cannabisnews.com: Taking a Stand on Public Policy Issues Taking a Stand on Public Policy Issues Posted by CN Staff on June 28, 2002 at 21:34:18 PT By Bill Broadway Source: Washington Post Religious organizations and watchdog groups recently have passed resolutions, written letters or issued statements on a variety of public policy issues. Here are some notable actions:• The war on drugs: The Unitarian Universalist Association, at its General Assembly last weekend in Quebec City, passed a "statement of conscience" calling for the legalization of marijuana and the end to criminal penalties for most drug offenses. The denomination, representing more than 1,000 congregations and 200,000 members in the United States, declared: "We do not believe that drug use should be considered criminal behavior."The Boston-based denomination said that "the consequences of the current drug war are cruel and counterproductive" and called for "alternatives that regard the reduction of harm as the appropriate standard by which to assess drug policies."Specific proposals include selling, taxing and regulating marijuana in the same manner as alcohol; dropping criminal penalties for drug possession and use except for abusers who commit such crimes as assault, burglary or "impaired driving"; and making all drugs available by prescription.• Coal-burning power plants: The Presbyterian Church (USA), at its annual General Assembly in Columbus, Ohio, last weekend, endorsed a call to clean up coal-burning power plants that were grandfathered by the Clean Air Act of 1990.Believing that utility companies would retire their oldest and least-efficient units, Congress did not require the companies to install pollution controls at those facilities unless they were to be modernized, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center in Charlottesville. Today, many of those plants are still in use and can pollute air up to 10 times as much as newer coal-fired power plants, the center said.Lynn Cameron, co-author of the Presbyterian resolution and mission leader for the Trinity Restoring Creation House Church in Harrisonburg, Va., said the denomination "believes more can and should be done to protect the air we all breathe."• Environmental ethics: Leaders of Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches in the United States issued a joint statement supporting a declaration on environmental ethics that was signed June 10 by Pope John Paul II and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.John Paul is head of more than 1 billion Catholics worldwide; Bartholomew is the spiritual leader of the world's 250 million Orthodox Christians."It is on the basis of our recognition that the world is created by God that we can discern an objective moral order within which to articulate a code of environmental ethics," John Paul and Bartholomew said. Society has been "making decisions, taking actions and assigning values that are leading us away from the world as it should be . . . away from all that is essential for a healthy planet and a healthy commonwealth of people. A new approach and a new culture are needed."Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Archbishop Demetrios, head of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, urged Catholic and Orthodox believers to collaborate "with others of good will" in fulfilling the patriarchs' call "to heal and care for God's creation."• Cross at Ground Zero: The organization American Atheists has taken aim at plans to leave a "miracle debris" cross at the World Trade Center site, saying that a permanent Christian memorial would violate the separation of church and state and be insensitive to those victims who had no religious beliefs.The Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which has received more than $2 billion from the government to rebuild at the site, has been asked to include a cross made of debris found by a construction worker in the redevelopment plans for the area, the New York Daily News reported.Ed Malloy, a board member of the development group, asked the agency to incorporate the steel cross into the design of a planned Sept. 11 memorial. He also requested that the cross not be moved. "We hope it's going to stay right where it is," Malloy said of the steel girders, which were found in the rubble of Building 6 in the shape of a cross. Ron Barrier, national spokesman for American Atheists, said that Muslims, Hindus and other non-Christian believers also died in the attacks. "What about them? Are we going to turn the site of the WTC into a religious shrine with competing religious slogans, symbols and displays?"A spokesman for the Port Authority, which owns the site, said there are no immediate plans to move the cross.-- Compiled by Bill BroadwayNote: Drug Laws, Environmental Problems Among Denominations' Concerns. Source: Washington Post (DC)Author: Bill BroadwayPublished: Saturday, June 29, 2002; Page B08 Copyright: 2002 The Washington Post Company Contact: letterstoed washpost.comWebsite: http://www.washingtonpost.com Related Article & Web Site:Unitarian Universalist Association http://www.uua.org/main.htmlHigher Immorality? http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13175.