Pubdate: Sun, 06 Sep 2015 Source: Trentonian, The (NJ) Copyright: 2015 The Trentonian Contact: http://www.trentonian.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1006 Author: Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman PRO-MARIJUANA CHURCH GROUP LANDS IN TRENTON DURING 40-DAY, RETREAT TRENTON - Does marijuana have any connection to religious scriptures and priesthood? Anne Armstrong, a self-described Originalist Judeo-Christian who hopes to influence Pope Francis and President Barack Obama, says the cannabis flowering plant is indeed mentioned in the original Hebrew language editions of the Bible as a key ingredient in an oil mixture for priests. In Exodus 30:23, many English-language interpretations of the Bible refer to the herb in question as "sweet-smelling cane," but Armstrong, 55, of Providence, Rhode Island, said the correct Hebrew-to-English translation would be "cannabis" as she chilled Saturday afternoon in the rear courtyard behind NJ Weedman's Joint restaurant off East State Street. "The drug war in our country has done so much harm," said Armstrong, who recently founded a Rhode Island-based congregation called the Healing Church. Holding the Bible in her right hand, Armstrong said, "The purpose of this book is to show us how to love each other all over the world and get along." Those very scriptures detail how Jesus retreated to a desert for 40 days of fasting to prepare for his mission of spreading the gospel. Armstrong, accompanied with three members of her congregation, said her group is following the example of Jesus. The Healing Church members left from Providence, Rhode Island, on Aug. 14 via walking and driving, crashed at Trenton this weekend with their buddy Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion, and are planning to continue forward to arrive in the nation's capital Sept. 22 to wrap up their 40-day spiritual retreat that will coincide with the anticipated arrival of Pope Francis on American soil. Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive in the United States Sept. 22 at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, and to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House on Sept. 23. "The president used cannabis," Armstrong said. "He said so in his book (Dreams From My Father)." Saying that cannabis is the sweet-smelling cane mentioned in Exodus 30:23 and highlighting the significance of the scheduled White House meeting between President Obama and Pope Francis, Armstrong added, "It's in the Bible, Obama has used it, so even if all they can do is bless it, they can come out and tell everyone to stop fighting all over the planet." Forchion, 50, founder of the up-and-coming NJ Weedman's Joint restaurant and sanctuary across from Trenton City Hall, on Saturday said he was happy to host his Healing Church friends for the weekend and wishes them well on their retreat to Washington, D.C. The anticipated Philadelphia arrival of Pope Francis is scheduled to occur on the weekend of Sept. 26-27. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom