Ontario Superior Court Justice Thea Herman ruled Feb. 7 that the Church of the Universe, which uses cannabis as a sacrament, is not exempted fmor Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, rejecting religious freedom arguments from two church members accused of trafficking.
Roger Christie, founder of the 
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Peter Orlovsky, longtime partner of Allen Ginsberg and a renowned poet and counterculture figure in his own right, died May 30 in Vermont of lung cancer. He was 76.
Rep. 
Trevor Douglas, 25, of Avon, Colo., was convicted of cannabis possession March 9, despite his claims that the plant is a crucial part of his spiritual practice and deserves First Amendment protection. Douglas told the court he uses cannabis as a religious sacrament, similar to the use of bread and wine in Catholic Holy Communion.
Every year since 1972, the Rainbow Family of Living Light has been holding its Summer gathering in the National Forests of the United States, bouncing to a different state each year, from coast to coast. A loose network of hippie tribes that celebrate their diversity, the Rainbow People caravan cross-country for the annual back-to-nature affair that starts building in June and climaxes with a silent meditation for world peace when the rest of America is setting off fireworks on July 4.
