First Church of Cannabis wins IRS nonprofit status

Emotions appeared sky high at the newly formed First Church of Cannabis, after the Internal Revenue Service granted it nonprofit status.

"What a GLORIOUS DAY it is folks," the church's founder Bill Levin wrote in a post on Facebook announcing that the IRS had approved making the church a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. "WE ARE 100 % a LEGAL CHURCH... All say HALLELUJAH and SMILE REAL BIG!... We are OFFICIAL!"

The designation means donors to the church can deduct their gifts on their federal tax returns as charitable and the church would be eligible for a property tax exemption in Indiana. The church has raised $10,905 on a gofundme.com account but has not found a home yet.

Levin, the self-appointed "minister of love," formed the church this year partly as a means to test the state's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which offers protections against the government infringing on religious practices.

Levin plans his first official church service July 1 — the day RFRA becomes law — where his members will follow blessings by smoking marijuana in what he describes as a religous practice. But some legal experts doubt such an illegal act would be exempted from prosecution by the religious protections offered by RFRA.

Levin provided the Star with a copy of his non-profit notification from the IRS.

"You are qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers or gifts," the letter, stamped May 21, 2015, reads. "We determined that you are a public charity."

"Come on feet we are doing a HAPPY DANCE.," the church's Facebook post says.

Legal experts had said it was inevitable that someone would test the controversial RFRA law, and Levin has said he was anxious to see if police would arrest him for toking in church.

Robert Katz, a law professor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, said if Levin did go through with the ceremony and was prosecuted, he would need to prove to a judge that his church was a legitimate religion to get protection under RFRA.

That could be difficult, Katz said.

"One thing the court would look at is the history of the church," he said. "Churches with a long established history would be looked at more favorably."

While supporters of RFRA said it was meant to protect religion from being infringed on by the government, it drew national attention when it was viewed by critics as a tool to potentially allow business owners to refuse service to same-sex couples for religious reasons.

After a national backlash, the law was clarified by the legislature at Gov. Mike Pence's urging to explicitly forbid the erosion of local ordinances that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Call Star reporter John Tuohy at (317) 444-6418 and follow on Twitter @john_tuohy.