can you really say that smoking bud is one of your religious practices and actually be allowed to smoke it legally?
No you can't. In Canada there is a group that has been around for over 25 years called Church of the Universe. They claim it is their sacrament and actually got to the point where they could possess certain amounts of marijauna for religous purposes. It wasn't that this was legal it was more that the Ontario government was spending a lot of money on court and appeals. Not sure but i think they appealed a simple possession charge all the way to the World Court in the Hague. Anyhow real good group a ppl I know most of the Brothers. Info on them http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Universe You can join if you like and the church will offer you its protection as far as that goes. Fat lot of good it did any of them as they have all spent quite lengthy periods in prison. Homepage http://www.iamm.com/
Rastafarians and Native Americans can smoke herb legally claiming it is their religious right. As long as you never, ever consider marijuana a drug (especially talking to a cop) and consider it your spiritual right or need it to medicate, you will walk every time. It is an herb, not a drug. Look into getting the "Holy Piby"...rastafarian bible...and keep it on your person at all times to be able to prove/show it is what you follow. There are a few others, but I have had a brain fart and can't think of them right off hand.
i remember hearing about a church busted for growing cannabis. and they got off because it was practice under the Rastafarian religion or something like that. Either way I think it's wrong to believe in a religion just so you can smoke bud. slinkie: i believe Hinduism is one of them as well
Rastas cannot smoke herb legally, RastafarI is not seen as a religion in the US and the smoking of ganja isn't seen as a religious right. you may be able to get out of some charges by believing the the RastafarI faith and smoking it as a sacrament. In 1998, then-Attorney General of the United States Janet Reno, though not a judge, ruled that Rastafari do not have the religious right to smoke ganja and carrying the Holy Piby so you can tell a cop that you can smoke herb is rediculous. i doubt any true Rastas are going to be out on the town smokin up here and there. they're going to be in their house in a sacred ceremony to smoke the herb. they don't just go around blazing.
There are Federal laws that can be used to defend "religious" use of marijuana in federal cases only. http://www.welcomehome.org/rainbow/nfs-regs/rfra-act.html
but they still would have no concrete proof that this person follows a certain religion. they can't go inside their head and know their beliefs and see how they view the act. and the religious use of marijuana isn't going to be done casually, which is when you most often get busted. if they're using it in a religious sense it's going to be done indoors in a place viewed sacred with other followers and done responsibly. not a group of teens sittin in an alley lightin up and then get busted by the cops and claiming religious perposes. you dig?
i risked jail for a sacred chillum made from pirrhana jawbone arguing religious freedom was in front of the liberty bell at a hemp ralley ..on fed land bad place..lol every1 was tokin sage hopin to smoke enough sage that a few ppl could toke unnoticed..lol well i was smokin sage outta it but they were takin it away so i start argiing its my religios freedom to smoke. & they said well maybe anywhere but fed land & i start arguin the entire earths sacred no mater who puts theyre name on it.. anyways the story goes on..they take it kick me out..i'm wanderin putside theyre perimeter handing out a pamphlet 100 things every parent teacher & child should know about mariuana that told the real truth ...& every1 who read them was like yea..shit this is so true..but 1 guy..when he gets to the word marijuana.. his eyes go huge he starts foamimg at the mouth..spittin in my face screams jesus man i'm a born again cristian & like a superhero a flurry of doom & gloom you are damned panphlets appear oatta his sleeve or somewhere..& he disapears in a blimk.. so much for religiods freedom..gotta get the damn christians out of office.& doesnt theyre bible say gofd gave us all herbs to use? well the story goes on, nobody wss gettin very high at this rally..except me & well a dear freind & i must say local hippy hero .. on that day she gave me ..a huge bowl of ganja lilaf (yummmmm) & a few dozen of her amazing ganja crackers..i was high for days..& 1 of the cops horses finnished ot off..lol that person was kathy change any1 whos been round here long knew her, she was an amazimg person, she was maybe pushin 50.. but had the body of a serius dancer..she never stoppped..year after year shed dance for change in wild costumes adorned with pot leaves & peace & love shed dance nonstop at the art musueam & on the university of penn campus in front of the p;eace sign & it was in front of that peace sign she did her final dance..her dance in flames/.. she truly was a saint that bowl of rice ganga food she gave that day...was her guarantee that someday we will have true freedom..real change edit had no idea kathy was on wiki..lol http://www.kathychange.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Change
Thank you for your response soaringeagle, I’m glad I found out who Kathy Change was and what she stood for.
I'm pagan/spiritualist otherkin type person...I'll say it helps broaden consiousness, which is one of the great things I DO love about it, and it feels nice too.
in india at some places you can smoke herb as your religious right.people who strongly believe in lord shiva smoke it as a devine herb.however no body in india can stop the monks from smoking marijuana with their trademark chillum.most people smoke ganja and also take it with milk openly during the shivaratri{the one day festval to worship specially lord shiva}
here people also smoke herb in their homes by organising special worship sessions to prove their religious right. I too believe that it helps in brodening conciousness and to bring a lot of peace to your mind
Are these the guys that were on the Daily Show a few years back. I remember Rob Cordry saying "so God was a stoner" to that the guy respounded "naw man, he was a rocker man"
