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Buzzby

Pima Couple Uses Freedom Of Religion To Fight Drug Charges
Lindsey Stockton | Eastern Arizona Courier | 07/13/2006

A local couple who claims to practice an ancient religion that deifies and allows them to consume marijuana will be in court next month to fight for freedom to practice their religion.

Dan and Mary Quaintance of Pima are the founders of the Church of Cognizance, which practices the Zoroastrian religion. According to Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, the Zoroastrian beliefs are ancient, though its holy book, the Avesta, only dates back to the second century.

Because the church’s members, or cogniscenti, believe that the cannabis plant is an ancient holy entity and use the plant as its holy sacrament, the Quaintances have found themselves in legal trouble because the use, distribution and possession of the substance is illegal in the United States.

In February, the couple was arrested in New Mexico for having 172 pounds of marijuana in their possession. The Drug Enforcement Agency took the Quaintances into custody and executed a search warrant, with help from the Southeastern Arizona Drug Task Force, on their property in Pima.

Though the task force was aware of the group and its activities, it did not have enough evidence for a search warrant until the task force joined with the DEA, Task Force Spokesman Dave Boyd said.

Though the search warrant produced minimal results, the couple were jailed briefly on the possession charges. Released until their dismissal hearing, the Quaintances are dealing with several different release orders, which have made it difficult — if not impossible — for them to be involved with their church.

“The first release order said we couldn’t talk to any members of our church, but we could talk to the press,” Dan said. “That was amended to allow us contact with members of our church, but we weren’t supposed to talk to the press or promote our church in any way. It has been changed again, and we really aren’t sure who we can or cannot talk to.”

The Quaintances were scheduled to go on trial in New Mexico next week, but their lawyer filed a motion to dismiss the charges. That motion will be heard in mid-August, and Dan said his lawyer already has approval from the judge to bring in archaeological and religious experts to testify.

Though federal prosecutors say religious freedom does not exempt the use of illegal drugs, the Quaintances and their attorney, Mario A. Esparza, say differently based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

In March, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a small religious group based in Santa Fe, N.M., that combines Christianity and American Indian practices could use hallucinogenic tea in its ceremonies. The decision was based on the 1993 Religious Freedom Resto-ration Act, which says the government needs to justify any action that would substantially burden people from practicing their faith.

“The Arizona Constitution is very clear about providing people with the right to practice their religion unmolested,” Dan said. “We and some of the higher-ups in our church see this as a hate crime against the people who practice our faith.

According to its Web site, the Church of Cognizance preaches: “With good thoughts, good words and good deeds, we honor marijuana as the teacher, the provider and the protector.”

“For us, the marijuana is the protector, provider and teacher, promoting good thoughts, good words and good deeds,” Dan said. “None of that is harmful to the health or safety of society in general.”

He also said, however, he does not refer to cannabis as “marijuana” because “that is the name it has been demonized under.” The plant used in the Church of Cognizance religious rites is Haoma, which is the ancient name for the cannabis plant.

“I did extensive research into this topic before founding the church — I didn’t just jump into this,” Dan said. “Archaeology has shown a correlation between cannabis and the Tree of Life in the Bible.”

Dan said there are scientific studies that show THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, gives people the creativity to think for themselves, better analyze situations and regulate almost every function in the human body.

“We don’t sit around and get intoxicated all day,” Dan said. “We never consume marijuana to the point of impairment, nor do we encourage others to.”

Using the archaeological evidence and information from studies that have come out of respected institutions, such as the University of Arizona and Harvard University, the Quaintances believe they can make a case for the continuance of their church’s practices.

“We filed the founding of the church at the Graham County Recorder’s Office in 1994 and declared our sentiments,” Dan said.

The Quaintances live in Pima with their son and daughter and their families, which is the common practice of members of the church.

“Each group has a family-oriented monastery, and they hold the same beliefs about the sacredness of the haoma plant,” Dan said. “We live close to our family and get to see our grandchildren everyday. We love it, as do our grandchildren, and, hopefully, when we are no longer able to care for ourselves, they will be there to help care for us.”

The church consists of more than 72 registered monasteries in 42 states and several other countries. The average age of a member is 35. Though it seems that the church has grown quickly since its beginning, Mary said the growth is actually very slow compared to others.

