Dan and Mary ... in the News Again

[Stokes]

Another good story:

PIMA COUPLE USES FREEDOM OF RELIGION TO FIGHT DRUG CHARGES

A local couple who claims to practice an ancient religion that deifies and allows them to consume marijuana will be in court next month to fight for freedom to practice their religion.

Dan and Mary Quaintance of Pima are the founders of the Church of Cognizance, which practices the Zoroastrian religion. According to Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, the Zoroastrian beliefs are ancient, though its holy book, the Avesta, only dates back to the second century.

Because the church's members, or cogniscenti, believe that the cannabis plant is an ancient holy entity and use the plant as its holy sacrament, the Quaintances have found themselves in legal trouble because the use, distribution and possession of the substance is illegal in the United States.

In February, the couple was arrested in New Mexico for having 172 pounds of marijuana in their possession. The Drug Enforcement Agency took the Quaintances into custody and executed a search warrant, with help from the Southeastern Arizona Drug Task Force, on their property in Pima.

Though the task force was aware of the group and its activities, it did not have enough evidence for a search warrant until the task force joined with the DEA, Task Force Spokesman Dave Boyd said.

Though the search warrant produced minimal results, the couple were jailed briefly on the possession charges. Released until their dismissal hearing, the Quaintances are dealing with several different release orders, which have made it difficult -- if not impossible -- for them to be involved with their church.

"The first release order said we couldn't talk to any members of our church, but we could talk to the press," Dan said. "That was amended to allow us contact with members of our church, but we weren't supposed to talk to the press or promote our church in any way. It has been changed again, and we really aren't sure who we can or cannot talk to."

The Quaintances were scheduled to go on trial in New Mexico next week, but their lawyer filed a motion to dismiss the charges. That motion will be heard in mid-August, and Dan said his lawyer already has approval from the judge to bring in archaeological and religious experts to testify.

Though federal prosecutors say religious freedom does not exempt the use of illegal drugs, the Quaintances and their attorney, Mario A. Esparza, say differently based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

In March, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a small religious group based in Santa Fe, N.M., that combines Christianity and American Indian practices could use hallucinogenic tea in its ceremonies. The decision was based on the 1993 Religious Freedom Resto-ration Act, which says the government needs to justify any action that would substantially burden people from practicing their faith.

"The Arizona Constitution is very clear about providing people with the right to practice their religion unmolested," Dan said. "We and some of the higher-ups in our church see this as a hate crime against the people who practice our faith.

According to its Web site, the Church of Cognizance preaches: "With good thoughts, good words and good deeds, we honor marijuana as the teacher, the provider and the protector."

"For us, the marijuana is the protector, provider and teacher, promoting good thoughts, good words and good deeds," Dan said. "None of that is harmful to the health or safety of society in general."

He also said, however, he does not refer to cannabis as "marijuana" because "that is the name it has been demonized under." The plant used in the Church of Cognizance religious rites is Haoma, which is the ancient name for the cannabis plant.

"I did extensive research into this topic before founding the church - -- I didn't just jump into this," Dan said. "Archaeology has shown a correlation between cannabis and the Tree of Life in the Bible."

Dan said there are scientific studies that show THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, gives people the creativity to think for themselves, better analyze situations and regulate almost every function in the human body.

"We don't sit around and get intoxicated all day," Dan said. "We never consume marijuana to the point of impairment, nor do we encourage others to."

Using the archaeological evidence and information from studies that have come out of respected institutions, such as the University of Arizona and Harvard University, the Quaintances believe they can make a case for the continuance of their church's practices.

"We filed the founding of the church at the Graham County Recorder's Office in 1994 and declared our sentiments," Dan said.

The Quaintances live in Pima with their son and daughter and their families, which is the common practice of members of the church.

"Each group has a family-oriented monastery, and they hold the same beliefs about the sacredness of the haoma plant," Dan said. "We live close to our family and get to see our grandchildren everyday. We love it, as do our grandchildren, and, hopefully, when we are no longer able to care for ourselves, they will be there to help care for us."

The church consists of more than 72 registered monasteries in 42 states and several other countries. The average age of a member is 35. Though it seems that the church has grown quickly since its beginning, Mary said the growth is actually very slow compared to others.

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http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n934/a06.html
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Where love is, there God is also.

-Mahatma Gandhi

[Officer]

I think the headline needs adjustment: "Federal Govenment uses Drug Charges to attack Pima Couple's Religion"
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The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and
worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed
in this state to all humankind - NYS Bill of Rights

[Stokes]

Update!
_________

Mike Senger writes about the trial of Dan and Mary Quaintance:

Greetings To All,

I appeared as a witness in USA v Quaintance, and have spoken to
Danuel Quaintance since the hearing, and thought I would send a brief trip
report, as I am sure everyone is anxious to know what happened. I was
excluded from the courtroom for much of the testimony, under "the rule",
but did get to witness some testimony, and Dan has filled me in on the
highlights. Dan & Mary & Joe were present for all testimony. Joe seemed to
be in good spirits, given the hellish circumstances of his confinement. He
was shackled all 3 days, only one hand loose for taking notes, with body
cavity searches coming and going. Please pray for Joe to be released.

