The First Church of Cannabis was founded in March 2015 by Bill Levin, who attended Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, a Reform Judaism synagogue, as a child.

"Grand Poobah" is a term derived from the name of the haughty character Pooh-Bah in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado (1885), and used recurringly in The Flintstones as the name of a high-ranking elected position in a secret society, the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes.

The service went without any arrests, even with a heavy police presence, although there were protesters from a nearby Christian church.

"[9] The church has a list of twelve commandments called the "Deity Dozen", which includes abstention from Internet trolling.

[4][5] The group's meetinghouse is located at a former Christian church building on South Rural Street in Indianapolis.

[11][12] Several days after its first service, the Church sued both the state of Indiana and the city of Indianapolis, claiming that the present marijuana laws infringed on their religious beliefs.