthermore, they must prove that it is the “least burdensome” way of achieving said interest. The pressure is now put upon the state of Indiana to prove a compelling interest in keeping people from smoking pot as a religious practice and aid to worship.
Can they prove that marijuana is a dangerous and addictive gateway drug that corrupts our youth and undermines the social order? Or did they just inadvertently give Indiana pot smokers a religious “Get Out of Jail Free” card?
Stay tuned to find out.
image via: cannaterian.org