c. 2008 Religion News Service

HARRISBURG, Pa. _ If children can drink wine during Holy Communion, then Robert George Henry insists he should be able to smoke marijuana without being hassled by the cops.

Henry, of Fannettsburg, claims he is a rolling-paper-carrying member of the Hawaii Cannabis Ministry, a denomination devoted to the use of marijuana as a sacrament.

His right to take a toke for spiritual enlightenment is therefore protected under the Constitution, Henry, 47, claims in a motion that will prompt a legal battle in Cumberland County Court.

Henry is asking a judge to dismiss drunken-driving and marijuana possession charges filed by state police on grounds that his drug use is a constitutionally protected religious practice. On Tuesday (March 4), the judge postponed the case until April 16.

“This is novel in my experience,” District Attorney David Freed said.

Henry’s lawyer, George Marros, agreed.

“It’s all new to me,” he said. “Just because it’s new doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”

Roger Christie, founder of the cannabis ministry, confirmed Henry has sought the group’s aid. He said the ministry has helped its members win more than 70 legal battles over the marijuana-religion connection.

“Most people don’t connect cannabis with spirituality,” Christie said. “Getting high is a spiritual activity.”

Henry’s legal trouble began Oct. 10 when a trooper said he saw Henry’s blue Ford Festiva weaving on the road. Trooper Rodney Fink said he stopped Henry and saw that his eyes were glassy and bloodshot and his speech was slurred.

The car and Henry smelled of raw and burned marijuana, and a marijuana plant was found under a blanket in the back seat, Fink said in arrest papers. Six bags of marijuana and a glass smoking pipe were in the car, and Henry was carrying more than $1,800, the trooper said.

In a court motion, Henry and his lawyer claim Henry’s religious beliefs regarding marijuana derive from the Hawaii Cannabis Ministry and the Universal Life Church, in which Henry is an ordained minister.

On its Web site, the Cannabis Ministry, also known as the THC Ministry after the intoxicant in marijuana, contends that use of the drug for religious purposes is “a fundamental human right provided by God” and is protected under the religious freedoms tenet of the First Amendment.

The cannabis ministry advises that those under 21 can join the sect only with parental permission.

Henry compares his use of marijuana to the Christian practice of using wine in Holy Communion. Children younger than the legal drinking age partake of alcohol in that sacrament, he noted.

“Neither they nor their parents nor their ministers/priests are charged criminally,” his motion states.

Freed, the district attorney, said Henry is blowing smoke. The law doesn’t allow marijuana and other illegal drugs to be used as sacraments, he said.

He said he is confident that testimony at the hearing will show Henry isn’t serious about the religious nature of his marijuana use but is merely hoping to dodge prosecution.

Christie said the outcome of the fight might depend on Henry’s “mana” _ his spiritual strength and conviction.

“I predict he will do very well,” Christie said.

(Matt Miller writes for The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pa.)

KRE/DS END MILLERA photo of Robert Henry is available via https://religionnews.com.

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