This Colorado “church” wants to worship pot

Last week, the Colorado House rejected an attempt to ban pot use in churches. 

Who would have thought that this would even be something to think about? But  the controversial International Church of Cannabis opened in Denver forcing the hand of stunned legislators.

State Rep. Dan Pabon, D-Denver, proposed an amendment to a broader bill on pot use to bar pot use in churches.  He said it was needed to “protect Colorado’s reputation.”

I’ve lived in Colorado now for 15 years. It’s a great state with exciting growth, interesting and diverse  urban areas with great, adventurous outdoor possibilities. It really is a State with everything.

But with the 2012 passage of Colorado Amendment 64, Colorful Colorado changed it’s color to “green.”  Article 18, section 16 of the state constitution allowed the “personal use and regulation of marijuana” for adults 21 and over, as well as commercial cultivation, manufacture, and sale: regulating marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol, primarily for recreational use.

The “reputation” unfortunately is already cemented.

A tolerable fact

About 25% of all cities and towns have allowed pot shops to open with city limits. The city of Denver has more recreational pot shops than Starbucks.

Now, when I travel, I’m always asked about it with a wink wink.  People imply I’m high – or my friends are – and assume that everyone uses. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s all that widespread. It’s true, you often smell it at public events or just walking down the streets. There is a certain tolerance.

But acceptance of the pot high has reached a new low with this new “church”

Who would have thought some church would try to coopt weed as it’s god – but this is America and these are the end times

It’s the brainchild of Lee Molloy who figured out how to purchase a 113 year-old church and refurbish it.

The murals on the walls are …. colorful and it’s a wonderful remake of an old building. (See photos here) But I wonder what would happen if the congregants from 1905 would come back, the people who sacrificed and gave and built this beautiful church. What would they say?

Just because you buy an old church doesn’t make  “a church,” but that’s what these “congregants” are doing.

Molloy talks about the art inside, saying it’s meaning is “explained through meditation, on the sacrament, and finding your own meaning in it.”

The “Sacrament” is cannabis according to their literature.

This is not a church, but a sneaky way to skirt public law. The IRS, the state of Colorado and other governing officials will soon catch on, but until then advocates will delight in their cleverness.