Editing First Church of Cannabis (section)

==History==
The First Church of Cannabis was founded in March 2015 by Bill Levin, who attended [[Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation]], a Reform Judaism synagogue, as a child.  He said it was a direct response to the state's [[Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Indiana)|Religious Freedom Restoration Act]] (RFRA).<ref name=WP2015/><ref name=HuffPo2015/> Monthly dues are $[[420 (cannabis culture)|4.20]].<ref name=ABC2015/> Levin said that the church was granted [[IRS]] tax-exempt status less than 30 days after he applied.<ref name=TimesOfIsrael2015/><ref name=ABC2015/>

Levin titles himself Grand Poobah, or highest holy official, of the church.<ref name=TimesOfIsrael2015/> He claimed that he had the idea to found the church while watching the popular television series ''[[The Flintstones]]''. "Grand Poobah" is a term derived from the name of the haughty character Pooh-Bah in ''[[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'''s ''[[The Mikado]]'' (1885), and used recurringly in ''The Flintstones'' as the name of a high-ranking elected position in a secret society, the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes.

The group planned to test RFRA on July 1, 2015, with a service in Indiana including the [[Entheogenic use of cannabis|use of cannabis]].<ref name=CP2015/><ref name=MirrorUK/> However, legal threats from the city forced the first service to not use marijuana at all.  The service went without any arrests, even with a heavy police presence, although there were protesters from a nearby Christian church.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015/06/26/officials-hold-church-cannabis-press-conference/29327331/|title=Cops warn of arrests at Church of Cannabis|date=June 26, 2015|work=Indianapolis Star|accessdate=August 3, 2015}}</ref> Parking was restricted, as the police argued that they were enforcing a city law on parking on a street less than 24 feet wide. Nearby residents also restricted parking on their property, although at least one person allowed parking for a small fee. The service featured a comedian, live music, and dancing. [[Food truck]]s were outside along with a merchandise table selling [[t-shirt]]s and [[sticker]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015/07/01/humor-police-presence-mixed-cannabis-church-site/29561919/|title=Humor, love, police a strange mix at Cannabis Church|author=Mark Alesia and GabFerreira|date=July 1, 2015|work=Indianapolis Star|accessdate=August 3, 2015}}</ref>

A [[security camera]] was installed outside of the church on the first day of service. City officials argued that the camera was installed to ensure public safety. Levin retorted by saying "I find it flattering. If you think we are important enough to install a camera so you can have a guy watch us 24 hours a day, good! Good! You're spending our [[Hoosier]] tax money proper."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wishtv.com/2015/07/01/security-cameras-go-up-at-first-church-of-cannabis/|title=Security camera goes up outside First Church of Cannabis|work=WISH-TV|accessdate=August 3, 2015|archive-date=August 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150804135835/http://wishtv.com/2015/07/01/security-cameras-go-up-at-first-church-of-cannabis/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The church has a list of twelve [[Ten Commandments|commandments]] called the "Deity Dozen", which includes abstention from [[Internet troll]]ing.<ref name=TimesOfIsrael2015/><ref name=CP2015/>

The group's meetinghouse is located at a former Christian church building on South Rural Street in Indianapolis.<ref name=IndyStar2015/> Services are held every Wednesday at 7.