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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA Minnesota woman accused of violating probation says she should be able to use marijuana for religious reasons because she belongs to a pot-smoking church based in Indiana.
The Star Tribune reports 31-year-old Ashley Firnschild argues to the Hennepin County District Court in Minneapolis that marijuana laws place an "undue burden" on her beliefs as a First Church of Cannabis member. The Golden Valley woman is accused of smoking marijuana and violating her probation on a drug charge.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said in a statement that the First Amendment doesn't protect possessing or smoking marijuana.
The church was established earlier this year in a test of Indiana's new religious objections law. It has sued the city of Indianapolis and state of Indiana, claiming laws against possessing and using marijuana infringe on its religious beliefs.
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