Minnesota: Judge Grants Rastafarian Exemption From Probation Drug Testing « WeedPress

Minnesota: Judge Grants Rastafarian Exemption From Probation Drug Testing « WeedPress: "For the past 18 months, Minnesotan Jamison Arend has been openly smoking cannabis daily — with a judge’s approval.

Jamison, a licensed Rastafarian Minister, was sentenced to five years probation in March of 2010 after an altercation at his home. During sentencing, Judge Judith Tilsen handed down a groundbreaking exemption to the State’s probation drug testing laws:

“[T]he defense has proven a colorable claim of religious right to ceremonial use of cannibus, otherwise known as marijuana. Ceremonial use is intermittent use, but because of our chemistry and how we do UAs, it would seem to me that even with limited ceremonial use that a UA would come up dirty on a regular basis. I’m specifically not ordering that Mr. Arend abstain from the use of marijuana and I’m specifically not authorizing UAs to defendant for marijuana. If probation is concerned about use of other illegal substances, probation may then perform UAs for other illegal substances.” –Judge Tilsen’s ruling"

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