The pastor of a marijuana-based church will run for Weld County commissioner as a Republican.
Brandon Baker, 39, who in 2013 sued to stop the state’s pot DUI law from being enacted, says he will campaign for the at-large county commissioners seat up for election November 2018, and could face off against incumbent at-large commissioner Steve Moreno, also a Republican, in the June primary.
Baker cites partisan rhetoric as his reason for entering the race.
“I’m running on the seriousness, dedication and determination I used to solidify our respectable and responsible cannabis sacrament church of God,” Baker said in an email.
Baker spent 15 years as a stone mason, and has studied law but has not yet completed his degree. He has worked for law offices as a process server since 2010, and has run the Greenfaith Ministry church and charity in Nunn since 2009.
The organization’s website says it’s the first federally and state-approved marijuana-based church in the United States. The church’s sole focus is on cannabis, and it has detailed rules based on the substance, including the idea that the church must maintain a six-month supply of marijuana in the event of a natural disaster.
“I have one thing Weld County is lacking and no other candidate offers: a younger, modern approach to it all, with decades of experience in law as well as cannabis and hemp,” Baker said, adding that hemp is the biggest emerging agriculture industry out there.
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