We all believe that Marc Robert did AN ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC JOB!!
Dan, Mary & The Church of Cognizance were very fortunate to have Marc as our
zealous advocate. I believe that we will prevail on the SOLE ISSUE of
"SINCERITY". THAT IS WHAT TOOK 3 DAYS ~ PROVING SINCERITY! That if we
want to be exempt from a generally applicable law, then we had to PROVE
SINCERITY.

However, it was stipulated by all, that if sincerity was
established, then a separate compelling interest pre-trial hearing will be
held. That would be the next step. Thus, not much, if any, "compelling
interest" type evidence was submitted by either side.

The hearing ended up lasting 3 (partial) days, a complete record was
made, and closing arguments are to be submitted by Marc Robert by Wednesday
next week, with the Govt Response by Friday next week.

Then the Judge will rule on Dan, Mary & Joe's Motion to Dismiss. A
ruling on Joe's motion to suppress could come sooner . With regards to Joe,
the video showed the dog circling the vehicle 8 times, and finally the
handler patted the top of the tire and the dog wagged its tail, and that was
the "probable cause". We expect that case could go away. I understaand that
Joe's attorney Bernadette Sedillo did a fantastic job also.

On Dan, Mary & Joe's Motion to Dismiss, Expert Witness, Dr. Debra
Pruitt, laid an excellent foundation of the deification of plants in
religion, and other important testimony. From what I hear, she was
"absolutely brilliant".

The former Graham County Sheriff, Richard Mack, testified that the
COC had never been any problem all the time he was Sheriff, and that he knew
that the COC existed.

I testified to religious sincerity of Dan & Mary and about my
personal religious beliefs, and submitted a comprehensive affidavit of
religious sentiment.

[ The prosecutor tried to scare EC Anna Dibble and myself into not
testifying, by demanding we be represented by our own counsel. So we had a
whole bunch of good lawyers in that courtroom, all being enlightened about
the COC and RFRA. Dans lawyer, Mary's lawyer, Joe's lawyer, my lawyer,
Anna's lawyer, Tim Kripners lawyer. ]

Enlightened Cogniscenti, Anna Dibble, testified to religious
sincerity of Dan & Mary and about her personal religious beliefs, and
submitted a comprehensive affidavit of religious sentiment.

Dan testified for about 4 hours about everything under the Sun, and
a complete record was made..

Tim Kripner apparently made a deal with the DEA to LIE UNDER OATH
about NEARLY EVERYTHING, in an effort to paint Dan & Mary as being involved
"in commerce". However, he was inconsistent, arrogant, and just NOT
CREDIBLE, Dan reported. We hope his testimony will be realized as being
"bought" with a DEA plea deal.

DEA Task Force Officer Zarate testimony was also not damaging, Dan
reported.

Zoroastrian Fire Priest, also not damaging, actually worked to our
advantage, or was at least neutral, Dan reported.

Mary did the grand finale, and hopefully her testimony, explanations
and clarifications put the final touches needed for dismissal.

There were some reporters present in the courtroom, taking notes,
some New Mexico daily papers we think, and maybe N.M. State Univ. ?

Myself and EC Anna Dibble have been advised by 3 of the attorneys
that our testimony could lead to our being "SEARCHED" & perhaps prosecuted
here in AZ, but we both chose to testify anyway. I believe it would be a
hate crime to harass and molest us based on our affidavits and testimony.
But we have been told to expect harassment, since it is a "war".

It was comical that one of the USA's main exhibits was the photo in
the middle of the page at this link
http://haoma.enlightener.net/page2.htm showing some African children
smoking "something" along with a picture of a "bud" just below the kids
picture. The USA cut a paste together a one page "Exhibit" that is A
FRAUD, and the captions and other pictures were not included. To every
Defense witness the prosecutor would drag out this as evidence that we
somehow support the use of Haoma by minors. That was actually hilarious,
the way he would present it. That exhibit they "mocked-up should be
objected to as out of context. Looks like evidence tampering to me?
This was one page of many Haoma images collected from all over the
internet relating to our Deity, and certainly those African kids have
nothing to do with us!


I will report more as it becomes known to me. It usually takes a
while to get a transcript.

Bless Us All,

Enlightened Cogniscenti Mike Senger
New Paradigm Monastery of The Church of Cognizance
P.O. Box 2252
Florence, AZ 85232
(480) 695-2646
mdsenger@earthlink.net

With good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, we honor Marijuana; as the
teacher, the provider, the protector.
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_________________
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Where love is, there God is also.

-Mahatma Gandhi

[Brother Adam]

Wahoo....religious freedom working in the courts! I love this, and will bless this with my most positive energies!
_________________
-Brother Adam (we are all one family)

“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

-James Madison

Police officers acquitted for beating a 64 yr old man recently in New Orleans. In the words of their defense attorney "all he had to do was comply"....and they wouldn't have fractured his face.

[Brother Adam]

Wahoo....religious freedom working in the courts! I love this, and will bless this with my most positive energies!
_________________
-Brother Adam (we are all one family)

“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

-James Madison

Police officers acquitted for beating a 64 yr old man recently in New Orleans. In the words of their defense attorney "all he had to do was comply"....and they wouldn't have fractured his face.