Modern

Native Traditions

karlis — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Damaged Evidence, Insufficient Warrant, Puzzled Judge, Oh My!

karlis — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Rev. Eddy LeppNo one expected Prosecuting attorney David Hall to walk into court today and inform Rev. Charles Eddy Lepp and his defense team that the most substantial piece of evidence on Rev. Lepp and co-defendant Daniel Barnes may be permanently unsalvageable.

Entheogenesis conference

karlis — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0700

World-renowned experts in law, medicine, Buddhism, art, psionics and ancient cultures congregated in January 2004 for the first Entheogenesis conference at Vancouver's BC Marijuana Party Bookstore.

The psychedelic secrets of Santa Claus

karlis — Thu, 18 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0800

Although most people see Christmas as a Christian holiday, most of the symbols and icons we associate with Christmas celebrations are actually derived from the shamanistic traditions of the tribal peoples of pre-Christian Northern Europe.

American citizen jailed in Canada on a 30 year old cannabis charge

karlis — Sat, 25 Oct 2003 00:00:00 -0700

On September 19th, 2003 Ilene Schecter was seized at the Peace Arch Border Crossing when entering into Canada on a 30 year old Canadian Cannabis Charge.
Ilene Schecter, an American citizen, was arrested in Canada 1970 for bringing roughly a kilo of marijuana into Canada. At that time, Ilene declared herself to be a member of the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church, and that the marijuana was her sacrament.

Reverend Ethier released on bail

karlis — Fri, 11 Apr 2003 00:00:00 -0700

Reverend Michael `Tarzan` EthierOn February 20, 2003 Reverend Mike (Tarzan) Ethier was arrested for allegedly selling cannabis to a church member in Ontario. Reverend Ethier is clergy for the Church of the Universe, which holds that marijuana is the Tree of Life.

Media covers Jesus pot connection

karlis — Wed, 15 Jan 2003 00:00:00 -0800

Chris Bennett with his lovely wife Renee BojeVancouver author and Pot-TV station manager Chris Bennett has received international media coverage for his research into the connections between Jesus and marijuana.

Legal herb for Rastas?

karlis — Mon, 06 Jan 2003 00:00:00 -0800

Ben Makahna: major court victory for Rastafarian tokers.Ras Iyah Ben Makahna won a partial victory in the US' 9th Circuit Court after he argued that he used cannabis as a sacrament.

Rasta religion

karlis — Sun, 08 Sep 2002 00:00:00 -0700

Bob Marley lives.According to Ganja Commission chairman Barry Chevannes, many Jamaicans use marijuana for spiritual purposes.

Hawaiian spirit shake-down

karlis — Thu, 04 Apr 2002 00:00:00 -0800

Prohibition hangs by a thread in Canada, as at least four constitutional challenges to pot laws are currently being heard in courts across the land. In the US, battles continue between the states and the federal government for the fate of medical pot. The reverberations are felt as far away as the Vatican, where Pope John Paul II recently rejected legalization, issuing a declaration late in 2001, calling the marijuana and drug economy "death trafficking." For cannabis users, it is a slap in the face.

Spiritual pot update

karlis — Wed, 13 Mar 2002 00:00:00 -0800

Church of the Universe: Canadian constitutional case update

karlis — Mon, 18 Feb 2002 00:00:00 -0800

Leaders of the Church of the Universe, Reverends Michael Baldasaro and Walter Tucker, will be in Canadian Federal Court on February 27th at Toronto (Action T-1805-98) and will be examined by the crown before a prothonotary (a court clerk that decides smaller matters of law, saving time for the judges), on matters relating to their sacramental use of cannabis. This case is set to decide once and for all the issue of religious cannabis use in Canada.

- for more info: www.iamm.com/cases/case-index.html

Sacramental smoking in the US

karlis — Fri, 08 Feb 2002 00:00:00 -0800

In the US, sacred cannabis users have similar tribulations. Although they are guaranteed freedom of religion under federal law, there are still some hitches.

Entheobotany II

karlis — Sun, 06 Jan 2002 00:00:00 -0800

`Journey of the Wounded Healer` by Alex GreyWe would learn a hallucinogenic cure for tuberculosis and how getting high will save the world. We would discover that certain African tribes secretly use cannabis as a sacrament, and that South American shamans once stuck gourds up their asses to get high.

Weed wedding

karlis — Tue, 04 Dec 2001 00:00:00 -0800

Renee Boje and Chris BennettTwo of North America's most prominent marijuana activists were married in a quiet coastal village near Vancouver, Canada on December 2.

Tarzan still behind bars

karlis — Wed, 07 Nov 2001 00:00:00 -0800

Mike Ethier poses in front of his store.Reverend "Tarzan" Ethier of the Church of the Universe was in Ontario Appeals Court on June 25, seeking relief from three separate sets of marijuana charges (CC#31, Busted up dates).

Sacramental pot setback

karlis — Sat, 29 Sep 2001 00:00:00 -0700

On Friday, May 16, a US magistrate told a federal court that it should not listen to Tom Brown's appeal for religious freedom to use cannabis under the First Amendment. Tom Brown, the founder of the psychedelic-using Our Church, was thrown in jail for 10 years in 1995 for growing sacramental cannabis and peyote on his Arkansas farm.

Carl Sagan: visionary scientist

karlis — Fri, 24 Aug 2001 00:00:00 -0700

Carl Sagan"If we can't think for ourselves, if we're unwilling to question authority, then we're just putty in the hands of those in power. But if the citizens are educated and form their own opinions, then those in power work for us. In every country, we should be teaching our children the scientific method and the reason for a Bill of Rights.

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Children of the Herb

karlis — Tue, 10 Jul 2001 00:00:00 -0700

Phil Tarver of the religious Children of the World Foundation in Texas also continues to speak the truth of his belief in the holy cannabis sacrament. After the government told him that he could legally grow cannabis in 1997, he was arrested and charged. Since then he has been asking the courts to recognize his religious use.

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The Radical Rabbi

karlis — Mon, 09 Jul 2001 00:00:00 -0700

Ariel Pederson was a burlesque dancer in Vegas, wearing feathered headdresses that scraped the ceiling, when she heard "the call of the Lord."
The Lord whose call she claims to have heard was the monotheistic Father God described in the Bible's Old Testament. She also heard the call of that God's son, who is usually referred to as Jesus.

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Tarzan uncaged

karlis — Fri, 06 Jul 2001 00:00:00 -0700

Reverend Michael EthierOntario Church of the Universe Reverend Mike (Tarzan) Ethier, was released on bail on March 19. He served nine months for sending sacrament to fellow Reverends Walter Tucker and Michael Baldasaro, in an investigation spearheaded by Canadian Minister of Health Allan Rock.

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Religious update

karlis — Sun, 10 Jun 2001 00:00:00 -0700

On February 26, the Ontario Provincial Court stayed cannabis charges against Church of the Universe Reverends Walter Tucker and Michael Baldasaro until after their federal court challenge.

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Religious defence drives authorities mad

karlis — Fri, 01 Jun 2001 00:00:00 -0700

Minister Ed Belanger: `You have no jurisdiction over me as a Minister of God!`Ed Belanger, a Minister of the Church of the Reformed Druids, is a man with a mission ? a mission to use and distribute cannabis as a sacrament, and to educate people of their rights.

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Peyote persecution

karlis — Mon, 28 May 2001 00:00:00 -0700

Peyote shamans Leo, Raven and Moses Mercado are being persecuted by Pinal County officials in Northeastern Arizona.
The Mercados are members of the Native American Church (NAC), a centuries-old organization dedicated to the traditions and sacraments of the peyote religion. Moses Mercado is the Mercado's ten-year-old son; he sings ancient peyote songs and plays folk instruments during peyote ceremonies.

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Legal peyote in Canada

karlis — Mon, 28 May 2001 00:00:00 -0700

Few people know that peyote is completely legal in Canada, as it has always been. Although mescaline, peyote's main psychoactive ingredient, is banned as a Schedule 2 drug, Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act specifically exempts peyote (Lophophora).

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