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troublemaker_42

I can understand people caliming "freedom of relgion" in some cases, though it has never held weight in court. What I don't understand is how someone with nearly 200 lbs can claim it was "for religious purposes". I'd be willing to bet it wasn't distributed to church members free of charge. So....I wonder how much church "members" had to pay to recieve their monthly alotment of "sacrament"? If it were that easy, i'd start my own relgion and distribute religious materials to members of my "church" who all happen to be frieends of mine.....but....that would made me a mand of God right, and not what is typically known around most parts as a dealer, right? Sorry to sound so skeptical, but iAM skeptical

Buzzby

I took a look at their website and it appears to be much more about having a legal loophole for smoking pot than any kind of real religion. My personal feeling is that this approach is going to do more to alienate mainstream people than it is to further the legalization of marijuana.

SmokeytheBeav.

Their website *appears* devoted to the right to smoke. There are even forums for discussing how to represent yourself in the name of religion if you get caught. I also believe this might cause a greater alienation than legalization help.
I thought it was interesting that Dan states he does not use the word "marijuana" but "haoma" instead. On the website, it is consistently referred to as marijuana, not haoma.

Buzzby

Dan's profile picture, the one that appears next to all of his posts, shows him with a joint in each hand. I guess they're depending on some kind of constitutional absolute to get them off the hook. They are certainly not relying on the good judgment of a sitting judge.

 

SmokeytheBeav.

I also agree about the picture of Dan. There also is about 50 pictures of marijuana on thier website.
Ok for the question (I am truely not being factitious here)
In one of the articles about instructing people how to argue in court, Dan states that he wore a Jesus shirt (he states that this might help your case). If the religion prays to marijuana, then does that make Jesus (in their eyes) a product of marijuana?

Buzzby

If you're interested in the Jesus/Marijuana link, this article contains some insights:

Was Jesus A Stoner?
Chris Bennett | High Times | 02/10/2003

Last June, Chris Bennett addressed the issue of cannabis in the Bible. This month, he concludes his investigation with a more detailed examination of the cannabis-enriched anointing oil used by Jesus and his followers.

"Christ" is the Greek translation of the Hebrew "Messiah." In modern English, this term would be translated as the "anointed one." The title "Christ" was only placed upon he who had "God’s unction upon him."

This holy anointing oil, as described in the original Hebrew version of the recipe in Exodus (30:22-23), contained over six pounds of kaneh-bosem, a substance identified by respected etymologists, linguists, anthropologists, botanists and other researchers as cannabis, extracted into about six quarts of olive oil, along with a variety of other fragrant herbs. The ancient anointed ones were literally drenched in this potent mixture.

Carl P. Ruck, the scholar who coined the term "entheogen," is a professor of classical mythology at Boston University, and has researched the history of psychoactive substances in religion for over three decades, working with such luminaries as the father of LSD, Albert Hoffman; entheobotanist Richard Evans Schultes, and mycologist R. Gordon Wasson. On the subject of Old Testament cannabis use he explains:

"There can be little doubt about a role for cannabis in Judaic religion…. There is no way that so important a plant as a fiber source for textiles and nutritive oils and one so easy to grow would have gone unnoticed… the mere harvesting of it would have induced an entheogenic reaction."

Ruck comments further on the continuation of this practice into the early Christian period: "Obviously the easy availability and long-established tradition of cannabis in early Judaism… would inevitably have included it in the [Christian] mixtures."

Although most modern people choose to smoke or eat pot, when its active ingredients are transferred into an oil-based carrier, it can also be absorbed through the skin, which is in fact one big organ. In the Bible’s New Testament, Jesus baptized none of his disciples, as is practiced by the Catholic church, but instead anointed them with this potent entheogenic oil, sending out the 12 apostles to do the same. "And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them" (Mark 6:13).

Likewise, after Jesus’ passing, James suggests that anyone of the Christian community who was sick should call to the elders to anoint him with oil in the name of Jesus (James 5:14).

It should be understood that in the ancient world, diseases such as epilepsy were attributed to demonic possession, and to cure somebody of such an illness, even with the aid of certain herbs, was the same as exorcism, or miraculously healing them. Interestingly, cannabis has been shown to be effective in the treatment of not only epilepsy, but many of the other ailments that Jesus and the disciples healed people of, such as skin diseases (Matthew 8, 10, 11; Mark 1; Luke 5, 7, 17), eye problems (John 9:6-15), and menstrual problems (Luke 8:43-48).

According to ancient Christian documents, even the healing of cripples could be attributed to the use of the holy oil. "Thou holy oil given unto us for sanctification… thou art the straightener of the crooked limbs" (The Acts of Thomas).

One ancient Christian text, The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles, which is older than the New Testament, estimated to have been recorded in the second century AD, has Jesus giving the disciples an "unguent box" and a "pouch full of medicine" with instructions for them to go into the city and heal the sick. Jesus explains that you must heal "the bodies first" before you can "heal the heart."

