Pima pot church founders plead guilty
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Danuel and Mary Quaintance – founders of the Church of Cognizance, which uses marijuana as a sacrament – pleaded guilty to two felony pot charges Aug. 18 and face up to 20 years in prison.
The Quaintances are due to be sentenced by a federal judge within the next two months but are hopeful an appeal will keep them out of prison, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
The couple pleaded guilty to conspiracy with intent to distribute 200 pounds or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of marijuana, and possession with the intent to distribute 100 pounds or more of a substance containing a detectable amount of marijuana, as well as aiding and abetting.
The Quaintances were originally arrested Feb. 22, 2006, after Border Patrol agents located approximately 172 pounds of marijuana in a sedan that was traveling in tandem with a minivan the Quaintances were in. The driver of the sedan, Timothy Kripner, 26, of Tucson showed officers a certificate, signed by Danuel, identifying Kripner as an official cannabis courier for the church.
According to a Border Patrol report, Danuel stated, “I am the head of my church, and I have the right to have that marijuana.”
The Quaintances assert they should be exempt from the federal regulation against possession of marijuana due to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. The act states the government needs to justify any action that would substantially burden people from practicing their faith. Danuel says marijuana is essential to his religious beliefs.
“For us, the marijuana is the protector, provider and teacher, promoting good thoughts, good words and good deeds,” he told the Courier in 2006. “None of that is harmful to the health or safety of society in general.”
A church in New Mexico, the Brazil-based Uniao do Vegetal, received an exemption from the United States Supreme Court based on the RFRA for its use of dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in a sacramental tea. DMT is listed as an illegal psychedelic drug by the United States government.
American Indian churches have had a federal exemption for religious use of peyote for years. The American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 protects the traditional religions of the American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut and Native Hawaiians. The act was amended in 1994 to specifically include “the use, possession or transportation of peyote for bona fide traditional ceremonial purposes in connection with the practice of a traditional Indian religion.”
U.S. District Judge Judith Herrera rejected the Quaintances’ argument that their church’s marijuana use should be protected by the RFRA. In her judgement Herrera wrote, “The court concludes that (the) defendants do not sincerely hold a belief that marijuana is a sacrament and a deity. Defendants cannot avoid prosecution for illegal conduct simply by transforming their lifestyle choice into a ‘religion.’”
Danuel said after the court dismissed their religion defense, they decided to plead guilty because they knew they would be convicted at a trial, according to the Star. An appellate court will revisit the Quaintances’ religious argument.
