LOS ANGELES, Calif. /Send2Press Newswire/ — With the proliferation of marijuana clubs across the Western States of the United States, a familiar face in the cannabis industry has created a way all Americans can profit from pot. After guest lecturing at America’s first cannabis college Pastor Craig X Rubin of the Beverly Hills Green Cross realized the need for an on-line education resource in the emerging cannabis field. Profitfrompot.com is the pastor’s unusual idea of what the masses need, “They need jobs and legal cannabis would create over two million jobs within one year.”
Rubin was seen on KABC’s eyewitness news speaking out for his friend Patrick Duff leader of the Royal Temple of Zion. http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=6975949 .
Rubin who founded Temple 420 nearly four years ago accuses law enforcement of capricious and selective prosecution against vocal people running these medical marijuana clubs. “Patrick Duff spoke out for me on August 6, 2009 at the PLUM (Planning and Land Use Meeting) at City Hall and now he is being punished for it.” Rubin went on, “Patrick is sincere about his faith and won’t be deterred by these illegal actions.”
After appearing on Showtime’s hit show “Weeds” as the owner of a medical marijuana club, and because of their religious conviction and being the first to portray medical marijuana on TV, Rubin and his wife felt compelled to reach out to users with the Word of God. For their efforts of helping people to know Christ they lost their life’s savings, their home and their cars, but Rubin is positive about the whole thing, “The Bible says,” the pastor is constantly quoting the Bible, “We know for certain, those that love God and are called to His purpose, that all things work for His glory.”
Law enforcement has recently taken a harsh turn and begun to enforce code violations. Last week Organica, owned by Jeff Josephs, was raided and his dog was shot. There was air support as well as 7 different law enforcement agencies acting as a joint taskforce all because Organica had not filed their taxes properly. This evening LAPD spokesmen on the scene of the arrest stated that, “The Royal Zion Temple was licensed to operate as church and they were healing people. The church should not be a place of healing.”
Three of the temple’s volunteers were arrested. One volunteer in a wheel chair was asked to leave by the police as they did not want to arrest a man in a wheel chair while four media stations were covering the event. The police said, “There was less than two pounds of marijuana at the facility.”
Duff, who ran a medical marijuana collective at his church because he believes the church is place where healing should occur, verified all patients’ doctor’s notes prior to allowing them access to medical cannabis. Rubin ran Temple 420 in a similar way, but was not allowed to mention medical marijuana at trial. Eventually, after being convicted, the probation and judge granted Rubin the right to reopen his church as the Beverly Hills Green Cross (2370 Robertson Blvd., 90034).
Rubin said, “When I applied for my permits I asked the business licensing department if I needed a hardship and they said, ‘there is no such thing as a hardship church,’ so I didn’t apply for one initially.”
Rubin went on, “After my neighbors – who run a dispensary down the street – complained about me, the building department said I had to shut down my church collective if I didn’t file for the hardship, so I filed. Then two weeks ago City Hall voted to deny my application.”
Rubin and Duff believe their rights are being violating since the RLUIPA (Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act) was created to protect just such people. The police had no search warrant when they detained people at the church, but Judge Leslie Dunn issued one at the last minute allowing the raid. Rubin jokes about L.A. being a small town, “I’ve known Jeff, whose dog was shot at the Organica raid, for nearly twenty years and I used to work for Judge Dunn’s husband at Korn/Ferry International in high school. I wish we could do what Rodney King said years ago and just get along.”
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News Source: Beverly Hills Green Cross