SOME LOCAL SHOPS LINK SPIRITUALITY, MARIJUANA

It's been said that Moses smoked the burning bush, that the Book of
Revelation was written in a drug-induced state, and that most
religions began with mystical experiences enhanced by
hallucinogens.

These fringe ideas have found a place at some of the 176 medical
marijuana dispensaries that have sprung up in Colorado Springs. But
there are also a handful of dispensaries that use religious
terminology and imagery while claiming no religious
affiliation.

Perhaps the most popular religious reference is to the Tree of Life,
written of in Genesis. Healing Tree Cooperative, Tree of Life Wellness
Center and Tree of Wellness are just some examples.

The tree of life for the centers is cannabis, the plant used to make
marijuana.

Melissa Romero, founder of Healing Tree Cooperative, embraces the drug
for both medicinal and spiritual reasons.

"I believe in Christ," she told me. "I believe God grew the plant, and
I don't believe that Satan does any growing because he cannot create."

"The majority of people need to expand their minds a little bit," she
said. "Cannabis is from the Earth. It is a good thing and creates a
lot of healing.

"Medical marijuana is my avenue to show love and help people," Romero
said.

But Joey Stine doesn't view marijuana as a spiritual drug. And the
name of his dispensary business, Natural Mystic Cannabis Caregivers,
doesn't allude to religion.

"I am a big reggae fan," Stine told me. "I got 'natural mystic' from a
Bob Marley song. "No part of my thing (is religious)," he said. "We
are just trying to help sick people feel better."

Christianity is not the only faith suggested in dispensary names and
advertising.

Garden of the Ganges Wellness Center shows the Hindu goddess Shiva in
its ads. Tibetan prayer flags wave in the breeze outside the center.

Any Religious Significance?

Stuart Sloat, owner of Ganges Wellness Center, said "Ganges" refers to
the famous Indian river, where, according to him, cannabis was first
grown along its banks 3,400 years ago for medical purposes. The prayer
flags are simply decorative.

"Religion is not part of our business," Sloat told
me.

Even so, Sloat waded into religious waters when explaining his choice
of Shiva, the destroyer of ignorance who brings about purification and
transformation in Hindu tradition.

Shiva transforms a corrupt world and dances atop the "ignorance
demon," Sloat said.

"And here we are, an industry that is drastically reducing the
corruption caused by illegal drug trades," he said, "coupled with
stamping out the ignorance that society has following the better part
of a century's propaganda campaign" against marijuana.

The Cannabis Church was supposed to be planted this month in the
Springs.