POTHEADS WILL FIND RELIGION: CROWN

Thousands Likely to Flock to Church If Weed Claims Are Recognized

Thousands of pot users will flock to the Toronto branch of the Church
of the Universe to join if a court recognizes its unlimited marijuana
use as religious freedom, a federal prosecutor warned Thursday.

Lawyer Nicholas Devlin of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada
also told Justice Thea Herman that if she grants charter rights to
two minister-members of the G-13 Mission of God, "the very next day
anyone could light up a marijuana cigarette on the courthouse steps
and say it's for religious use."

Similar institutions

Devlin also warned that accepting their unbridled pot use arguments
could prompt others to found similar so called churches.

One extreme he suggested could include religious freedom claimants
who watch The Simpsons on TV while puffing weed in a room filled with
the cartoon characters' paraphernalia.

The core of the defence lawyers' arguments on behalf of "Brothers"
Peter Styrsky, 53, and Shahrooz Kharaghani, 31, is that marijuana is
a sacrament similar to Roman Catholics granted an exemption by the
federal government during the Prohibition era to drink wine in church
during services.

Kharaghani's lawyer, George Filipovic, said the two men believe pot
use brings them closer to God and have a legitimate church with
associated practices and community service.

Pair busted

Styrsky and Kharaghani were charged with trafficking marijuana after
they allegedly sold pot to two undercover police officers who
infiltrated their church in 2006.

The pair say their sale and distribution of marijuana, which they
refer to as "the Tree of Life," should be exempted from federal laws.

The G-13 Mission of God doesn't provide supervision for pot smokers
or differentiate between adherents of their church and recreational
weed users who pay $25 to join up, Devlin said.

He also cited exhaustive medical and scientific studies, court
rulings and expert testimony that show pot - though medically
beneficial and legal in some cases - poses a risk to pregnant women,
young people, long-term users, drivers and those with mental disorders.

If the pair win, Devlin said, "thousands of people without any
religious faith related to marijuana will flock to the G-13 and pay
$25 for their licence to use marijuana wherever and however they please."

This isn't a problem that could be fixed by Styrsky and Kharaghani
"tightening up the enforcement of rules of sacramental use, because
there are no rules to enforce," he said.

Attacking marijuana prohibition as "the worst law in Canada,"
Styrsky's lawyer, Paul Lewin, said it encourages profitable organized
crime, exposes young people to black-market dealers, creates a
"deviant subculture," and ties up police plus court systems to pursue
users of a recreational, mostly "benign substance."

Arguments continue Friday, but the decision isn't expected until this autumn.