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #13 posted by Number 7 on June 30, 2002 at 11:53:23 PT Last things first Thank you to those who posted info on drug testing companies. Especially liked your name for your portfolio, Lehder. Was going to call mine drug paranoia. The only one I was able find on my own was Roche RHHVF. But it is on the OTC market and not heavily traded.What brought this on is my recent unemployment for the first time in seventeen years. I don't look forward to piss tests but then who does. Considering this trend toward testing everyone and their children, I felt that companies who can provide this service cheaply, for home use, stand a good chance of making a steady income, thus possibly making a good investment. Perhaps not though from what you posted L. so I will look before I leap. Thanks to all for their patience on an off topic subject.I did not know that many churches had taken a stand against the drug war, Dan B. Those are significant numbers. My question must then be: why isn't this more publicized? Maybe they were and I missed them. I don't read the NY Times but I would think that stories like that would at least be carried by the wire services.I also did not know that the Pope said mj is evil. I used that denomination only as an example but thanks for the info. You are right about their leadership, Rainbow. You take a brave public stand in your church. Best of luck to you, I mean that.It is not so much that I have given up hope for the religious part of our cause, but for the cause itself. At least how it has been fought now for almost 30 years. I know I sound like a radical but it is time for a new approach. I would love to see massive demonstrations to start with but feel in my heart that even more will be needed to change things. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by qqqq on June 29, 2002 at 22:48:18 PT ..Thank you FoM... ...you made my nite!....I put that in my pipe and tried to smoke it,,,but I was laughing so hard ,I couldnt even lite it.........LoL...dddd,,,oops,,I mean qqqq [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by FoM on June 29, 2002 at 22:43:05 PT One more thing I think we all have a life and that's why we care about what is happening to our freedom. We all could be out hoopin'and a hollerin' and carrying on but we are home. We aren't a threat to anyone but we try to be helpful to others and that's productive in my book. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on June 29, 2002 at 22:33:36 PT qqqq Please don't ever apologize. I was told by Dan a long time ago that I should stop apologizing when I couldn't find any news to post. I'm telling you now we love you here at C News and it wouldn't be the same without you. So there! Put that in your pipe and smoke it! A little pun intended! LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by qqqq on June 29, 2002 at 22:25:51 PT ...here I am again..... ...with another ill advised critique for the hopeful entertainment,,and possible edification of those who still bother to take the time to read yet another one of my crackpot California hillbilly fillibuster ramble-rave babbles...... Tonite,,I want to make a few points about todays "radio address",,by our court appointed pResident. Here's the speech in question: WASHINGTON, June 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is the text of President Bush's radio address to the nation today:THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, we learned of another deeply troubling accounting scandal at a major American corporation. Reports allege that the company hid nearly $4 billion in expenses, and reported profits when it may have actually lost more than a billion dollars. The Securities and Exchange Commission immediately filed suit against the company to preserve documents, so that a complete and thorough investigation can take place, and to ensure that the company cannot give massive payments to executives during the investigation.Despite recent abuses of the public's trust, our economy remains fundamentally sound and strong, and the vast majority of businesspeople are living by the rules. Yet, confidence is the cornerstone of our economic system, so a few bad actors can tarnish our entire free enterprise system. We must have rules and laws that restore faith in the integrity of American business. The government will fully investigate reports of corporate fraud, and hold the guilty parties accountable for misleading shareholders and employees. Executives who commit fraud will face financial penalties, and, when they are guilty of criminal wrongdoing, they will face jail time.In March, I unveiled a ten-point plan designed to enhance the economic security of Americans by providing better information to investors, making corporate officers more accountable, and delivering a stronger, more independent auditing system. Among other measures, the plan would give the Securities and Exchange Commission two critical tools to hold corporate officers accountable.First, corporate officers who personally benefit from false accounting statements should lose all the money gained by their fraud. An executive whose salary or bonus is tied to his company's performance makes more money when the company has done well. That is fair when all of the accounting is done above board. Yet, when bad accounting practices make the company appear to be more successful than it actually is, corporate executives should lose their phony profits gained at the expense of employees and stockholders.Second, corporate leaders who violate the public's trust should never be given that trust again. The Securities and Exchange Commission should be