POT KEY TO' CHURCH, 'COURT TOLD

Mother Teresa, Pierre Berton and "the tree of life" were all invoked
yesterday as spiritual guideposts by a senior member of a Toronto
church seeking a religious exemption to the country's marijuana laws.

The references were part of testimony by Brother Peter Styrsky in
Ontario Superior Court, as he explained his transformation from
agitated delivery driver to a more spiritually content person as a
minister within the Church of the Universe.

"I used to be very angry," Mr. Styrsky said. The affable witness
explained that his life changes were due in part to marijuana use. "It
is a high. But it is not just recreational. It's like a connection to
God."

"That is how I describe it. I understand a lot more than I did," Mr.
Styrsky said.

Mr. Styrsky and Brother Sharooz Kharaghani have launched a
constitutional challenge to marijuana prohibitions, which began this
week in Ontario Superior Court, arguing that it violates freedom of
religion protections in the Charter of Rights.

For the first time, a court in Canada is being asked to set out a
framework to decide whether a group and its practices qualify for
Charter protection on religious grounds.

Experts on the history of psychoactive drug use in mainstream
religions, as well as the criteria necessary to qualify as a religion,
are scheduled to testify at the four-week hearing before Justice Thea
Herman.

Mr. Styrsky and Mr. Kharaghani were charged with marijuana trafficking
offences in September 2006 for allegedly selling street-level amounts
of cannabis to Toronto police officers.

The two men are ministers at the "G13 Mission" in the Beaches section
of Toronto, which is a church, an organic plant store and allegedly an
illegal source of marijuana.

Marijuana is referred to as "the tree of life" in the Church of the
Universe, which has 4,000 members in Canada. "Cannabis consumption,
although joyous, is not an end in itself but rather it is an important
part of the road to greater understanding of God and the universe. If
everybody consumed cannabis, the world would be a more peaceful,
respectful, joyous and spiritually curious place," their lawyers Paul
Lewin and George Filipovic state in written arguments filed with the
court.

The Church is not seeking an absolute right to consume and distribute
marijuana, only for religious purposes with regulations similar to
those in place for medical users, explained Mr. Lewin.

The federal government is arguing that the Church of the Universe is a
"parody" of a religion. "Most people turn to religion as a moral
guide. The Church of the Universe offers no teachings in this crucial
realm beyond a single platitudinous tenet: Do no harm," state federal
Crown lawyers Nicholas Devlin and Donna Polgar. "The Church of the
Universe offers only a single-point of belief, namely that people
should use marijuana," the Crown writes.

The federal government concedes that the case is unique since normally
courts have been asked to determine if a practice is actually part of
a recognized religion. The task for Judge Herman is to decide if the
marijuana-based group's practices are religious in nature, the Crown
notes.

"However challenging, it is important for the courts to set a
threshold for entry into the tent of religious protection which weeds
out frivolous or insufficient claims," the federal Crown writes.

The evidence at the hearing began with a somewhat unusual and lengthy
explanation of objects brought from the G13 Mission, to try to show
that it is a place of worship. There were small paintings, plaques and
a number of books from its library.

Mr. Lewin would hold out each book and Mr. Styrsky would offer an
observation. The works included a biography of Pope John Paul and two
books about Mother Teresa. "She is dear to my heart. I think she
really reflected what the Catholic Church should be doing," Mr.
Styrsky said.

Some books by Pierre Berton are in the library, in part because of his
public praise for marijuana use before he died.

There was also a study of Native American spirituality by Carlos
Castaneda. "He is a spiritual mentor to Sharooz. I find him a little
hard to read," noted Mr. Styrsky.

An advocate of organic farming, Mr. Styrksy appeared somewhat
embarrassed when shown a photo of a potato chip dispensing machine at
the G13 Mission, along with plants, seeds and marijuana
paraphernalia.

"I don't think they are that healthy," he said about potato chips.
"But some of our members have requested them, so we make them available."

DEFINING RELIGIONS

Court findings in other countries.

- -Church of the New Faith (1983)-Australian High Court "Religious
belief is not by itself a religion. Religion is also concerned, at
least to some extent, with a relationship between man and the
supernatural order and with supernatural influence upon his life and
conduct."

- -United States vs. Meyers (1996) 10th Circuit Court of
Appeals

In a similar case where a claim was made for religious protection for
marijuana use, the court said that religious movements must have
certain characteristics. "Address ultimate ideas about life, purpose
and death. Contain metaphysical beliefs, which transcend the physical
and apparent world. Contain a moral and ethical system. Be
Comprehensive. Have a founder or prophet."

- -Prince vs. President of Law Society of Good Hope (2002) --
Constitutional Court of South Africa

A challenge to the marijuana laws was made on behalf of the Rastafari
religion. The court found the prohibition was a justified infringement
of freedom of religion.

Selected characteristics needed for religious protection under the
Charter of Rights

- - They presuppose either supernatural dimensions or ultimate
experiences that transcend but also transform everyday life.

- - They help people live with fundamental paradoxes of the human
condition and respond to existential questions that emerge from it.

- - They rely on symbol systems that give coherence to both personal and
communal life, apart from doing anything else, religion provides the
glue that holds communities together.

- - They presuppose both sacred time and sacred space.

- - They find primary expression in forms such as myth, scripture,
hagiography and ritual.

Source: federal government experts