Universal Life Church Canada’s “Marijuana Minister” Arrested

The Book of Genesis tells the story of a unified mankind who dedicated their lives to constructing a tower (the Tower of Babel) that would reach high enough into the sky that those at the top could see God. Their efforts were purportedly less-than-successful.

In the modern age, however, some believe they’ve discovered a new method to get high enough to commune with God: marijuana.

The New York Times reported today the arrest of Roger Christie, a minister ordained with the Universal Life Church in Canada who had developed his own church based around the use of marijuana as a means to “to exalt consciousness, facilitate harmony and become close to God and nature and each other.” Christie’s “THC Ministry” operates in Hilo, Hawaii.

Christie’s argument is that his church, like that of those Native Americans who use peyote, should be permitted to consume drugs like marijuana as part of holy sacrament, a spiritual exercise. Authorities argued that Christie’s church was not a legitimate religion, but solely a front for the sale of marijuana.

The article delves into a discussion of what actually constitutes a religion, but is unable to deliver a finite answer. What makes a religion valid? Need it be based around a written document? Possess grandly furnished pieces of real estate? Boast millions of dollars or members? Or can a religion be a personal, one-to-one relationship with some force?

Arguments fall on either side, and it’s unlikely we’ll see a definite answer anytime soon – if ever. However, the definition couldn’t come sooner for Christie; his lawyers plan to defend his THC Ministry under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. The act has been used by the Supreme Court in the recent past to defend another U.S. church that based its services around the use of an obscure hallucinogenic drug.