All the more reason why we can consider our republic a failure for tolerating this abuse of logic- to violate one's basic rights of freedom of medicine and diet with onerous statutes with penalties clearly in violation of the 1st, 8th and 9th amendments of the U.S. Constitution- with a great many legislative members and judges belonging in prison. About 'Justice' Eismann:The Idaho Supreme Court upheld the drug conviction of Shawn Fluewelling, who claimed he used marijuana as a religious sacrament. The high court ruled that the state’s drug law didn’t violate his First Amendment rights to freedom of religion. Fluewelling is a member of THC Ministry, a Hawaii-based organization that believes cannabis, the active ingredient in marijuana, is a fundamental right protected by God and the U.S. Constitution. Last week, the Idaho Supreme Court unanimously rejected Fluewelling’s appeal that his religious rights were being violated. THC Ministry formally stands for The Hawaii Cannabis, according to the group’s website. THC is also the abbreviation for the psychoactive substance found in marijuana.
In his decision, Chief Justice Dan Eismann quoted an 1879 U.S. Supreme Court case stating how the government can regulate religious acts. “Laws are made for the government of actions; and, while they cannot interfere with mere religious belief and opinions, they may with practices,” the court wrote in Reynolds v. United States, which Eismann quoted.
Fluewelling had argued that the state’s exemption for the sacramental use of peyote, which applies to members of Native American tribes, applies to his church and marijuana, but the court disagreed. According to Eismann’s ruling, Meridian police found a third of an ounce of marijuana in Fluewelling’s residence in 2008, but he pled guilty to intention to distribute marijuana, which is a felony and carries stiffer punishment than mere possession.
Fluewelling argued the state law is vague, letting prosecutors decide whether to prosecute for possession or intent to distribute drugs, but Eismann rejected that argument, saying Fluewelling told police he would share the marijuana with friends as a sacrament.
http://www.isc.idaho.gov/jeismann.htm
In 1995, Governor Batt appointed Chief Justice Eismann as a district judge in Ada County. Convinced that there must be a more effective way to deal with the burgeoning drug problem, Chief Justice Eismann began working to set up a drug court in Ada County. In 1998, Ada County was awarded a federal grant, and in February 1999, the drug court began receiving participants. Chief Justice Eismann presided over that drug court until just prior to taking office as a Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court. The Ada County Drug Court is proving effective in getting addicts off drugs so that they can restore their lives, rebuild their family relationships, and become productive members of the community. In 1998, the other district judges elected Chief Justice Eismann as the Administrative District Judge for the Fourth Judicial District, consisting of Ada, Boise, Elmore, and Valley Counties. While a district judge, he also served on the Ada County Domestic Violence Task Force.
Eismann at right, shaking hands with Idaho Law School Dean
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