On Wednesday, as possession for recreational use becomes legal in Oregon and Minnesota opens its first medical pot dispensary, a new marijuana-centric religion will host its inaugural worship service in Indiana.

The First Church of Cannabis in Indianapolis hopes to blaze a new route to de facto legalization without the reform legislation or ballot measures seen in more progressive states. It's seeking an exemption to anti-pot laws under Indiana's controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Church of Cannabis leaders believe the state’s religious-freedom law, which takes effect Wednesday, grants them legal protection to enjoy the drug in Indiana, where neither medical or recreational use of marijuana is allowed.

All appeared to be going according to plan until the three-month-old congregation bought a church building around the corner from the Church of Acts, whose founder and pastor Bill Jenkins has made it his mission to shut down the enterprise.

“I don’t believe it’s a religion, I believe it’s a drug house,” Jenkins tells U.S News. He says his church members and even local drug dealers have joined him to rally opposition. He suspects the illicit businessmen fear competition.

The conflict between evangelical Christians and pot evangelists -- religious persecution, according to Church of Cannabis founder Bill Levin -- culminated Friday with a press conference where Indianapolis Police Chief Rick Hite said anyone smoking pot in or near the service would be arrested.

Jenkins says their professed religion is nothing more than “a bogus excuse to get high.”

Levin counters his church is all about love and members have begun to craft practices and teachings that resemble a religion. Still, he's now discouraging his flock from bringing marijuana to smoke Wednesday, as was the original plan.

Even if a disobedient member lights up, Levin says he will avoid being arrested himself for maintaining a common nuisance (“a legal chess move,” he says). Levin agreed to allow an officer to attend the service, and others will be posted outside to direct traffic and corral protesters.

Indiana's religious freedom law, signed by Gov. Mike Pence, R-Ind., right, has legalized pot use for members of the First Church of Cannabis, says Bill Levin, left.

Courtesy Dave Fulton; Michael Conroy/AP

Church leaders intend to file a civil lawsuit soon to establish their right to use pot at worship services. In the meantime, a sometimes ugly struggle has been brewing.

Jenkins and Levin recently argued about a sign that appeared in front of the new church that says “cast the first stone,” referring to a biblical story in which Jesus defended an adultress from a crowd intent on stoning her to death. The church leaders disagreed about whether it’s appropriate to quote Jesus without believing he’s the son of God. Levin says on Monday someone toppled the sign and covered it with stones.

Jenkins, who is leading a protest outside the first service, denies he or his congregation had anything to do with the vandalism or other issues Levin has reported, such as a church member’s car doors being maliciously opened during a rain storm and an M-80 firecracker being used to damage his own car’s muffler.

Levin believes thousands of people will enter the residential neighborhood to attend or gawk during his church’s first service. All 180 seats in the sanctuary have been assigned and there's standing room for perhaps another 30 people.

He plans to use a cigar in lieu of marijuana for the first service, as he awaits judicial confirmation the religious freedom law that some argue was intended to shield anti-gay businessmen from being forced to comply with laws that violate their beliefs also protects his new religion.

But Jenkins believes cannabis fans of Levin's church will simply “pull the wool over the eyes of police” by bringing pot-infused brownies or pasta.

“I oppose it because it is illegal,” he says. “I have no idea about any kind of benefits or whatever, all I know is in Indiana it is an illegal drug.”

The anti-pot pastor years ago used the Church of Cannabis’ new home to baptize members. He claims he saw a marijuana plant growing on the altar during a recent open house, though police told him an undercover cop determined it was fake.

“I ain’t always been a pastor," says Jenkins. "Unfortunately I do know the difference."

It’s unclear whether the Church of Cannabis can win in court. UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh told U.S. News earlier this year people elsewhere have failed to convince courts religious freedom laws protect their use of marijuana.

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At a recent forum, the Indianapolis Star reports, Ohio State University law professor Douglas Berman was more optimistic. "It is relatively rare a defendant could have done the front-end work to show the drug use came after a religious commitment," he said, "rather than you were using drugs and then you conveniently got a religious commitment on the back end."

Levin says he’s glad to be getting attention and grateful that cops threatened to arrest his congregation, giving him grounds to sue.