Pubdate: Wed, 29 Jul 2015
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2015 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Mike Hager
Page: S1
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/spirit.htm (Spiritual or Sacramental)

POT PASTOR REFUSES TO TEAR DOWN 'CHURCH'

A cannabis evangelist is vowing to refuse an order from the City of 
White Rock to tear down the marijuana-focused "church" in his 
beachfront home by the end of the week.

Several months ago, Robin Douglas erected a large tent for Church of 
the Holy Smoke patrons to gather in the backyard of the home he rents 
across the road from the tourist promenade along White Rock's beach. 
Mr. Douglas said up to 50 people a day drop by the makeshift lounge 
to hang out, smoke cannabis and ponder questions "regarding their 
spirituality." He said he guarantees patrons protection from police 
if they are inside his yard, but makes sure they know they could be 
arrested if they leave the sanctuary.

Mr. Douglas, who refers to himself as Pastor Robin in a series of 
YouTube videos explaining his doctrine, says his church views 
marijuana as a sacrament and that its members should be able to enjoy 
the drug as part of their constitutional right to practice their 
religion. He said there are about nine other pastors and that his 
church supports 11 cancer patients by providing them free marijuana 
donated by friends running illegal farms.

"The city views us as a bunch of pot-smoking hippies and they want us 
off the beach," Mr. Douglas said Tuesday. "It should be our right, as 
spiritual people, to use cannabis in a sacred area [where] we can do 
it safely without bothering anybody else."

But neighbours have complained about the smell, noise and 
unsightliness of the property. In a submission to council, one nearby 
resident said "my beautiful ocean view is now tainted with an 
unsightly ragged tent and three marijuana flags, which they have 
placed on their property.

"I paid a lot of my hard-earned money so that I could retire in a 
house by the sea," the letter said. "Now, when I look out my window, 
I see marijuana flags and groups of people gathered beneath an awful 
looking tent doing drugs as if it were some kind of teenager hangout."

Over the past month, the city has sent bylaw officers and given Mr. 
Douglas fines for $150, $500 and $1,000, according to council 
documents. Since he began leasing the property last November, RCMP 
have investigated seven complaints related to noise and smoking, but 
weren't able to gather enough evidence to support any charges, 
according to the municipality.

Now, after a special hearing at city council on Monday, Mr. Douglas 
has been given until this Friday to take down the structure and clean 
up any debris in the yard, which the city estimates could cost $3,000.

Mr. Douglas, who received a nine-month conditional sentence last fall 
for selling marijuana, said he will continue to run his church, 
whether or not the structure is removed. He added that the city has 
"used nothing but underhanded tactics" and never attempted to 
negotiate with him over the issue.

Karen Cooper, White Rock's head of planning, said the city is not 
persecuting Mr. Douglas for his religious beliefs, but was prompted 
to fix a potentially dangerous situation.

"No matter what religion or purpose the assembly was for, this is 
what we'd be doing," Ms. Cooper said Tuesday. "The site is very small 
and to attract and encourage the public to come onto the site is a danger."

She said the tent was erected without a permit, the church has no 
washroom facilities, no fire plan and only one small entrance and 
exit that could become a danger in an emergency. She added that Mr. 
Douglas is welcome to find a property that is bigger and zoned for 
"public assembly."

Kirk Tousaw, a B.C.-based lawyer who has represented many clients in 
high-profile marijuana-related cases, said several court rulings have 
denied people's requests to possess and smoke marijuana for religious 
purposes, but such practices might be enshrined under Section 2 of 
the Charter, which ensures Canadians fundamental freedoms such as 
religion. He said a client arguing that same point may launch an 
appeal of a Federal Court ruling.

"In other words, the courts or the government shouldn't be in the 
business of determining what religion is or whether one person's 
religion is real and another's is not - they're in the business of 
determining whether you sincerely believe it," Mr. Tousaw said. "And 
if you do, then you should have a religious right to engage in that 
practice as long as it's not encroaching upon other people's rights."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom