cannabisnews.com: Fighting Drugs Is A Matter Of Faith
Fighting Drugs Is A Matter Of Faith
Posted by FoM on May 23, 2000 at 15:28:35 PT
By Barry McCaffrey
Source: Denver Post
Each week, millions of Americans attend religious services to seek guidance, reaffirm moral values, offer charity and obtain a sense of community. Each of these four elements underscores the importance of faith-based organizations in the fight against drugs. Educating young people to reject drugs requires us to guide them and teach them values.
Helping someone addicted to drugs reclaim his life is one of the greatest gifts of charity you can offer. America's drug problem is made up of a series of local epidemics, only by working together within our communities can we defeat this problem. On May 10, I traveled to Colorado Springs to stand with Dr. James Dobson and the Young Life Christian Ministry. The ministry's youth programs are model efforts for how faith-based organizations can play a critical role in helping our young people choose the right path and remain drug-free. Dobson's Focus on the Family message is also central to reducing youth drug use. Parents and families are among the most vital protective factors in safeguarding the futures of our children. Studies show that getting involved in the lives of your children - such as regularly attending religious services and eating dinner together - substantially reduces the risks of drug use. The One Way 2 Play program of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes is another example of how faith groups help young people stay drug-free. The One Way 2 Play program uses sports to teach the importance of staying drug-free as part of a healthy lifestyle and a commitment to faith. This summer, 20,000 young people from coast to coast will participate in fellowship's youth camps, which provide a positive summer experience and promote the One Way 2 Play message. The fellowship has run these camps since 1956, when the first camp opened in Estes Park. The fellowship's pro athlete teammates also provide young people with positive role models - Coach Troy Dungy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take his coaching staff to a local fellowship camp this year.In addition to preventing drug use, faith-based organizations also play a critical role in helping those already addicted to drugs. For example, in Washington, D.C., the Gospel Rescue Ministry has helped homeless men offering pastoral support as part of a therapeutic drug treatment program. With federal support, the ministry recently opened the Fulton House of Hope to help female addicts. The Salvation Army, which runs flagship drug treatment programs nationwide, is also one of the nation's largest faith-based charities. Helping someone break free of the chains of addiction and return to being a productive member of the community is a gift of life. In many drug-blighted areas, the local church, mosque or synagogue is the only institution upon which to rebuild a community. For example, in 1988, the leaders of the Al-Taqua Mosque in Brooklyn, N.Y., decided that the time had come to take back their neighborhood from crack dealers. Working with their local police, the mosque organized community patrols and helped coordinate police sweeps. The dealers are now long gone, leaving behind a stronger relationship between the community and the local police.The light at the end of the tunnel, however, remains a distance away. In some areas of the country, gang members still pray to the saints to protect them as they fight over drug territories, never once understanding just how far they have strayed from the course of good. America's faith community has one of the nation's strongest pulpits from which to empower people to reject drugs. As British Theologian Dean William Inge said: "If we are to safeguard our children and communities, rabbis, priests, clerics, deacons, sisters, brothers and cantors must help lead the way.While our religions differ in some ways, our shared faith provides a common ground that reaches across denominations. For all of us remaining drug free is a matter of faith - faith in ourselves, faith in our families and faith in our values.MAP Posted-by: Derek ReaPublished: May 21, 2000Copyright: 2000 The Denver PostContact: letters denverpost.com News Article Courtesy Of MapInc.http://mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n682/a03.htmlFocus On The Family - Dr. James Dobsonhttp://www.family.org/CannabisNews MapInc. Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/MAP.shtml
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Comment #48 posted by ASTER FAZAL on June 11, 2001 at 23:11:30 PT:
please you help me
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ sir please you help me with money because I need only usA 200 dollars I am very poor if you help me God help you I pray for youASTER FAZAL LAHORE PAKISTAN
miss
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Comment #47 posted by FoM on May 26, 2000 at 22:26:03 PT
Just a Note
Before I call it a day CongressmanSuet, You aren't labeled as anything but a nice and caring person in my book. You are polite and kind. That's how I judge a person's character. You can call me church lady if you want. I'm used to it! Got to laugh you know!Peace Friend, FoM!
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Comment #46 posted by FoM on May 26, 2000 at 20:23:35 PT
A TV Commercial
Thanks Lurker,I remember a Jewish Chipataqua (sp?) sponsored commercial that was on tv years ago and it went who does hate hurt? Then it said hate hurts you. Very simple and to the point. If someone hates you they are hurting themselves. It doesn't hurt the person that they hate at all.Thank You Too!Peace, FoM!
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Comment #45 posted by A lurker on May 26, 2000 at 20:04:33 PT
This was a good thread
Hello,I'd like to thank you fine folks for a very nice discourse on the issues close to my heart (spirituality, liberty, and the war on drugs), and allowing me an outlet to express my thoughts.I'd also like to share something that was posted recently in talk.politics.drugs which is great example of helping people to THINK about the beliefs they supposedly ascribe to without giving in to polarization and demonization:---------------Subject: It was a very good dayFrom: sas mojoski.comNeal Boortz (Libertarian talk show host) aired his show at a local restaurant today. I went to see what I could see. While I was there a very, very, vuh-herrry large man (meaning unhealthily fat) wanted to know what I thought about the Al Gore campaign conducting a study to find which candidate, Gore or Bush, women considered more "sponge-worthy". I replied that I could not care less what the Gore campaign was doing since I am voting for the Libertarian candidate, whomever it may be.He replied, "oh well you might as well go vote for Gore then. You're throwing your vote away." To which I retorted, "You only throw away your vote when you vote for someone who does not represent your beliefs."And so it went until finally he asked me why I would not vote for a Republican. I told him that I would never vote for a Republican or a Democrat because both parties are equally responsible for the War on Drugs. "That is my issue and that is the way I vote."So this jerk exposes himself for what he is -- he says that druggies should rot in jail. I turned away from him, thinking to myself what an ass he was sitting there as fat as a pregnant heifer stuffing chili dogs in his mouth, his beloved candidate an alleged former coke user. Argh!Finally I summoned all my courage and said, "where do you derive this belief that drug users should rot in jail?" As though he was being delivered right into my hands he replied that doing drugs was wrong. "Wrong according to what?" I said."Wrong according to the Bible.""Where in the Bible?""Jesus said our bodies are a temple.""Jesus also said that what you do to the least of His brothers you do unto Him. Would you throw Jesus in jail for the rest of his life for what Bush called, 'youthful indiscretions?'""Well...""Drug users deserve your compassion, according to Jesus. If Jesus were on earth today he would put His loving arms around drug users and help them (aside: if they sought help), not put them in prison. You certainly do not derive your authority to condemn them from the teachings of Jesus and I think if your heart is filled with hatred toward drug users you shouldn't hide behind Jesus. That attitude does not reflect His teachings."Then I walked away because what else can you say to someone so filled with hate?-----------------Reading that post made my day. I guarentee that "Christian" will be examining his opinions towards druggies in light of the exposed inconsistency with his stated beliefs. And it wasn't done with vitriol nor with ridicule suggesting that he was a mindless sheep for believing in God - it was pure logic, using the tenets of the Bible.THAT's how to combat the misguided interpretations of people... from the middle.
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Comment #44 posted by dddd on May 26, 2000 at 19:17:55 PT
upset
FoM...There's nothing wrong with getting upset,even though I didnt think you sounded that way. I hate to further expound on the religon sidetrack,but I want to make one point.; If people were never upset,or unhappy,then they would never be able to know the opposite of these emotions/feelings. It's kinda like the "yin/yang" thing,and it's one of the most convincing concepts to explain good and evil,and why they exsist. If we lived in a completely neutral world,where there was no evil,or pain,or cold,,,then we would have no way to recognize or perceive good,warmth,happiness,laughter ,etc.....There is no such thing as "good",in a world where nothing is "bad". I tend to go overboard more than I normally do,when it comes to spiritual items,,,so I will avoid making any more comments on the topic,,,,,,that is unless someone makes it so I cant resist..........May JAH Shine on you all...........ddddFoM..You're the best.
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Comment #43 posted by FoM on May 26, 2000 at 15:40:15 PT
Hi dddd!!
Hi dddd,You didn't say too much at all. I read my post and I meant it respectfully but it looks to me like I was upset. That's the hard part of communicating with a keyboard. I know that we are all diffent. We are from different backgrounds, sex, religious or non religious affiliations. We are all a product of our own life's unique trip. What we all have in common is the senseless war on our civil liberties. I want to say if I offended anyone I really am sorry. I don't have all the answers by any means. I am learning about life each day and am very glad to be able too. Thanks everyone for such an interesting thread.Peace, FoM!
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Comment #42 posted by dddd on May 26, 2000 at 14:01:44 PT
Cult of Catholism
I cant blame CS for being bitter about things that involve God.I have several good/best friends that I've known since we kids.They had to undergo the strange,and often brutal ordeal of catholic school. In many ways,I think the catholic church is somewhat near to being equivilent to a cult.Many of the survivors are bitter about anything that involves the idea of "God". The main thing is to avoid a negative vibration.No matter where you've been,or where you're going,it's always best to avoid lumping people into categorical classifications,,,which come to think of it,is what the WoDs is trying to do to anyone who likes weed. Ideally,one could still be sort of a friend,with some asshole,who had bought into the WoDs.The only way anything will ever change,anywhere,is for people to keep an open mind,and recognize the value of what anyone has been taught,or swindled and deceived into believing. Everybody has f#*cked up views and beliefs,,according to the person who thinks their own f#*ked up outlook and beliefs are the truth.....I've already said way too much,so I will shut up.May JAH shine on all of you.............dddd
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Comment #41 posted by FoM on May 26, 2000 at 06:45:37 PT
I don't understand anger very well
Hi Everyone,CongressmanSuet are you mad at people who believe in God? I'm not angry with people who don't believe in God.I actually don't understand anger towards people for a difference of opinion at all. We all believe what we believe and it should be ok I think!Just my 2 cents once more.Peace, FoM!
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Comment #40 posted by dddd on May 26, 2000 at 01:54:44 PT
blaming "Christian/religon"
Blaming religon,or "Christians" for the WoDs,is ridiculous.I am a believer,and I am a "Christian".There are many people who would refer to themselves as "Christians",who are complete idiots,or white supremacists,or devious evil scumbags.. Jim Jones,and David Koresh called themselves "Christians",as did people who burned witches at the stake,or are proponents of the WoDs. It's a mistake to make some sort of broad stereotypification of people,by labeling them with some nebulous and undefined term. "And now I will be labeled a Godless athiest for what Ive posted by the "Godly" group who claim to be such greatallies."If anyone labels CS this way,that would be the equivelent of labeling another group as "Christian",or "Godly".. As we have seen,it is quite a complicated matter to try and relate ecclesiastical,or ecumenical factors,to the Wo(s)Ds............dddd
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Comment #39 posted by CongressmanSuet on May 25, 2000 at 23:53:43 PT:
My word, this thread needs to die..
Look, I was gonna do a little piece on human harmony and end my involvement with this topic...but I changed my mind. If it smells like something, and looks like something, than its probably something. To agree to a creed that is placed in front of you,with no evidence except that of the anecdotal type, and firmly give up your free thinking , well, God bless you, and please be careful not to trample any of the other sheep when you are feeding at the trough. And now I will be labeled a Godless athiest for what Ive posted by the "Godly" group who claim to be such great allies. See, it never changes. It cant, its human nature.
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Comment #38 posted by FoM on May 25, 2000 at 21:00:31 PT
Well Said
Thank you once again Lurker. I know it is hard to explain but you do a fine job and I think much like you. I don't belong to any news groups so I don't see any problems. I stay busy with C News and maybe it is just as well if there are alot of problems with this topic in them.Don't be a lurker long! Please comment again soon! This thread might stop now that it is off the front page but maybe it won't since C News now has view the next 20 messages. It's too new a feature to say if it will help or not.Peace, FoM!
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Comment #37 posted by A lurker on May 25, 2000 at 19:53:49 PT
Building alliances
Hello yet again,I know the focus of the article presented is McCaffrey's attempt to use religion as a pawn in the drug war propaganda machine, but my reason for de-cloaking is because of the posts equating organized religion with being responsible for the drug war.We all know where the the responsibility lies in cannabis prohibition - Anslinger, special interests, racism, the politics of control, federal agencies looking to maintain budgets, etc. It never has been the product of organized religion, it is the product of organized attempts to maintain power and increase the police state.So my point is, scapegoating "organized religion" for being responsible for the drug war is counter-productive to the cause. I'm here to demonstrate that God-fearing, church-going people are not the enemy, we are ALLIES in ending this bankrupt war. All's we need are gentle reminders of the anti-Christian aspects of the law enforcement approach - zero tolerance, forfeiture abuses, breakup of the family, destroyed lives, judgement and condemnation of others. (Such reminders also serve to drive an effective wedge between the drug war propaganda machine (law enforcement) and the mainstream, many who are church-going religous people.)But one doesn't engender support by blaming everything on "organized religion". The Bible does NOT condemn cannabis usage, and it is NOT the church that is advocating this police state. It is the authoritarians who wish to increase power and remove free will from the populace.It would do us all well to remember that tolerance is a two way street. Too often, the drug issue gets mired down in the politics of polarization, from both sides. I expect this kind of conduct from the drug warriors who have a vested interest in trashing civil rights. I expect better from the enlightened pro-legalization side.Just a friendly reminder that we all should strive to take the high road (pun intended) in the re-legalization cause and avoid alienating potential allies...as one poster said, the person sitting next to you may be one of those believers who is very much in favor of ending this drug war.
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Comment #36 posted by FoM on May 25, 2000 at 10:30:09 PT
Just my 2 cents again
Hi Congressman Suet and all,Now I'm getting lost in words. I don't think as deep as some of you do. I know that church to some is a place where like minded people can meet like minded people. It is a social thing to many. I don't go to church but I did so I see both sides of the issue. I believe like Kapt in the separation of church and state. I do believe in freedom of religion too. I guess I live in my own little world. It is the world I've found that gives me peace each day. We all need to find our way to do good things. That has nothing to do with a church though.Peace, FoM!
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Comment #35 posted by CongressmanSuet on May 25, 2000 at 10:06:09 PT:
Morgan,...
You're post should be in the "Free Thinkers" Hall of Fame! That sums it up perfectly. FoM, you say that there are alot of good people in organised religion, and I would agree, just as there are good people working very hard everyday to continue this abomination called Cannabis prohibition. There are plenty of God fearing, hard working, help your neighbor types that in the name of God believe in a Soddam and Gommorrah scenerio of locking up the "evil" doers[which, by the way is in the old testament and has nothing to do with Jesus].I believe that when each of us is born, we have a "get along with the other inhabitants gene", and organised religion does nothing but work to create friction among us, and perpetuate heirarchys that have and will always lead to corruption, degradation of entire segments of society, and great human suffering. So, to say, "There are good people in religion" may make the concept more appealing, there were also "Good" people prodding the Jews into the gas chambers at Auschwitz. Being blind to reality is a very important concept of organised religion, you could say it makes the world go round...
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Comment #34 posted by kaptinemo on May 25, 2000 at 10:00:55 PT:
Once more, unto the breach...
To all and sundry: however you view matters such as faith and religion, the main thrust of the posted article and the original comments concerning it has been the use of religion as a means of furthering this Administration's DrugWar. Some see nothing wrong with this alliance between government and religion, since it is ostensibly for a 'good cause'. Others object to it vehemently (I think you can guess where I stand [smile]). Some believe that the matter of assisting addicts should be left entirely to churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, whatever. Others favor a purely secular approach.Whatever your faith, whatever your beliefs, whatever you feel in your heart of hearts, consider this: there are people who think nothing of manipulating those beliefs, that faith, those feelings. They have no respect for them because they believe them to be of no value and therefore those who hold to them are fools for doing so. And they will cynically say anything, do anything to use you for their purposes. As McCaffrey has tried to do.
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Comment #33 posted by FoM on May 25, 2000 at 09:12:21 PT
Thanks Morgan
Thanks for you comment Morgan,You are right too! Organized religion has been the cause of many wars. I only am trying to separate the people who really try hard to do what's right from organized religion. You can go to church your whole life and not be spiritual even one minute. We need to see into people's souls not what they necessarily are saying. They need to hear why we want the drug war laws changed. I imagine if Jesus was on the earth today where would he be? I think he would be reaching down into the ghettos and dispair of hard drug addiction. They are the lepers of our modern time. He certainly wouldn't put them in jail!Peace, FoM!
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Comment #32 posted by Morgan on May 25, 2000 at 08:55:33 PT:
GOD?
Like lurker, I've been reading this forum for quite awhile without posting, but this subject drew me out. I've always been of the opinion that at the root of this War on (some) Drugs has been organized religion. Christianity, to be specific. Although Christians hold themselves up to be full of peace and love, and try to follow in the footsteps of Jesus (and many do), the dynamic that is set up in this belief system, namely Good versus Evil, God versus the Devil... boils down to a constant 'Us versus Them' approach to life. Although Jesus taught 'love thy enemy', the prevailing modus apparandi of the Church has for centuries been 'Onward Christian Soldiers', smiting down thine evil enemies with your holy sword. (Hey, it's a lot more fun beating the crap out of someone, than it is showing love and compassion. Especially if you're a repressed, testosterone crazed male. Who, by the way, have been in charge of the church since it's inception.) One has to understand that these 'soldiers' would be nothing without their 'enemy'. A fireman without a fire, a cop without a crook, a doctor without a disease. In order to exist, these Christian soldiers 'need' a Devil. If there isn't one available, hell, just make one up. So, in effect, without 'evil' the 'church' would cease to exist. Let's see, we've had witches, jews, muslims, communists, socialists, marxists, jazz, rock and roll, mormons, alcohol, asians, blacks, teletubbies, homosexuals, (did I miss someone?) and for the present time, druggies. (Strange that the particular drugs and their users to be demonized are defined by the government.)After we take a turn for the sane,.. legalize and regulate drugs,.. who, or what will be the next 'Devil'? For those in power in the church, and who want to keep their power, they'd better invent a new 'evil' for their followers, with which they can both rile them up with righteous anger, and keep in line with, by the fear instilled about this new 'Devil
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Comment #31 posted by FoM on May 25, 2000 at 07:42:02 PT
Questions
Hi Everyone,This thread sure shows me the need to talk about this topic. People get mad at organized religion and in turn don't seem to realize there are very good people that are behind those church doors. I don't go to church but I am trying to do the right thing. We need to look at what people convey with their beliefs. Does a person convey hatred for those of a different faith? Do you love those who don't acknowlege God? Do you hate religious people because of something inside that makes you hate them? These are just a few questions that I have and I hope you will think about them.Peace, FoM!
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Comment #30 posted by arcturus on May 25, 2000 at 05:13:11 PT
God
I just wanted to type the word God.Thanks all.
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Comment #29 posted by dddd on May 25, 2000 at 04:12:50 PT:
WOW!
For some reason ,I had not read this discussion until now. I love to see people like Lurker,come out of the closet.I think he/she brought forth some excellent comments,and I'm not saying that just because I agree with most of them. It's nice,and intrigueing to see such a prolific response to this article. I think it indicates,believe it or not,how important God is.I dont mind if you dont believe in God to begin with.Or if you believe in God in some limited "higher Power"way...... I just want to say,that the main,most important point about God,is unknown to anybody but yourself,and "God",,,it's between you,and God,and that's the most important thing. If you dont believe there is any such thing as "God",,you will someday. I beg your pardon for straying from the direct subject of the article. Thanx again FoM. My e-mail is included this time.......dddd
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Comment #28 posted by A lurker on May 25, 2000 at 03:48:31 PT
Mankind verses God
Hello againPlease do not confuse the the traditions of men with the precepts of God. A lot of wrong has been done by mankind "in the name of God" throughout history. It doesn't mean that the message is flawed, but instead those interpreting the message. Please don't scapegoat organized religion. It's not fair and it's the same thing as scapegoating "drugs" for thecrimes that result from the illegalization of drugs.For all the abuses that have occurred throughout history by various contingents of "organized religion", please remember that there are an equal number of great, caring acts by those that truly strive to follow the precepts of their religion...things like helping the sick, the poor, caring for the widowed, the orphaned, the disabled, etc.In other words, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. My opinion is that when one is confronted with "fundementalist interpretation" on the drug issue ala "lock 'em up and throw away the key", instead consider gentle reminders to such people of the inconsistencies that surface using that approach - helping the family verses breakup of the family, prison punishment for sin, the lack of forgiveness and help, etc.Success in combatting this terrible drug war will only happen from the middle, not from polarization and demonization.
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Comment #27 posted by CongressmanSuet on May 24, 2000 at 23:48:32 PT
Im sorry, FoM, ...
I love you to death, but , as evidenced by the posts here, I still see that run toward the cliff. Organised religion is a man made spectacle. Why do we need so many cultural and ethical laws to keep us in place? Are we inherently "evil" as all major religions say we are? Can anyone with an analytical mind blindly accept this stuff? I understand you have your personal beliefs, we all do. But when religious factions try to claim superiority, as they always do, well, Im ready to puke.
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Comment #26 posted by FoM on May 24, 2000 at 22:42:30 PT
A Little Note
One more thing Jeff,I forgot to mention this. The Church isn't God to me. The Church has been very bad but those that embrace the fundamental beliefs of Christianity don't behave in that way. The Church has done good things. I've done bad and good things too. One is religion and the other spirituality I believe!Peace, FoM
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on May 24, 2000 at 22:35:41 PT
I Understand
Hi Jeff! How I feel about people's personal way to connect with God is exactly what I mean by my Jesus ( that's the name for God that I grew up knowing ) is bigger then anyone's personal beliefs. I think if you find God thru your way, you are right. We really need to find our own peace and not let anyone make anyone else feel that their way isn't right. Who are we but people.Thanks! FoM!
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on May 24, 2000 at 22:26:17 PT
Excellent
Schmeff,I think you did an excellent job. You covered many areas and you tied them all together. I really appreciate reading a heartfelt letter like yours. Thank You for sharing it here and I hope it get's published. If it's too large for the paper could you cut it so it would be the right size so maybe it will get published? Just a thought.Here are MapInc.'s Letter writing help links! Let me know if it gets published please. 3 Tips for Letter Writers: http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm Letter Writers Style Guide: http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm Peace, FoM!
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Comment #23 posted by J Christen-Mitchell on May 24, 2000 at 22:22:51 PT:
Christianity and The WoSD's
Gosh, I've been pretty harsh this year with my comments on organized religion, perhaps the pendulum will continue its swing, however,,, Christianity seems to have a steady history of bad behavior which seems to me to indicate it doen;t know wrong from right. They are always persecuting someone who is different from them. There's the drug war, which makes scapegoats out of folks who prefer to choose their own poison. They seemed to have backed racism and used the bible to perpetuate slavery. Hitler had his German Christian Church to help him to revenge Christs' murder at the hands of the Jews. Stalin learned his chops in Seminary School. There was the last cannibis witch hunt, the real witch hunt, The Inquisition, and the Fall of Rome. Could you blame a person for being a little skeptical of what professes to be an understanding, loving group?We only got to the state we are in right now because all the churchs and all the ministers stood up and said 'persecute the drug user'. And now we are witnessing the extreme with these fanatical laws they are passing. Say goodbye to liberty.
My Faith
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Comment #22 posted by Schmeff on May 24, 2000 at 22:15:05 PT:
letter to Denver Post
I have sent the following letter to the Denver Post. I have used some wording from some of the posted comments, and while I did not acknowledge everyone's contributions, I hope I can be forgiven for borrowing freely. The letter is too long according to the Post's guidelines for submissions, but hopefully it will put them on notice that the lies your Czar tells your do not go unchallenged:Thoughtful people of faith would be wise to “Just Say No” to Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey’s call to join his holy crusade as fellow warriors in the War on Drugs.While his comments (The Denver Post, May 21) exhibit reasonable concern for our nation’s children, McCaffrey’s record is far from child-friendly. As Minister of Propaganda for the Office of Drug Confusion and Prohibition (ONDCP), the policies endorsed by McCaffrey have, and continue to do more harm to our nation’s youth than a score of crack epidemics. By refusing to establish a regulated, legal drug market for ADULTS, current policy ensures that our children will continue to fall victim to all the poisons the black market has to offer. Efforts to combat the use of drugs increase the profit margins for black market privateers; thus the Drug War serves as a price support system for a huge, unregulated and untaxed infrastructure. McCaffrey’s ‘focus on the family’ all too often relies on locking up adults in an effort to “send a message to our children”. Families are torn apart and children enter the uncertain world of foster care.Worse, our children stand to inherit a system of government where civil liberties and constitutional protections do not apply. We have already lost the presumption of innocence and protections against unreasonable searches (mandatory drug tests), and the right to be secure in our homes and possessions (no-knock search warrants and asset forfeiture). Our 7th Amendment guarantees of a trial by jury have become virtually meaningless as judges and prosecutors now routinely decide what defenses and witnesses defendants may or may not use. 8th Amendment protections from excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishments have been suspended for those accused of drug crimes, who regularly get harsher sentences than murderers. Our punitive model of drug policy requires taxpayers to pay for ever more prisons and jailers. There are currently more than two million Americans behind bars, 70% of whom are drug offenders. The corrections industry is now the biggest business in the ‘land of the free.’Our 1st Amendment protections for free speech are now under attack. A section of the Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act now before the House Judiciary Committee gives the government broad powers to make ANY discussion about drugs that is not government sanctioned a crime punishable by up to ten years in prison. Silencing the critics is the surest sign of tyranny.It is instructive to note that in eight years as Drug Czar, McCaffrey and his office have continually refused to debate drug policy. While free debate examines facts and reason, propaganda deals with social control and dogma. Like his historic counterpart, edicts from the “Czar” are to be considered holy writ, and not to be scrutinized by the lowly commoners who pay his salary. In McCaffrey’s view, if you’re not with the program, you might as well be injecting pre-schoolers with heroin.McCaffrey considers marijuana to be Public Enemy #1. In spite of scientific examinations by experts during three presidential administrations, all of whom recommended the end of criminal sanctions against marijuana use and possession, over 700,000 Americans are arrested for marijuana violations every year. The latest report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), released last May, and requested by McCaffrey at the cost of millions of taxpayer dollars, specifically debunked the myth that marijuana is a “gateway” drug. Knowing that most Americans will never read the report, McCaffrey feels free to misrepresent or simply ignore its findings. Thus, a cornerstone of our drug policy is that this drug, which has never been directly responsible for a documented death in over two thousand years of use, is the most dangerous drug in America.Before you consider joining McCaffrey’s holy war; his call to “people of faith”, ask yourself how many of the world’s religions are based on “zero tolerance.” Prison is a terrible way to help people lost in the sin of excess and addiction. McCaffrey says, “the light at the end of the tunnel, however, remains a distance away.” There is no light at the end of this tunnel. Prohibition can not co-exist with freedom.
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on May 24, 2000 at 21:10:05 PT
My Thoughts
Hi CongressmanSuet,No my Jesus is alot bigger then one way of belief. I believe that we all have our own way of finding God and I do not have to be nor want to be anyone's keeper. I don't even assume who is right or who is wrong because that is very shallow thinking. If I can't figure out how God made a mountain why should I feel I can say what He wants of another person? I hope this makes sense.Peace, FoM!
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Comment #20 posted by CongressmanSuet on May 24, 2000 at 20:58:14 PT
But, in all fainess,
being raised a Catholic, I take great comfort in knowing that if my parachute fails, I will have 10 seconds in which to make a plea for forgivness of my sins on Earth and will be allowed into Heaven because of my 10 second plea for absolution...I guess with that logic, we might see Jeffrey Dahmer at the table next to us at the "Heavenly Lounge"....
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Comment #19 posted by CongressmanSuet on May 24, 2000 at 20:49:28 PT:
Well, considering there are like ...
38 official "Jesus" figures in the worlds religions, almost all of them occuring at different time periods,I guess your "Jesus" is the right one. God [with that big white beard] bless you. For you have been truly chosen. Being in the right religion is big, think of the consequences....bah, bah......
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on May 24, 2000 at 18:46:11 PT
I Agree
Thank You Lurker for your comment! I don't condemn organized religion at all. It helped me thru some really hard times in my life. I also had some of the best times of my life while doing Church activities. My older sister uses her woman's group to talk about drug issues now. I think we need to slowly get our message into the Churches! Peace, FoM!
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Comment #17 posted by A lurker on May 24, 2000 at 18:28:40 PT
Be wary of wholesale condemnations
Hello I have been lurking at cannabisnews.com for a long time and this is my first post. I am very much against the drug war and very much a practicing Christian, active in my church. My understanding of scripture is that there is no condemnation of drugs (including alcohol) per se, but of the excesses that can (and sometimes do) result from substance use - excesses that put the substance at a higher priority in life than one's relationship to God (or family or work, etc). In other words, USE is not condemned, ABUSE is. I am dismayed when I read comments on cannabisnews.com and talk.politics.drugs from anti-Wod's condemning organized religion, wholesale. Not everyone who is a member of organized religion believes that the state should incarcerate those that abuse, much less use, drugs. I am familiar with Dr. Dobson and agree with many things he articulates. However, I don't agree that legislation is the proper place to effect social change, and that people should "turn from sin" at the threat of criminal punishment. Some of us practicing Christians really do believe in rendering to Ceaser's what is Ceaser's and leaving to God what is God's domain. I also am not naive to the fact that drug/alcohol abuse does happen and does ruin lives. Too often in the legalization debate, anti-WOD's are willing to ignore that negative consequences can and do exist for many people who use chemical substances - just like addiction/abuse can happen to food, sex, religion or the Internet. It would do well for the cause if we all remember that it's not 100% "us" verses "them". With that said, I think it is infinitely more preferrable that organized religion (the church) be the vehicle to address harm reduction from substance abuse than to lay the responsiblilty in the hands of law enforcement and add to the ever-escalating police state that the United States now represents. We should be supporting efforts of the church that are independent of law enforcement, and reminding those others that prison is a terrible way to help people lost in the sin of excess and addiction.
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Comment #16 posted by LOBO on May 24, 2000 at 13:39:35 PT
Useing what ever is to his advantage at the time
McCaffry Is just trying to drum up support now from the church ! He is now trying to come of as some kind of savior of the children an the cummunity ! This all comes from a man that said "find me a way to kill those BASTARDS"http://cryptome.org/mccaffrey-sh.htmBut he can stand up by Dr.Dodson in front of the children as if he is some kind of saint trying to help Americans save themselves from themselves ? Is this really the person you want your Kids growing up as there Mentor?
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Comment #15 posted by Marc Antony on May 24, 2000 at 08:48:18 PT:
Friends, Romans, Countrymen lend me your ears!
If my history serves me, did not the Roman Empire have a strong sense of State Religion at the zenith of its decline? This article, while aimed at a political stance, is a measuring stick for the absence of true Democracy and Justice(haha!)in our lovely America.
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Comment #14 posted by kaptinemo on May 24, 2000 at 08:46:25 PT:
I *do* get it...and so does McCaffrey
To FoM and everyone who'se interested in this thread: I happen to share FoM's sensibilities on this matter. Speaking personally, having been baptised a Catholic, I had the whole ritualistic 'fish on Fridays' bit... until I got to public school and learned about all the history the Church was directly and indirectly responsible for. We have parted ways, since.This does not mean I am an atheist. On the contrary! But I cannot and will not suspend my own search for God because some preacher, priest, rabbi, mullah, whatever, demands that I do. Unfortunately, some people, out of fear, have done exactly that. They have relinquished their right to question. And thus, they have placed themselves at the mercy of those whose scruples are questionable. They'll do what they're told... and anyone who studies history knows how easily such people can be led to commit horrors. These are the 'automatons' I mentioned. What I am pointing out is that McCaffrey is so shamelessly, pragmatically manipulative, that he is seeking to use religion as just one more tool in his arsenal. That's all the people he addressed in that article really were to him. He is 'talking the talk' to get them to walk his DrugWar 'walk'. That's all anyone who seems to have the slightest bit of usefulness to him in obtaining his objective is; a means to an end. To be discarded as soon as its' usefulness is through.
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on May 24, 2000 at 07:51:39 PT
Organized Religion
Hi Everyone!I'm going to try to explain how I feel about Organized Religion. I have spent about as many hours studying the Bible as I have in posting articles on CannabisNews.The Churches, all of them, want people in their congregation to behave in a certain manner. For instance, I was born Catholic, Studied with the J.W.'s and was also very active in a modern Pentecostal Church. Each Church taught different things that you had to abide by or you were a sinner.If something is against the law, when a person asks his ministers can I do that, the minister can simply answer, render to Caesar the things that are Caesars. No more of an explanation is needed. Church and State shouldn't be together. I've always felt that was morally wrong.Laws are made to keep us in line with church teachings. What other reason could it be for the churches to even be involved? I hope this makes sense.Peace, FoM!
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Comment #12 posted by kaptinemo on May 24, 2000 at 07:04:21 PT:
A war on all fronts
CS, normally I might agree with you on that last, but we are witnessing an important tactical move on the part of the antis, here, and Observer has hit some vital points for us all to remember. Some think that that all people of faith (whatever it might be) to be mindless automotons, walking around alternatively blissed out on their respective faiths Word and ranting against the Unbelievers. Sure, there are such close-minded pathetic wastes of cerebral matter running loose. And that is precisely wht McCaffrey and his ilk hope to sway, by pushing all the right emotional buttons.Keep in mind what the Religious Right did for Ronnie Ray-Gun (he of the Star Wars SDI scam; where did all the money go, and what did we get for it?). McCaffrey hopes to use them the way the Republican Party used them in the 80's: as expendable shock troops. Macchiavellian auxilliaries, to be disposed of when their usefullness is over (The Religious Right hoped to get their feet in the doors of power , but all they got in the door was that nutcase James Watt in an essentially harmless position; they were *used*, in the same way as toilet paper, and they have been smarting from that treatment ever since. But they comprise such a sizable amount of the voting Republicans that the Reps have to be very careful in handling them, while keeping them at arms length.)That's McCaffrey's game: trying to end run things by working the religious voters into a support system capable of acting as reserves, to be called upon whenever it looks like we are winning through legislative means. Observers comments provide us with the necesary arguments to use when faced by those whose minds have not yet been totally entrained by propaganda.
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Comment #11 posted by CongressmanSuet on May 23, 2000 at 22:31:48 PT:
All this flurry about..
religion, c'mon guys, get over it already. There is a segment of our glorious population that is totally blind to the real world, taking unseen comfort in "Bible" bs. There is not much we can do in this area. Sure, try and throw their s''' back in their face, and you only get a blank stare, and a look that would be the look given to the mythical Satan if he were to appear on Earth. Fighting religious beliefs is a losing battle. Sure, if you ask " Would Jesus build more prisons or more hospitals in a way to stop this drug problem, yes, they say hospitals. But, when it comes down to it, we get to see yet another example of sanctioned human aggression.Us verses them, God, Im such a fatalist.
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Comment #10 posted by Sledhead on May 23, 2000 at 19:57:20 PT
Write those emails....
Tell it to the Denver Post at:letters denverpost.com They'll love to hear from you.
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Comment #9 posted by observer on May 23, 2000 at 19:50:33 PT
Government as God, Part 1
Each week, millions of Americans attend religious services to seek guidance, reaffirm moral values, offer charity and obtain a sense of community. True. While they are in services, they expect to hear the word of God, not self-serving government propaganda. Of course, if many "chruches" are to retain their 501c3 tax exemptions, they are effectively agents of the State and can't speak against government policy without risking loss of this exemption. (Of course, only those whose messages are not politically correct have anything to fear.)As you read this slickly produced homily from Pastor McCaffrey, notice how he skirts the essential and central issue: the incarceration of adults for using (primarily) marijuana. Note a word about prison. Nothing about the effect on people young and old of being imprisoned by the state. Zealots like McCaffrey would have people believe that more important than the commandments of God (in Christianity and Judiasm, the Ten Commandments), are their newly minted drug laws. In their twisted scheme of things, it is more important to punish drug users than to catch murderers, and the sentences bear this out. Murderers and rapists are out of jail in a few years, typically; marijuana smokers like Will Foster are sentenced to 93 years. It is worth mentioning that Christian Bible and Jewish Torah do not mention punishing adults for consuming alcohol, and are silent on the issue of drugs. (Not so for murder and stealing for example, they've always been considered sins. Prohibitionists are want to blur that distinction, also.) Prohibitionists, too, are fond of glossing over the fact that drug "abuse" has only come to be defined as a "sin" in the 20th century, for political reasons at that. Which religions admit to changing the definition of "sin" from year to year, based on politics? None, I should hope. But this is exactly what prohibitionists like McCaffrey are attempting to sell us: that whatever politicians say is "sin" then suddenly becomes "sin". That's the essence of the prohibitionist argument, that the word of politicians had somehow become holy. I reject such thinking. Politicians are not God and do not speak for God. Each of these four elements underscores the importance of faith-based organizations in the fight against drugs. More euphemisms: "the fight against drugs" really means locking up people like Will Foster who use cannabis. http://hr95.org/action.htm#foster Please note: inanimate objects, like plants, aren't "enemies" and don't "fight". They're just plants. People who use the slogan "the fight against drugs" are using that as a mask to cover their true targets: ordinary people just like you or I. Educating young people to reject drugs requires us to guide them and teach them values. I think McCaffrey really means, "indoctrinate them with the virtue of unquestioning obedience to The State." http://www.google.com/search?q=The+god+of+Statism Helping someone addicted to drugs reclaim his life is one of the greatest gifts of charity you can offer. Well, that was one true statement. But throwing your neighbor in jail simply because your neighbor smoked plant Y instead of plant X, is not "helping" him. It is oppressing him. Christian and Jewish scriptures forbid such uneven treatment in commerce, let alone in meting out punishments! ``Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the LORD.'' -- Prov.20:10 America's drug problem is made up of a series of local epidemics, only by working together within our communities can we defeat this problem. Note how the use of the word "community" shifts in this piece. On May 10, I traveled to Colorado Springs to stand with Dr. James Dobson and the Young Life Christian Ministry. Oh, how symbolic! There's Drug-Czar McCaffrey, and he's "standing with" James Dobson! They're "standing" together. And what are they standing for? The Righteousness of Government as it imprisons adults who use cannabis. That's what these two men "stand" for. They don't stand for freedom ("freedom" is dead; the newspeak we're left with instead is a pusilanimous "drug-free"). These men don't stand for liberty. They "stand" for increasing punishments to incarcerate ever more adults. That's what these two giants of The Faith "stand" for. Only, they won't say it that way for you. (They speak as lambs; they act as dragons.) The ministry's youth programs are model efforts for how faith-based organizations can play a critical role in helping our young people choose the right path and remain drug-free. see:MARIJUANA AND THE BIBLE by The Ethiopian Zion Coptic Churchhttp://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/potbible.htmmore on the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church, here:http://www.google.com/search?q=Ethiopian+Zion+Coptic+Church Dobson's Focus on the Family message is also central to reducing youth drug use. Parents and families are among the most vital protective factors in safeguarding the futures of our children. Safeguarding the futures of our children -- by locking up their adult marijuana smoker parents. Yeah, that's the ticket. Steal the childrens' homes, incarcerate their parents, make the children wards of the state (well, our locality get more federal monies that way, but that's not a conflict of interest you see): all for the children. In order to save the children, their pot-smoking parents had to be destroyed and their homes stolen. All for Our Children. We just can never throw enough adult marijuana smokers in jail, for the children. Studies show that getting involved in the lives of your children - such as regularly attending religious services and eating dinner together - substantially reduces the risks of drug use. It is always good advice for parents to spend time with their children. But when anti-drug zealots throw parents like Will Foster in jail for 93 years for a 5x5' basement pot plot, it makes it difficult for them to get "involved" in the childrens' lives. Multiply that by 700,000 U.S. cannabis arrests annually.
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Comment #8 posted by observer on May 23, 2000 at 19:49:53 PT
Government as God, Part 2
The One Way 2 Play program of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes is another example of how faith groups help young people stay drug-free. And did not the Lord mention Sacred Athletics ... in 2Hezekiah 3:6? The One Way 2 Play program uses sports to teach the importance of staying drug-free as part of a healthy lifestyle and a commitment to faith. It sounds more like State whipping "Church" into shape; using "Church" as a propaganda mouthpiece. For good measure, and not to be outdone in hubris, the ONDCP further tells us in lofty and Olympian tones, that, to the end of offering up sons and daughters to be sacrificed on the altar of The Holy War on Drugs, athletes (along with the State's Church) shall be used.The ONDCP has launched what it calls, an "Athletic initiative Against Drugs" (22) - the catch cry, "If you use, you loose". The ONDCP says this initiative is "Based on the premise that the athletic world can be used to educate children about the dangers of drugs and keep them away from drugs." The fact that the athletic world is well known for its use of performance enhancing drugs appears to have been conveniently forgotten. Part the ONDCP strategy involves "Coaching" kids away from drugs - to build self esteem and character and learn that their futures are too bright to waste on drugs." "Athletes can also help us in our drive to shape attitudes because young people emulate and look up to them", the ONDCP says. The Athletic strategy is designed to be a mentoring program - "many of our nation's strongest adult mentors and role models wear whistles and call plays when they aren't teaching life-long lessons. Coaches are looked up to by children - as mentors coaches are winners."Think about this statement carefully. If you have children, do you want them to respond to whistles and obey other peoples calls to "play" - or do you want them to develop freely and of their own accord? What other people do you know that wear whistles and call plays? What organisation requires its members to be fit and athletic? The answer - the military. Are [they] training a generation of warriors? After all, that was what Hitler Youth was all about. (23)Propaganda & The War On Drugshttp://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n712/a01.html This summer, 20,000 young people from coast to coast will participate in fellowship's youth camps, which provide a positive summer experience and promote the One Way 2 Play message. The fellowship has run these camps since 1956, when the first camp opened in Estes Park. The fellowship's pro athlete teammates also provide young people with positive role models - Coach Troy Dungy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take his coaching staff to a local fellowship camp this year. see: Athletes & Drugs:http://www.mapinc.org/find?K=athletes+drug&COL=Title&T=All+words&MAX=100&Y=All&DE=Low In addition to preventing drug use, faith-based organizations also play a critical role in helping those already addicted to drugs. By denouncing these recalcitrant thought-criminals to the secret police, of course!That would "help" them. For example, in Washington, D.C., the Gospel Rescue Ministry has helped homeless men offering pastoral support as part of a therapeutic drug treatment program. Nothing wrong with this ... unless even this "help" is somehow parleyed into more pro-prison propaganda. (It will be.) With federal support, the ministry recently opened the Fulton House of Hope to help female addicts. Oh... this must be some of that tiny percentage of federal drug-war money that goes to "treatment" versus jails! He found one. The Salvation Army, which runs flagship drug treatment programs nationwide, is also one of the nation's largest faith-based charities. Again, can't fault the Salvation Army for helping people. But none of this is a reason to lock up adults for using marijuana. Helping someone break free of the chains of addiction and return to being a productive member of the community is a gift of life. An adult who uses marijuana is not in "the chains of addiction"; nor does she need to be imprisoned and have her house stolen by the state, to "help" her. In many drug-blighted areas, the local church, mosque or synagogue is the only institution upon which to rebuild a community. Please note: "drugs", being inanimate objects, do not tear down "communities" or anything else. People do that. If a "community" is in need of "rebuilding", then "drugs" were not the reason. People are the reason. For example, in 1988, the leaders of the Al-Taqua Mosque in Brooklyn, N.Y., decided that the time had come to take back their neighborhood from crack dealers. And again we see the effects of prohibition, of making something illegal (the turf battles and the dealers selling on the streets) used as a reason to keep it illegal. Completely circular reasoning, but standard operating procedute for self-serving drug-warriors.
