This Guide outlines some of the topics you may need to prepare for in order to have a successful legal defense in both federal (U.S.) and state (California) court for working as a medical marijuana minister or medical cannabis minister in a California medical cannabis collective, dispensary, or cooperative.

Exact material will vary greatly by religion. I provide examples from my own religion, although many of the examples may not apply to your religion. You will want to prepare your own defense, probably with the help of a lawyer skilled in first amendment and criminal law.

marriage and weddings

The courts often consider the existence of marriages and weddings in determining if a religion is legally valid.

legal standards

“5. e. Ceremonies and Rituals: Most religions include some form of ceremony, ritual, liturgy, sacrament, or protocol. These acts, statements, and movements are prescribed by the religion and are imbued with transcendent significance.” —United States of America v David Meyers

“a recognized creed and form of worship,” —IRS definition of a church

“regular religious services,” —IRS definition of a church

Kemetic or ancient Egyptian religion

ancient Egyptian marriages

Pr Ntr Kmt Has been performing marriages for more than 6,000 years (more historical and mythological details below).

Egyptian weddings

The first marriages in history were performed in ancient Egypt by the clergy (hemu) of Pr Ntr Kmt (the ancient Egyptian religion). Most of the moern wedding traditions are from ancient Egypt.

The wedding ring was originally made by weaving hemp into a circle. The wedding ring represented that the combination of the couple and the divine made a complete circle. Hemp was related to such important ancient Egyptian deities as Isis, Bast, Seshat, and Osiris. Because hemp wedding rings wore out and had to be replaced every few years the Romans switched to iron rings. Europeans switched from iron rings to gold rings. Around 3,000 B.C.E. the Egyptian phrase “without beginning, without end” came into common usage for describing the wedding ring.

Bridemaids and brides wore similiar dresses in order to confuse evil spirits. The original wedding bouquets were made of thyme and garlic to keep evil spirits away.

wedding vow

An ancient Egyptian wedding vow: “I Prince Yami, son of Pharaoh Akunadmun, take thee Nyla, to be my wife, and my queen, to share the good times and hard times side by side. I humbly give you my hand and my heart as I pledge my faith and love to you. Just as this ring I give you today is a circle without end, my love for you is eternal. Just as it is made of incorruptible substance, my commitment to you will never fail. With this ring, I thee wed.”

wedding readings

Two wedding readings from ancient Egypt:

“Whenever I Leave You ”,
from the Harris Papyrus, 500 Song Cycle 2, 15th Century BCE, Egypt.

Whenever I leave you, I go out of breath
Death must be lonely like I am
I dream lying dreams of your love lost
And my heart stands still inside me
I stare at my favorite datecakes
They would be salt to me now
And pomegranate wine, once sweet to our lips
Bitter, bitter as birdgall

Touching noses with you, love, your kiss alone
And my stuttering heart speaks clear
Breathe me more of your breath, let me live!
Woman, meant for me!
The Goddess herself gave you as Her Holy gift
My love to outlast forever

“Let My Love Love Me Best ”,
from the Turin Papyrus, in the Ramesside period circa 1100 BCE, Egypt.

Let my love love me best and I shall ordain
Her hands full of lotus blossoms and flowers
Full of buds and perfumes, strong ale
And beer of every brewable kind
Then she’ll give me, her love, a day to remember
Make me drink down this day to its last shadow

history of marriage
(started with lesbian marriage)

The first known marriages occurred in ancient Egypt. There had been human mating, similar to English common law marriage, long before there were official weddings.

The first marriages were public religious ceremonies commemorating the union of the Egyptian Goddesses Bast and Sekhmet in the creation myth of the Cosmic Orgasm. The high priestess of Bast and the high priestess of Sekhmet took on the roles of their respective Goddesses for the public festivities.

This first marriage ceremony was widely popular.

Other temples in ancient Egypt quickly copied the idea, with grand public marriage ceremonies for their favoried deities (most commonly male/female couples).

It wasn’t long before the wedding ceremony spread from a religious celebration of divine unions to a religious celebration of human unions sanctified by the divine.

This was the origin of marriage and weddings.

And the first version was specifically lesbian.

While heterosexual marriage was the most common form in ancient Egypt, gay and lesbian marriages continued until outlawed by Christians.

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Free weekly instruction for medical marijuana ministers and medical cannabis ministers every Monday night in Orange County, California. Write to: Milo, PO Bx 1361, Tustin, CA, 92781. Post office box checked once per month.

The courts have already ruled in multiple cases that a person who starts preparing a religious defense (including gathering certificates and other paperwork) after arrest loses all chance to use the late religious defense. It is essential that you prepare your defense before you are arrested. Adequate preparation may even prevent arrest. With that in mind, doesn’t it make sense for at least one collective owner somewhere to pay me minimum wage to work on preparing these materials on a full time basis? Even the most callous cooperative owner should realize that low paid workers facing prison sentences are likely to change sides and testify for the police? On the other hand, if the workers have a religious defense ready then they need not fear going to prison and have no incentive to testify against the owner. I don’t care how jaded and selfish a dispensary owner is, it just makes good sense to have a strong religious defense ready for your workers.

If you spot an error in fact, grammar, syntax, or spelling, or a broken link, or have additional information, commentary, or constructive criticism, please contact Milo at PO Box 1361, Tustin, Calif, 92781, USA.

CannabisClergy.com Guide for medical cannabis ministers and medical marijuana ministers