Currently the only Cannabis Ministry in Colorado is in Nederland.

Christie wouldn’t reveal the name of the future Colorado Springs church leader, but said it’s someone who has four years’ experience as a Hawaii Cannabis Ministry pastor and expertise in marijuana dispensary models. He said his reason for not revealing the man’s name is that the candidate needs more ministry training and a better public relations sensibility before talking to the press.

“He is still unpolished in the ministry,” Christie told me today, “and he is a little bit of a misguided missle right now. But he’s very trainable.” Christie has no information yet on where the Springs church will be located. The tentative plan, he said, is to lease space in a building and grow the ministry from there. Medical marijuana has become a hot issue in Colorado as more than 100 dispensaries have been established this year to sell the drug. This month, two state laws went into effect that regulate dispensaries, causing patients to fear that their marijuana supply will be cut off. Christie says that for those people, the cannabis church may be the answer. The First Amendment protects religious belief and practice, including using marijuana as a sacrament, he said. Moreover, Article II, section 4 of the Colorado Constitution protects freedom of religion and the practitioner’s “mode of worship.” Cannabis Ministry congregants smoke, inhale or swallow marijuanna during the service as part of the sacrament. But people are not allowed to overindulge in it, Christie said. “The sacrament is for sincere people.” The Cannabis Times Magazine