HOLY SMOKE! A CHURCH?

Religious angle at culture shop baffles city officials

The Holy Smoke Culture Shop is now the Holy Smoke Mission of God, and no
one seems sure what that means. Store owners Dustin Cantwell, Paul DeFelice
and Alan Middlemiss have been made missionaries of the Church of the
Universe based in Ontario, which has also declared the shop a church.

"It just means that Holy Smoke is a sacred space and that we're fighting
for spiritual freedom. That's what all churches aretrying to overcome
evil," said Cantwell.

The Nelson hemp products store has been the focus of media attention since
the three owners were arrested for marijuana trafficking and the city
jacked up its business licence fee to $1,000.

The owners and city officials aren't sure what becoming a branch of the
Church of the Universe would mean for the shop, which was notified of its
new status a few days ago. The Church of the Universe, established in 1969,
is known for its marijuana-smoking devotees.

"Basically, they consider the Sacrament to be the Tree of Life, which is
cannabis," Cantwell explained. "It's comparable to (Christians) drinking
wine or the Druids drinking mead. Each church has a sacrament."

Cantwell doesn't think the church was founded to fight for the legalization
of marijuana, but because it was part of their worship it became an issue,
he stated.

"It became political, since that's what their sacrament was," he said.

The three Holy Smoke owners, who were already members of the church, were
made missionaries because they're spreading the word and fighting for what
they believe in, according to Cantwell.

"You become a missionary when you stand up for what you believe in," he stated.

Cantwell isn't sure what kind of recognition the church has received from
governments and doesn't know what becoming a church will mean to Holy
Smoke. "We're not sure what it entails as an organization, what we're
entitled to," he said. "If you're a church, there may be a way to bypass
having (business) licences."

If the new religious establishment has services they will likely be in an
outdoor environment, according to Cantwell. "Holy Smoke looking at
rezoning - hoping to open up new church," he suggested as a newspaper
headline.

If they seriously want to be recognized as a church, they will have to
rezone, according to city administrator Victor Kumar. "If they're a church
they're in the wrong zone," Kumar said. "A church is not allowed in a C-1
zoning." Churches are allowed in R-1 through R-6 areas," Kumar stated.

Kumar isn't sure what it would mean if the shop decided to declare itself a
church and would have to know what they want from the city before he'd be
able to comment, he stated.

It does make the situation a bit more complicated, he said, because any
time religion comes up so does the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. There
is no defiition of a church in the Municipal Act or in city bylaws, as far
as Kumar knows.

"I don't think you can really define what a church is in a bylaw. You'll
soon be hauled before the courts for a Charter of Rights violation," he
explained. "I'm not quite sure what the ramifications are," Kumar
eventually stated with a laugh as he admitted it's not a situation he's
ever had to deal with before.

Mayor Gary Exner also doesn't know what the change could mean.

"If they're a church or a temple, I don't know of any churches that pay a
business licence," he said. "I don't really want to comment on it, because
I haven't seen anything."

Smoking marijuana is against the law and breaking the law doesn't seem to
be a very Christian thing to do, Exner stated. The church's literature
quotes from the Christian Bible.

"I'm not sure where they're coming from, if they're legitimate," Exner
said. "I guess every religion to their own, or every church to their own."