"Ariz. Pair Resigns Pot Church Leadership"

[GreenPartyVoter]

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - A Pima, Ariz. couple has stepped down as leaders of a church that considers marijuana a sacrament and deity.

Dan and Mary Quaintance say pending federal charges against them have made it impossible to properly lead the church. In February, the two were arrested in a car that contained 172 pounds of marijuana in the New Mexican town of Lordsburg near the Arizona state line.

The Quaintances are facing 40 years in prison if convicted on federal charges of conspiracy and intent to distribute marijuana.

Dan Quaintance, 53, said the church is now fractured, explaining that the 45-member congregation he and his wife founded in 1991 no longer has its spiritual leaders.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20061009/D8KL3B6O0.html