Smoking: A Religious Rite?

It’s a sign of the times. To get around indoor smoking bans, Dutch smokers are joining “The Only and Universal Smokers Church of God,” where they can smoke in church. After all, if Prohibition didn’t ban consumption of sacramental wine during Holy Communion, why should smoking regulations ban smoking in church? The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a Native American church was entitled to a preliminary injunction protecting its use and consumption of hoasca, a drug that is generally illegal to possess. The Court cited religious-freedom guarantees in American law. The Dutch smokers cite analogous religious-freedom guarantees in European law.