A self-proclaimed “ganja minister” in Colorado has officially been told that it’s illegal to grow more cannabis than the legal limit, even when religion is concerned.
Aaron Snyder Torline, the “minister” in question, was trying to make his claim on the basis of the First Amendment. He asked the Colorado Court of Appeals to allow him to cultivate more cannabis than legally allowed in the name of religious freedom and expressing his faith. However, his appeal was denied.
Torline is in fact a minister; he was ordained by the Hawai’i Cannabis Ministry. He brushed up against the law in 2016, when a police dog found cannabis in his truck. He revealed he had cultivated at home and turned over the product.
Once the cannabis was discovered, Mesa County wanted to charge Torline for having cultivated 30 or more plants, and the intent to manufacture or distribute them. He came back against these charges with religious claims. “As a ‘ganja minister,’ Torline provides marijuana to members of his congregation, which numbers approximately 30 people in Grand Junction,” said Judge Anthony J. Navarro in the ruling.
“The statute advances the legitimate interests of public health and safety and is rationally related to that end,” added Navarro. “Nor are we aware of circumstances suggesting that the legislation was motivated by religious animus.”
“I was pleased that the Court of Appeals acknowledged and cited at least 10 other state and federal jurisdictions that have rejected this challenge to the marijuana laws,” added Mesa County District Attorney Daniel P. Rubinstein about the decision.
Although Colorado is often in the news for being a notoriously lenient state when it comes to cannabis acceptance, religious freedom is not considered grounds to stretch the limits of the law when it comes to possession.
