Bob CollinsFrom the Department of You Could See This Coming a Mile Away:
In Indiana, the First Church of Cannabis will hold its first service the same day Indiana’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act goes into effect.
“God loves us and we’re gonna celebrate God. We spark up and we light up and we all pray to happiness, compassion and love and we all dance in the seats and we have a good time and the band will play and everybody will feel beautiful,” church founder Bill Levin tells WRTV.
Levin first unveiled his idea at the height of the controversy over the new law, the initial version of which critics said legalized discrimination against gay and lesbian individuals. The law was reworked to respond to those criticisms.
But Levin is testing the law which prevents state government from “substantially burdening” a person’s exercise of religion only if it can demonstrate that it is the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling governmental interest.
“They say it’s a religion. It’s not a religion,” neighbor,” Sarah Taylor said.
On its Facebook page, the church says not going to grow, distribute, sell or donate any cannabis.
