The Cannabis Assembly

[Vertox]

Hey Folks

I just wantet to show you something i came across today.

Its all about Cantheism (http://www.thefullwiki.org/Cantheism), may some of u know that this is The Cannabis Religion.

Well now there is this Website about Cantheism and the Human rights in Religion.

In fact they say if u really sign up for this Religion in Therms of Law u are allowed to Smoke and Cultivate Cannabis.

For me sure i understand the laws ect. but what do you think about it ? Do you think the Judge will respect a Religion like this ?

go Check it out at : http://www.cannabisassembly.org/index.html

I would really like to read some of ur opinions on this

Greez Vertox

[Dust]

i had vguely heard about it but mainly hearsay and i never had a deeper look into it, i'll have a look at that link and learn a little more

Don't know how the law would apply exactly on this tho i'll look at the answers

[The Cannabist]

The idea of addressing the legalization of Cannabis through the avenue of religious freedom is something that I have recently reflected on regularly. It’s good to know that others are already taking steps to actualize this approach. I’m sure it has not been easy for the Cannabis Assembly, nor will it be easy for any of us to make this a reality. The deeper problem is not a question of human rights being denied, as the governments of the world have not criminalized Cannabis for the purpose of denying those rights. The criminalization of Cannabis is a political and financial problem. Too many industries stand to lose their profits if Cannabis were legal. This is why I believe that it has been such an uphill battle for those who choose to argue based on health, human rights or religion. The real fight is against the industrial, pharmaceutical and commercial world that stands to lose a lot from the amazing versatility of this plant.

That said, I see nothing wrong with continuing to use all avenues to assert our human and spiritual right to have Cannabis be a part of our lives. And this obviously includes our spiritual and religious lives. I’m not sure why the Cannabis Assembly chose to use the word Cantheism to identify their beliefs. I would have preferred Cannatheism, but these are, of course, details that can be worked out along the way. The important thing for the moment is to continue to create a strategy for bringing this argument to the Courts, which will not be easy. The Cannabis Assembly has already reached out to legal entities, but from what I gather, they have not received a response, nor a reaction. This does not surprise me, because one of the ways in which governments avoid litigation that could turn against them is to ignore the issue. In other words, Cannabis Assembly members could possibly never be arrested in order to avoid the issue going before the Courts. This form of activism unfortunately requires people to get arrested, charged and even imprisoned before the movement can see some positive progress. That’s a sacrifice that needs to be well thought out. This is why I would suggest several insights based on some personal experiences that I have had in my life.

When I was incarcerated in New Jersey’s Northern State Prison serving a 7 year sentence, I brought a lawsuit against the Department of Corrections for denying me my religious freedoms and punishing me for my religious beliefs. I was in solitary confinement for being a member of the Latin Kings, which was considered a violent prison and street gang. Whether that is true or not, the fact stood that as a Latin King, I believed in Kingism as my religion. Thus, everything thing that I did as a Latin King had a religious foundation, and the Department of Corrections was asking me to renounce my membership or remain isolated from the main prison population indefinitely. My lawsuit was successful although it never made it before the Courts because the Department of Corrections knew it would lose and so they stopped requiring us to renounce our membership and simply asked us to sign an agreement that we would not engage in any activities that violated prison rules. We accepted!

With the argument of religious freedom, there are several things to consider.

1) You should deeply believe in your beliefs. This may seem obvious, but many of my fellow Latin Kings had their lawsuits thrown out of court because they didn’t really know how to explain their beliefs, or worse, they were asking the Judge for millions of dollars in damages. If you truly believe in Cantheism, you should only fight for your right to practice your religion and you should be knowledgeable and articulate in your ability to defend your beliefs and practices.

2) Know the Law very well. Study as many cases as you can in which the Judges ruled in favor of one’s freedom of religion. Study the approaches that other religions use to argue their cases. These former cases form what is called a “precedent.” A precedent in Law is a former decision by a Court that can be used as a guide or reference for future cases of a similar nature. So if a Supreme Court, for example, rules that a Rastafarian has the religious right to smoke Cannabis, a Cantheist should carefully study that case, both the Rastafarian’s argument and the Judges final opinions, and create a similar case for Cantheism.

3) Take the Law seriously! Going to Court is no joke! If you don’t know what you are doing, don’t do it! You could end up setting a negative precedent for Cantheism that will also negatively effect other cases for the religious use of Cannabis. If you are engaged in a Court proceeding and feel you may lose the case for having poorly represented it, withdraw it and let someone else start from scratch. Don’t be a martyr and don’t try to be a hero! You could bring a whole movement down like that!

I certainly wouldn’t mind being a part of something like this. My difficulty here in Italy is that my mother-language is English and I would not do well in any Italian Court with the Italian language. I believe that we could make some progress with this idea because precedents do exist, but we need seriously dedicated people who have a lot of discipline and patience, as these things take time and determination.