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Comment #7 posted by observer on May 23, 2000 at 19:48:47 PT
Government as God, Part 3
Working with their local police, the mosque organized community patrols and helped coordinate police sweeps.I see: like the Nazi "rat-hunts" where Jews and others were run out of town. (And worse.) Little Crystal Nights, except instead of Jewish people, now McCaffrey's "community" gets to scapegoat drug users! Oh yes, America: Land of the Free. The dealers are now long gone, (Along with our freedom. The dealers moved one street over.) leaving behind a stronger relationship between the community and the local police. Why does McCaffrey play on the word community so much? ... Engels undoubtedly, in his own as well as in Marx's name, suggests to the leader of the German workers' party that the word "state" be struck out of the programme and replaced by the word "community". -- The Marxist Theory of the State and the Tasks of the Proletariat in the Revolution by V.I. LENINhttp://csf.colorado.edu/psn/marx/Other/Lenin/Archive/1917-SAR/sar.txt Notice any "mission creep" with the use of the word "community" in this piece? At first it was a "sense of community"; this sense was changed by degrees to "community and the local police" here. Marx, Lenin and McCaffrey's little Worker's Paradise is a "community" (read: State, as in Statism) which is composed of police and snitches; informants and jackbooted enforcers. The ONDCP's nice-sounding "community and the local police" is another way of saying "State and Police", or simply "Police State". The light at the end of the tunnel, however, remains a distance away. ``Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!'' -- Isa 5:20 In some areas of the country, gang members still pray to the saints to protect them as they fight over drug territories, ... which is an effect of Prohibition: it is what happend when the legal market is made illegal by politicians. "Gang members" move in to supply the goods. Note that Budwieser and Miller beer don't do drive-bys, as did Al Capone during Prohibition. Just as what happened for alcohol Prohibition. "gang members" fought over "drug territories". never once understanding just how far they have strayed from the course of good.I'm not sure I'm willing to let a man who has arrested 700,000 cannabis smokers a year tell me how to interpret scriptures (even if he tried, which he didn't).``Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.''-- Mt 15:11 America's faith community has one of the nation's strongest pulpits from which to empower people to reject drugs. ``... Forbidding to marry, [and commanding] to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God [is] good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.''-- 1 Tim. 4:3-5 As British Theologian Dean William Inge said: "If we are to safeguard our children and communities, rabbis, priests, clerics, deacons, sisters, brothers and cantors must help lead the way. What about the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church? The Native North American Church? How about "The Church of the Toad of Light"? (Pharmacotheon, Jonathan Ott, 1992, p.179 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0961423498/Cannabisnews/ Hey, I'm not making this stuff up! We leave the writing of fiction to the ONDCP and other drug warriors.) While our religions differ in some ways, our shared faith provides a common ground that reaches across denominations. Yes, and a key tenet of these faiths is that one should strive to tell the truth: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." Drug warriors seem to forget this and other commandments like unto it when they tell us their self-serving tales of horror and woe should American adults simply not be arrested for using cannabis. The whole world will just fall right apart if adults are returned their traditional freedom to use this natural plant substance, the way drug warriors tell it. So therefore more prison for adults, fewer freedoms. It doesn't wash. For all of us remaining drug free is a matter of faith - faith in ourselves, faith in our families and faith in our values. More hollow platitudes. Caffeine is a drug. If one drinks a Pepsi has one therefore lost one's faith? (Remember pure caffeine is illegal to sell in Norway, so the Norwegian Youth therefore smuggle it in from Sweden.) McCaffery and his fellow travelling State-worshippers are an abomination, seeking as they do, to prevert even the pulpits of this nation's churches to serve in this politician-created Holy War On Drugs. The Torah and Bible say nothing that resembles the drug-warriors' oft-repeated axiom that using drugs (certain drugs declared illegal at any given moment) is sinful.
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Comment #6 posted by MikeEEEEE on May 23, 2000 at 18:57:56 PT
Think about this
Herbs were available and used when the bible was written.A very mind opening book if you know what I mean.The bible avocates peace, not war, are you listening drug warriors?
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Comment #5 posted by Scott on May 23, 2000 at 18:25:43 PT:
Where in the bible...
...does it say that drug use is a sin? I'm not what you could consider an avid bible reader, but I've always heard that drug use is a sin. When I have asked other bible readers where it says that I can't get a straight answer. Anyone have any ideas?
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Comment #4 posted by Dan Hillman on May 23, 2000 at 18:08:42 PT
In the Next Pew
I know plenty of religious christians who use what this article calls "drugs". They don't support the drug war at all. One may be sitting next to you in church.
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Comment #3 posted by MikeEEEEE on May 23, 2000 at 17:40:10 PT
Founding Fathers
Thanks, now I know why the founding fathers wanted nothing to do with the church. Organized religion, all in the name of God -- what a scam.
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Comment #2 posted by Mari on May 23, 2000 at 16:58:44 PT
Addiction
Don't forget the Church forbid chocolate!!It was considered an evil drug.It was because the nuns who were making it loved it so much that it was a temptation to sin!This from the people who brought you:The Spanish Inqusition;The Witch Burnings;The descimation of native peoples & any trace they could find of their culture or religion.These are not the people I would choose to set my moral compass!
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Comment #1 posted by MikeEEEEE on May 23, 2000 at 16:49:19 PT
drug free is a matter of faith
What does recreational drug use have to do with faith, does it imply addiction? I think the church should educate itself.FYI: The church was the same insitution, about 150 years ago in the New World, that declared the coffee bean evil. These guys make me laugh sometimes.
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