Over the past two decades, a record number of cannabis reform bills have been introduced in Congress, marking a paradigm shift from the days when every lawmaker believed weed was a “gateway drug.” But even though many Republican lawmakers are on board with legal weed today, an old guard of hardline conservatives still remain entrenched in the dark ages of prohibition.

This past weekend, Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn just proved that point. At the “In God We Trust Rally” held last Saturday in Colorado, Lamborn said that the fact legal weed dispensaries are found on the same streets as churches was proof of the “spiritual war our nation is entrenched in,” Marijuana Moment reports. 

“We need to look no further than our own streets to see evidence of this conflict,” Lamborn said. “Marijuana dispensaries are on the same streets as thriving churches.”

Gallery — Bongs with Threatening Auras:

One might expect that Lamborn hails from the deep south, but he is actually from Colorado, one of the first states to legalize weed. When every other lawmaker from his home state took a stand against former Attorney General Jeff Sessions' decision to allow federal prosecutors to crack down on state-legal cannabis operations, Lamborn wrote a letter congratulating the now-ousted AG. 

Lamborn applauded Sessions for “upholding the law and recognizing the serious and proven harms associated with marijuana,” while complaining that “legalizing marijuana has been bad for the state of Colorado” — despite ample evidence to the contrary. The lawmaker did concede that he saw the value in rescheduling cannabis to facilitate medical research, but added that he wasn't sure he “could support going beyond that.”

Legal weed is not the only enemy in Lamborn's “spiritual war.” At the rally, which was aimed at “restoring faith, family, and freedom to Colorado,” Lamborn called out abortion clinics and lawmakers wishing to “impose radical gender theory on young students while parents in godly homes teach their children the virtue of marriage” as further evidence of this religious war.

Hopefully, Colorado voters will keep these comments in mind when deciding whether to renew Lamborn's term next year.