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U.S. NEWS Thursday 3 augusT 2017

Rastafarian pot farm shootout sparks religious-use debate

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE ligious purposes. She said
PAUL ELIAS she’s advised nearly 200
Associated Press farms affiliated with her
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) church not to adhere to
— The shooting of two Cali- state licensing rules. “As a
fornia deputies responding member of the church you
to a disturbance at a Ras- aren’t bound by a lot of
tafarian marijuana farm the rules other people are,”
has drawn attention to reli- Charles Lepp said. “You’re
gious use of the drug, spark- not supposed to grow in
ing debate over whether Yuba County where this
churches should be pro- incident happened with-
tected from drug prosecu- out a county issued permit,
tions. Religious organiza- (but) as a church you don’t
tions throughout California need a permit.” Officials
have been growing mari- don’t agree. The religious
juana for ceremonial pur- argument didn’t keep
poses for years — and have Charles Lepp, an ordained
been losing in court for just Rastafarian minister, out of
as long. That’s because jail, and it hasn’t been suc-
there is no religious exemp- cessfully used by the Oklev-
tion to state and federal ueha Native American
marijuana bans, and there Church in Sonoma County.
won’t be any special treat- The church filed two unsuc- Heidi and Charles Lepp, who run the Sugarleaf Rastafarian Church, stand in the backyard of their
ment when California le- cessful lawsuits against the Sacramento, Calif., home on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017. The Lepp’s use cannabis as a sacrament
galizes pot next year. That’s local sheriff for destroying in their religion. The shooting of two California deputies responding to a disturbance at the
unlikely to stop Heidi and its marijuana farm in 2015. Rastafarian marijuana farm has drawn attention to religious use of the drug, sparking debate over
Charles Lepp, a Sacramen- Yuba County Sheriff’s De- whether churches should be protected from drug prosecutions.
to couple affiliated with the partment spokeswoman (AP Photo/Kathleen Ronayne)
church where Tuesday’s Leslie Carbah said the Ras- cited for illegally growing on the farm told her a new- up a hill and into a house
shooting occurred. Heidi tafarian church doesn’t marijuana and as of Octo- ly arrived church member about 100 yards behind
Lepp launched her Sug- have the proper county li- ber 2016 owed more than was armed, agitated and the farm. Another deputy
arleaf Rastafarian Church cense to grow marijuana on $400,000 in penalties, the destroying pot plants. Hei- remained outside, guard-
in 2014 while Charles was the property at the center Marysville Appeal-Dem- di Lepp told the worker to ing the backdoor. Sheriff
serving eight years in fed- of Tuesday’s shooting. She ocrat reported(https://ti- leave and then she called Steve Durfor said the two
eral prison after openly didn’t say whether sheriff’s nyurl.com/y7klre24). The li- the Sheriff’s Department, deputies exchanged gun-
growing more than 20,000 investigators are looking censing dispute didn’t stop which dispatched three fire with the suspect inside
pot plants in Lake County into the farm’s operations. Heidi Lepp from calling po- deputies. Two of the depu- the house and both were
for what he considered re- The property has been lice Tuesday when a worker ties chased the suspect shot. q

Pharmacy customer shoots armed man demanding opioids

PHOENIX (AP) — A custom- time to stop the armed has been interviewed and 2016, a 16 percent increase uge in an area at the back
er pulled a gun and shot a robbery attempt Tuesday released pending further from 2015. of the store. Officers di-
man who police say had night, police Sgt. Jonathan investigation, but has de- The scene in the Walgreens rected people to leave the
jumped over the counter of Howard said. clined to be identified or pharmacy was “full of cha- business before a police
a Phoenix pharmacy and The suspect has been identi- participate in media inter- os” when officers arrived, dog was used to pull the
pointed a gun at people fied as 30-year-old Stephen views at this time. Arizona is Howard said. wounded suspect away
while demanding opioids. Holguin, but police didn’t among a number of states Police found a dozen em- from his gun, Howard said.
Authorities didn’t fault the immediately release any grappling with a surge of ployees and customers Officers administered CPR
customer, saying he was in other information on him. opioid abuse. The state hiding from the wounded but the man died at the
the right place at the right Howard said the customer had 790 opioid deaths in suspect who had taken ref- scene.q