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⚫ | '''Coachella Valley Church''' is the first [[Rastafari]]-based registered church in the U.S. state of [[California]]. Coachella Valley Church is an [[Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church]] in [[San Jose]] that uses cannabis as a sacrament and is a [[monotheistic]] religion that believes in a single God referred to as [[Jah]]. |
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'''Coachella Valley Church''' is an alleged San Jose marijuana dispensary that operates as a church.<ref>{{citation|title=High Praise: Pot Churches Proliferate As States Ease Access To Marijuana|publisher=Kaiser Health News|url=https://khn.org/news/high-praise-pot-churches-proliferate-as-states-ease-access-to-marijuana/|accessdate=2018-01-22}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Coachella Valley Church|publisher=Yelp.com|location=San Jose, California|url=https://www.yelp.com/biz/coachella-valley-church-san-jose|accessdate=2018-01-21}}</ref> The entity was incorporated in the state of California in 2016 and is located at the same location as a previous dispensary, Amsterdam Gardens.<ref>{{citation|title=Coachella Valley Church|publisher=CA Sec of State|url=https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov/|accessdate=2018-01-21}}</ref> The City of San Jose has a history of litigation against its operators and is currently seeking to end their operations.<ref>{{citation|title=The City of San Jose v. Victoria Foxx|publisher=Lawzilla.com|url=http://lawzilla.com/blog/the-city-of-san-jose-v-victoria-foxx/|accessdate=2018-01-21}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Bay Area church claims religious exemption from local marijuana laws|publisher=thecannabist|url=http://www.thecannabist.co/2017/11/08/coachella-church-san-jose-marijuana/92000//|accessdate=2018-01-21}}</ref> |
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== Legal issues == |
== Legal issues == |
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The City of San Jose filed a complaint against the owners of Amsterdam Gardens marijuana dispensary in May 2015 for zoning violations and for not conforming to city regulations on marijuana dispensaries. After the dispensary was shut down, Coachella Church of Cannabis, later renamed Coachella Valley Church began operations at the same location with the same operators. |
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Around November, 2017, church leadership stated that they were not legally a [[Marijuana dispensary|marijuana dispensary]] under city regulations, and should be exempt from taxation, zoning and other regulations as a legitimate religious group under United States [[Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act]] (RLUIPA) of 2000.<ref>{{cite web | last=Baum | first=Julia | title=Church claims religious exemption from local pot laws | website=The Mercury News | location=San Jose, California | date=2017-11-04 | url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/11/03/church-claims-religious-exemption-from-local-pot-laws/ | ref=harv | access-date=2018-01-02}}</ref> The city attorney of San Jose said "Whatever their followers want to smoke, that's not the issue. It's the distribution and sale coming from the dispensary".<ref>{{citation|publisher=[[KTRK-TV]] (ABC 13)|location=Houston, Texas|title=Churches offer marijuana to members, feature pot-smoking Jesus in ads|date=November 21, 2017|url=http://abc13.com/religion/n-california-churches-offer-marijuana-to-members/2677310/}}</ref> In 2017 the attorney said he would file an injunction to prevent cannabis sales on the church premises. By late December, 2017, the injunction had not yet been granted; a hearing for a preliminary injunction was set for late January, 2018.<ref>{{citation|publisher=NBC Bay Area|title=San Jose Aims to Shutter Two Pot-Selling Churches|author=Ian Cull|date=November 21, 2017 |url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/San-Jose-Aims-to-Shutter-Two-Pot-Selling-Churches-459251023.html}}</ref><ref>{{citation|newspaper=USA Today|title=At 'pot churches', marijuana is the sacrament|author=Barbara Feder Ostrov | date=December 22, 2017 | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/12/22/high-praise-pot-churches-proliferate-states-ease-access-marijuana/971871001/}}</ref> |
Around November, 2017, church leadership stated that they were not legally a [[Marijuana dispensary|marijuana dispensary]] under city regulations, and should be exempt from taxation, zoning and other regulations as a legitimate religious group under United States [[Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act]] (RLUIPA) of 2000.<ref>{{cite web | last=Baum | first=Julia | title=Church claims religious exemption from local pot laws | website=The Mercury News | location=San Jose, California | date=2017-11-04 | url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/11/03/church-claims-religious-exemption-from-local-pot-laws/ | ref=harv | access-date=2018-01-02}}</ref> The city attorney of San Jose said "Whatever their followers want to smoke, that's not the issue. It's the distribution and sale coming from the dispensary".<ref>{{citation|publisher=[[KTRK-TV]] (ABC 13)|location=Houston, Texas|title=Churches offer marijuana to members, feature pot-smoking Jesus in ads|date=November 21, 2017|url=http://abc13.com/religion/n-california-churches-offer-marijuana-to-members/2677310/}}</ref> In 2017 the attorney said he would file an injunction to prevent cannabis sales on the church premises. By late December, 2017, the injunction had not yet been granted; a hearing for a preliminary injunction was set for late January, 2018.<ref>{{citation|publisher=NBC Bay Area|title=San Jose Aims to Shutter Two Pot-Selling Churches|author=Ian Cull|date=November 21, 2017 |url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/San-Jose-Aims-to-Shutter-Two-Pot-Selling-Churches-459251023.html}}</ref><ref>{{citation|newspaper=USA Today|title=At 'pot churches', marijuana is the sacrament|author=Barbara Feder Ostrov | date=December 22, 2017 | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/12/22/high-praise-pot-churches-proliferate-states-ease-access-marijuana/971871001/}}</ref> |
