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First Church of Cannabis approved, tests IN religious freedom law

Bill Levin, the church’s founder says he filed the paperwork as a response to Indiana Governor Mike Pence after he signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) into law last Thursday, The Washington Post reports. The Indiana Secretary of State approved the church as a religious corporation with the intent “to start a church based on love and understanding with compassion for all.”

The church will grow hemp, he added, but it won’t buy or sell marijuana.

“If someone is smoking in our church, God Bless them,” Levin said. “This is a church to show a proper way of life, a loving way to live life. We are called ‘cannataerians.”

As it stands, Marijuana is illegal in Indiana whether for medical or recreational use, so the church may quite likely test the application of the new law. This Digital Journal article explains the intent of the RFRA.

Currently, Levin is seeking $4.20 in donations for his non-profit church, The Raw Story reports.

In trying to protect the religious views of their constituents, legislators may have acted too hastily and unthinkingly placed the state in an awkward position with people who say they smoke pot as a religious sacrament, said Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, an Indiana attorney and political commentator, The Raw Story reports.

He added that it is still illegal to smoke weed in Indiana, but wrote, “I would argue that under RFRA, as long as you can show that reefer is part of your religious practices, you got a pretty shot of getting off scot-free.”

Levin says the church has received $2,000 in donations, and in the five days since its’ inception, is now up to more than 13,000 likes on its’ Facebook page. He says he hopes to build the first church or temple using hempcrete, a building material similar to concrete, except that it also includes hemp. He spoke with The Post in a telephone interview.

“We are progressing to get a building property to be our holy ground. We’re set up counseling for heroin since we have a huge epidemic in this country,” he said. “We’ll probably have Alcoholics Anonymous, too. I’m not going to allow alcohol on the premise.”

He’s also written the “Diety Dozen,” similar to the 10 commandments with suggestions for healthier living.

“The bibles of other religions are yesteryear about the drinking out of goat skins,” Levin said. “That doesn’t relate to people with GPS in their hand and 7,000 tunes in that same hand. The church is very simple. The first good book we’re going to ask parishioners to read and understand is ‘The Emperor Wears No Clothes.‘”

Levin owns Levin Consulting in Indianapolis, a consulting and marketing company.

In a related note, Indiana Governor Mike Pence (R), has said he plans to back an amendment to the state’s new RFRA law, making it clear that it does not allow businesses to deny service to anyone, he told The Huffington Post.

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