Editor:
Re: Pro-pot pastor shifts services to porch, Aug. 7.
The so-called “Pastor” Robin Douglas of the “Holy Smoke Church” is making the front page again.
He is doing the same thing as Walter Tucker did in Ontario around 1970-1980.
Tucker called his church “The Church of the Universe,” and he and his followers used marijuana as a sacrament and used the argument that he could do so because of freedom of religion.
Tucker clogged up the courts for years, costing the justice system tens of thousands of dollars.
It appears that Douglas is doing the same thing. The City of White Rock is incurring legal fees, the RCMP has to attend, as well as city bylaw officers.
Everyone knows it is not a church, but here we go again; the pot pastor gets all the attention for all the wrong reasons.
He states they have a right to exist and the right to religious freedom.
Well, yes, you have the right to exist and, yes, you are entitled to freedom of religion.
In Canada, cannabis is legal to possess, consume or grow for medical purposes under certain conditions within the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations, not for a religious ceremony.
So, Mr. Douglas, you are encouraging people to break the law. Now, the local police may elect not to enforce the law, but it’s still the law of the country.
I hope that the landlord will be successful in having him evicted, as I don’t think the City of White Rock will have much success in shutting him down.
Barney Feenstra, Surrey