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==Claims== |
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⚫ | Coachella Valley Church |
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==Beliefs== |
==Beliefs== |
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== Membership == |
== Membership == |
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Members of any religion can become Coachellans without the need to convert, since there is no formal creed and there are slight differences in the views of various groups.{{Citation needed}} |
Members of any religion can become Coachellans without the need to convert, since there is no formal creed and there are slight differences in the views of various groups.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}} |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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{{Cannabis and religion}} |
{{Cannabis and religion}} |
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[[Category:2016 establishments in California]] |
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[[Category:Cannabis and religion]] |
[[Category:Cannabis and religion]] |
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[[Category:Cannabis in California]] |
[[Category:Cannabis in California]] |
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[[Category:New religious movements]] |
[[Category:New religious movements]] |
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[[Category:Organizations based in San Jose, California]] |
[[Category:Organizations based in San Jose, California]] |
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[[Category:Organizations established in 2016]] |
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[[Category:Religious organizations using entheogens]] |
[[Category:Religious organizations using entheogens]] |
Revision as of 15:03, 23 January 2018
Coachella Valley Church | |
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File:Coachella-2142-Postcard.png | |
Type | Judeo-Christian |
Scripture | King James Version |
Region | United States |
Origin | 2016 |
Congregations | 1 (San Jose, California) |
Tax status | 501(c)(3) tax-exempt |
Official website | coachellavalley |
Part of a series on |
Cannabis |
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Coachella Valley Church is the first Rastafari-based registered church in the U.S. state of California. Coachella Valley Church is an Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church in San Jose that uses cannabis as a sacrament and is a monotheistic religion that believes in a single God referred to as Jah.
Legal issues
Around November, 2017, church leadership stated that they were not legally a marijuana dispensary under city regulations, and should be exempt from taxation, zoning and other regulations as a legitimate religious group under United States Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) of 2000.[1] The city attorney of San Jose said "Whatever their followers want to smoke, that's not the issue. It's the distribution and sale coming from the dispensary".[2] In 2017 the attorney said he would file an injunction to prevent cannabis sales on the church premises. By late December, 2017, the injunction had not yet been granted; a hearing for a preliminary injunction was set for late January, 2018.[3][4]
Beliefs
Members of Coachella Valley Church of Cannabis are known as Coachellans, claim that the use of cannabis helps elevate people to a higher understanding of self, and closeness to Jah—who members believe partially resides within each individual. They ritually use cannabis, which they call "God's Holy Healing Sacrament" to deepen love and livity. Central is the realization that an energy or life-force, passed by Jah, exists within, and flows through all living things.[5] The churchhouse on The Alameda, San Jose has an altar, pews and sacred images "like any other Christian house of worship".[6]
10 Commandments
- Love Jah, the most high, your higher-self.
- Love your neighbour as yourself.
- Do not unto others what you will not have others do unto you; rather do unto them only that you want them to do unto you.
- Honour your father and your mother.
- Honour your sons and daughters so that they will honour you.
- Thou shalt not kill nor harm anyone, or permit yourself to be killed nor harmed by anyone.
- Thou shalt not adulterate, pervert or waste the Love of Jah.
- Thou shalt not steal by weapons or by pens or by any false pretences.
- Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbour nor tell any lies at all.
- Thou shalt not be covetous, greedy nor gluttonous for the sake of thou own physical and spiritual health.[7]
Membership
Members of any religion can become Coachellans without the need to convert, since there is no formal creed and there are slight differences in the views of various groups.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ Baum, Julia (2017-11-04). "Church claims religious exemption from local pot laws". The Mercury News. San Jose, California. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
{{cite web}}
: Invalid|ref=harv
(help) - ^ Churches offer marijuana to members, feature pot-smoking Jesus in ads, Houston, Texas: KTRK-TV (ABC 13), November 21, 2017
- ^ Ian Cull (November 21, 2017), San Jose Aims to Shutter Two Pot-Selling Churches, NBC Bay Area
- ^ Barbara Feder Ostrov (December 22, 2017), "At 'pot churches', marijuana is the sacrament", USA Today
- ^ http://coachellavalley.church/spirituality/
- ^ Lorraine Caballero (November 23, 2017), "California churches suspected of being illegal marijuana dispensaries", Christian Daily, Washington, DC
- ^ "Spirituality - 10 Commandments".
Further reading
- Melina Delkic (November 21, 2017), "California churches offer 'joints for Jesus' as part of high-minded spiritual journey", Newsweek
- Benjamin Fearnow (November 19, 2017), "Silicon Valley Churches Pose As Marijuana Dispensaries To Sell Tax-Free Weed", International Business Times
- Tim Kohut (November 21, 2017), "Church Features Pot-Smoking Jesus In Ads: This might be the first recorded sighting of a pot-smoking Jesus in human history.", High Times