The Healing Church in Rhode Island is a Rhode Island-based religious sect whose adherents believe that cannabis (or marijuana) is a "holy herb" and use it in religious rituals.^[1] Leaders of the group attracted attention in 2015 for attempting to smoke marijuana in front of the Roger Williams National Memorial (a memorial to Roger Williams, a pioneer of religious freedom and one of the smallest National Parks) as part of a religious service.^[1][2] One of the church members said that bhang was consumed during the service on federal property, to avoid violating a no-smoking rule.^[3] The following year, two leaders of the group were arrested and charged in connection with a marijuana grow operation.^[1] Days before the arrest, the pair had filed a lawsuit in federal district court, contending that enforcement of state anti-marijuana laws against those who use marijuana for religious purposes violates the U.S. Constitution.^[4]

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