Canadian Church Wants to Use Pot for Sacraments

Monday's Frat Boy News Pause for the Cause (compiled by Tracey Tyler, TheStar.com)

If some religions sip wine at the altar, others should be allowed to smoke pot. At least according to Rev. Edwin Pearson and Rev. Michel Ethier, two ordained ministers behind a proposed $25 million class action lawsuit challenging Canada's marijuana laws.

The ministers, along with lay preacher James Hoad, allege the federal government is violating the religious freedom of members of the Church of the Universe, which claims marijuana as a "sacrament."

In a statement of claim filed with the Federal Court of Canada, the trio accuses the government of harassing church members and "denuding" them of their dignity, often stopping them as they leave services seizing "sacramental cannabis" and rifling through parish records.

"The Church Abbott and all reverends of the Church are obliged to use cannabis for sacramental purposes in all its forms," said Ethier, who has been convicted six times of marijuana possession since 1998, in an affidavit filed with the court.

"I have been unable to peaceably meet with parishioners without fear of losing my freedom."

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of as many as 4,000 church members, claims $9,000 in damages for each member for various breaches of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the alleged abuse of public office by unnamed government officials. The plaintiffs are also seeking $25 million in punitive damages.