Tell Congress to support Native American Religious Freedom.

To those who stand for freedom,
The Temple of Advanced Enlightenment is a Native American Inter-Diciplinary Religion based in Bangor, Maine. We teach a message of tolerance, love, unity and community involvement. We operate as an Unincorporated Association equally protected under the Maine Constitution. The Temple was founded by Rev. Kevin A. Loring a member of the Penobscot Indian Nation.
Our members fear persecution at the hands of local, state and Frederal authorities who might innocently mistake our worshippers as criminals. Our members use cannabis as a sacrament much in the same way Bible based religions use wine. In fact The Native American Church uses peyote as a sacrament and have enjoyed a 35 year old exemption for "religious and other use". This creates a denominational preference for one tribal religion over all others. Congress extended this protection to all 50 states in 1994 with the passing of RFRA.
Since then a small Brazilian sect was granted a Permenant Injunction by the Supreme court against the DEA for interfereing with their religious worship. The UDV uses a hallucenogenic tea that contains DMT.
Other "cannabis churches" have attempted to petition the DEA but were denied becuase the United States has a vested interest in preserving Native American Cultures and Theologies.
The Temple of Advanced Enlightenment believes that cannabis is the Divine Inheritence given to them by Mother Earth. The Temple also believes that intolerance and use without spiritual guidance will lead to the destruction of the physical, emotional and spiritual self. Hence we do not support legalization or an end to marijuana prohibition in general. But we do attest that for 35 years peyote, used spiritually, has never become a problem with widespread use. The exemption proves that exceptions can be made without the sky falling or society crumbling.
Congress can simply create through act of law, a nearly identical exemption as they did for the Native American Church, or place strong pressure on the Federal DEA to approve our petition. You are also invited to learn more about our religion and its divine laws at www.templegreen.org. We guard heavily against diversion of sacrament to members outside the Temple and promote an easy to use Voluntary Reporting system that any local, state or federal agaency may utilize to check up on our Temple.
We humbly ask that even if you do not believe as we do, that you stand and support religious freedom equally for all. The United States created a secular republic dedicated to the religious freedoms of all. Sometimes these laws inadvertantly cuase harm becuase a democracy is controlled by a majority. The majority of Americans are from bibled based faiths that may accidently supress the rights of smaller minority faiths.
During Alcohol Prohibition, the Volstead Act gave an unlimited exemption for the sacramental use of "intoxicating liquers" for all religions, it didn't pick one denomination over all others, it didn't even pick a specific style of alcohol like wine.
We also have plans for programs and resources targeting at giving new tools to help end the War on Drugs and aiding Maine's medicinal marijuana patients by giving them a federally protected provider of medicinal cannabis, free of charge. The Temple does not seek to profit, only to ensure that the patients who need the most compassion are actually getting it.
Please, we implore your aid! Life isn't about being politically correct, it's about being human. The Temple has had great success teaching harm reduction techniques and providing counciling to troubled youth with substanse abuse mentoring. Our Temple members are highly educated and cuase no harm to society. The Temple advocates for community service and a return to family and community values. We compliment and accentuate the Governmental Interest of stopping illicite drug use AND a provide a faith based system that actually works.

Sincerly,

Rev. Kevin A. Loring - Member of the Temple High Council
Rev. Jillian Dunton - Member of the Temple High Council
Rev. Garrett Wozneak - Member of the Temple High Council
The Temple of Advanced Enlightenment