These findings shouldn’t really be all that surprising, as the medical use of cannabis during that time is supported by the archeological record, and the ailments described above had been treated with cannabis preparations throughout the area for many centuries prior to the Christian era.

As Jesus and his followers began to spread the healing knowledge of cannabis around the ancient world, the singular Christ became the plural term "Christians," that is, those who had been smeared or anointed with the holy oil. As the New Testament explains: "The anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him" (1 John 2:27).

The Christians, the "smeared or anointed ones," received "knowledge of all things" by this "anointing from the Holy One" (1 John 2:20). Thereafter, they needed no other teacher, and were endowed with their own spiritual knowledge. Indeed, from Jesus’ own words after his initiation by John, it would appear his own spiritual power came through the anointing:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good tidings to the afflicted;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison
to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn.

Although the Biblical story of Jesus’ initiation by John describes it as the classic Catholic baptism, taking place in a form of submersion in water, the term "baptism" itself can be seen to have connotations of "initiation," and likely there was more to the story than is described in the Bible.

Ancient Christian scriptures indicate originally the rite was performed in conjunction with the kaneh-bosem anointing rite, "the anointing taking place either before or after the baptismal ceremony." Certain Christian texts that didn’t make it into the official canon specifically state that Jesus received the title "Christ… because of the anointing" not because of a water baptism.

The controversy over baptism versus anointing with oil is apparently as old as Christianity itself. The New Testament, from where we get our image of the classical Jesus, was not selected as such until about 350 AD. The Roman Catholic church fathers who put it together selected these writings from a larger selection of texts that were collected from the numerous schools of Christian thought that had developed over the first few centuries. Anything that contradicted their official view of the life of Jesus was labeled heresy and destined for the editorial flames.

By taking these outlawed Christian texts and other historical finds into account, we can begin to separate the man Jesus from the myth. Indeed, our modern concepts of Jesus, such as the virgin birth and the Resurrection, fall away, and the man known to his followers as Yehowshua (a common Jewish name meaning Jehovah-Saved) re-emerges with a wholly new message of love, light and personal liberty.

The branches of Christianity that the outlawed texts belonged to are now known under the collective title of Gnostics. These outlawed sects worshipped a Jesus radically different than the one that came down to us through the Roman Catholic church, the branch of early Christianity that rose to prominence by force, suppressing all conflicting Christian and pagan sects and eventually leading to the Dark Ages.

Luckily, one of these ancient Gnostics had the foresight to hide some of these forbidden scriptures from their suppressors, and they were rediscovered in 1945. As these Gnostic texts are just as old and in some cases older than the New Testament, unless we are to consider that might is right, then it is not so easy to discard the revelations about Jesus and early Christianity that they contain.

One of the most pronounced differences between the doctrines of the Roman Catholic church and those belonging to the Gnostic Christians is "faith" versus "knowledge." The term "Gnosis" itself is Greek for "knowledge," and Gnostic religious practices focused on the development of spiritual knowledge in each individual member. Alternatively, the practice of the Catholic church emphasizes "faith"; the individual never knows God themselves, but is limited to the descriptions and religious edicts proposed by the church and administered at a painful cost by the hierarchy of various priests, bishops and popes.

From the rediscovered Gnostic texts, we can see that they believed much of their own spiritual experience came through the use of the holy oil. The Gnostics openly criticized the Roman Catholic church for the placebo act of baptism, which apparently had no spiritual effect. Indeed the Gnostic tractate the Gospel of Philip records that, "The anointing (chrisma) is superior to baptism. For from the anointing we were called ‘anointed ones’ [Christians], not because of the baptism. And Christ also was [so] named because of the anointing, for the Father anointed the son, and the son anointed the apostles, and the apostles anointed us. He [therefore’ who has been anointed has the All. He has… the Holy Spirit." "In some [Gnostic] texts… the ‘spiritual ointment’ is a prerequisite for entry into… the highest ‘mystery’" (Rudolph 1987). Likewise, the Naasenes "claimed to be the true Christians because they were anointed with the ‘ineffable chrism’" (Mead 1900).

In the Gnostic viewpoint, as recorded in the Gospel of Philip, the pseudoinitiates of the empty rite of baptism "go down into the water and come up without having received anything…. There is water in water, there is fire in chrism" (Gospel of Philip). "The anointing with oil was the introduction of the candidate into unfading bliss, thus becoming a Christ" (Mead 1900). "The oil as a sign of the gift of the Spirit was quite natural within a Semitic framework, and therefore the ceremony is probably very early…. In time the Biblical meaning became obscured" (Chadwick 1967). The surviving Gnostic descriptions of the effects of the anointing rite make it very clear that the holy oil had intense psychoactive properties that prepared the recipient for entrance into "unfading bliss."

