According to the bear’s owners, the Cocaine Bear has the authority to officiate legally binding weddings in the mall where it is kept due to a loophole in Kentucky’s marriage laws.[4] This claim is only partly true; the bear does not have the authority to solemnize weddings, but the state of Kentucky cannot invalidate marriages performed by unqualified persons if the parties believe that the person marrying them has the authority to do so.[16] As such, it is a belief in the Cocaine Bear’s authority that allows her to officiate legally binding weddings in Kentucky.

If you believe hard enough, you too can be married by a stuffed bear.