Further, it is stated that if "one receives this unction… this person is no longer a Christian but a Christ" (Gospel of Philip). Similarly, the Gospel of Truth records that Jesus specifically came into their midst so that he "might anoint them with the ointment. The ointment is the mercy of the Father… those whom he has anointed are the ones who have become perfect."

The importance of the holy ointment amongst the early Christians is also attested to in the apocryphal book, The Acts of Thomas, which refers to "Indian Leaves" and equates the power of the holy oil to the "plant of kindness": "Holy oil, given us for sanctification, hidden mystery in which the cross was shown us, you are the unfolder of the hidden parts. You are the humiliator of stubborn deeds. You are the one who shows the hidden treasures. You are the plant of kindness. Let your power come… by this [unction]."

Interestingly, Gnostic texts give indications that cannabis was also burned as incense, and used by Jesus, along with the cannabis-enriched anointing oil and other entheogens, in complicated shamanic ceremonies.

Jesus the Initiator

In the Second Book of Ieou, Jesus tells his followers that amongst the secrets they shall be shown is the mystery of the Five Trees, which in this case, likely meant gaining knowledge of certain magical plants that were used as a shamanistic catalyst in the ceremony. These same five trees were referred to in what is possibly the oldest Christian text in existence, the Gospel of Thomas: "There are five trees for you in Paradise… Whoever becomes acquainted with them will not experience death." In the Gnostic view, "not experiencing death" meant reaching a certain state of interior purification or enlightenment, at which point the initiate would "rise from the dead," meaning ignorance and blindness, and "never grew old and became immortal." That is to say, he gained possession of the unbroken consciousness of his spiritual ego, and as such realized that he was a part of the larger cosmic whole that continued on long after the disappearance of the material body.

The Second Book of Ieou gives us a profound description of the shamanistic ceremony that led to this higher state, through the ingestion of the "five trees":

"The Master sets forth a place of offering… placing one wine jar on the right and on the left, and strews certain berries and spices round the vessels; He then… puts a certain plant in their mouths… and also another plant in their hands, and ranges them in order round the sacrifice" (Mead 1900).

Continuing with the ritual, as in shamanistic and magical ceremonies throughout the history and around the globe, Jesus turns his disciples to the four corners of the world. "He then offers a prayer… [and] we are… given a description of the Baptism of Fire. In this rite… vine-branches are used; they are strewn with various materials of incense… A wonder is asked for in "the fire of this fragrant incense." The nature of the wonder is not stated. Jesus baptizes the disciples and gives them of the Eucharist sacrifice.

Next follows the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. "In this rite both the wine-jars and vine-branches are used…. A wonder again takes place, but is not further specified…. After this we have the Mystery of Withdrawing the Evil of the Rulers… and [it] consists of an elaborate incense-offering… At the end of it the disciples… have now become immortal and can follow Jesus into all spaces whither they would go (Mead 1900).

The "wonder" contained in the incense used by Jesus in the ceremony, which so perplexed Professor Mead more than a century ago, was presumably a reference to its indescribable entheogenic effects. The other undefined "wonder" also likely indicated the magical properties of the different plants used in the ceremony and which were identified to the participants as the Mystery of the Five Trees. (In relation to incense, it is interesting to note that according to the rediscovered Gnostic documents themselves, the ancient initiate who hid them, Seth, received the inspiration for doing so after inhaling fumes from "the incense of life").

[Snip!]

(BuzzNote: Article goes on to describe other drugs used in religious practices.)

SmokeytheBeav.

That was a very facinating read! You are quite knowledgeable on the subject. Perhaps you could PM with me more reads if you have them?

Buzzby

Just do what I did. Go to Google and use "jesus marijuana anointing" as your search string.

dedbr

before we go off to marijuana fantasy land, ( which is maybe where the good reverend is.. ) freedom of religion is going a long way with our current court, so we may be reminded a lot more in the future that there are, shall we say, some different religions out there.....

If he wants to say mariju...uh excuse me, haoma, herb or whatever, or worship whatever, as long as he don't try it on my front porch, I'm cool with it, Homey......

( edit ) I wanted to put this in here to maybe widen the debate. Is there a point where freedom of religion should stop?


Some Where In Ded Land........Donations accepted probably......

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