able to punish corporate leaders who clearly abuse their powers by banning them from ever serving again as officers or directors of publicly held corporations.Since my call for action, the Securities and Exchange Commission has sought to take away the profits of senior executives from four different companies, and in this year the SEC has sought to bar 54 officers and directors. On Thursday, the SEC ordered the CEOs and CFOs of the 1,000 largest public companies to certify that the financial information they submitted in the last year was fair and accurate.In addition to bringing a new measure of accountability to American businesses, my administration is committed to protecting the retirement savings of American workers. The plan I unveiled in February would give workers greater freedom to diversify and manage their own retirement funds. It would ensure that corporate executives are held to the same restrictions as workers during blackout periods, when employees are prohibited from trading in their accounts. It would give workers quarterly information about their investments. And it would expand workers' access to investment advice. These measures should give American workers confidence that their investments will not fall prey to unethical executives.America is ushering in a new era of responsibility, and that ethic of responsibility must extend to America's boardrooms. I want every American to know that the vast majority of businesspeople are honest individuals who do right by the employees and their shareholders. The unethical actions of a few should not be allowed to call into question our whole free enterprise system.No violation of the public's trust will be tolerated. The federal government will be vigilant in prosecuting wrongdoers to ensure that investors and workers maintain the highest confidence in American business.Thank you for listening. ...It may..indeed,,be inappropriate for me to blather forth with my brash,questionable bravado,,ranting my political heresays,in this forum,,.but I cannot resist.I have no where else to go....I guess I'm kinda like some stray,disorganized wildcat wanna-be columnist commentator guy....If you hate me,,then that's your problem....If you like me,,and find me entertaining,,then,I am humbly appreciative of your appreciation....I've been trying to pretend to be a "writer" for many years...I still dont really see myself as a "writer",,but I feel lucky,,and it makes me glad,,that I somehow came across this special place.....BGreen made some comment about,"get a life",recently,in response to I.S.,BGreen,and myself,,having these late-nite 'comment-fests'...I have often thought about myself,and my obsessive,"in your face",,,prolific commentary habits here,,and been mildly embarassed to think of how other people must be thinking that I have nothing better to do,,than sit here and comment,,and scrutinize others comments...well,,I thought about that angle,,,and I decided it's true,,,I have nothing better to do when it comes to commenting on the internet,because I dont comment anywhere else but here.. ...I take a break from work,,and I read my email,,check my favorite news sites,,maybe surf about Ebay for a while,,but I always check in to see what's going on here........but now,,I find myself,,once again,,straying far from my intended ramble....waxing nostalgic with an overdose of superflous personal maudlin crap..I'll have to get back to you on my "radio address" critique,,because I gotta go back to work. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Zero_G on June 29, 2002 at 11:33:13 PT William F. Buckley "The amount of money and of legal energy being given to prosecute hundreds of thousands of Americans who are caught with a few ounces of marijuana [1 ounce = 28g] in their jeans simply makes no sense - the kindest way to put it. A sterner way to put it is that it is an outrage, an imposition on basic civil liberties and on the reasonable expenditure of social energy."William F. Buckley "Legalization of Marijuana Long Overdue" Albuquerque Journal June 8, 1993 [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by FoM on June 29, 2002 at 10:22:15 PT Rainbow I know the Catholic Church isn't for marijuana and I just want to say I admire your hanging in with them. I left the catholic church over 25 years ago. It is important to have people like you spreading the word when others like me gave up. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Rainbow on June 29, 2002 at 08:40:49 PT Catholic leadership is gutless "Now if the Catholic church had a similar stand..." Sorry but the Pope said marijuana is evil (I don't know how a plant can be evil). I have been working the Diocese of Winona for a while now and the Bishop there just ignores my email. He is going to ask for money in the Fall and this parishioner might send him a lump of coal bituminous or anthracite.The catholic church supports the bushette government because of abortion and of course they do not need the government coming down hard on them because of their current immoral and illegal activities.I am also on the finance committee of our local church and raise the issue monthly. I also raise the issue up to the Social concerns committee. But I live in a conversative Republican community that has one of the largest medical institutions in American - Mayo Clinic. They deal in drugs as well but the approved kind.So I see no hope for the Catholic leadership. If they are willing to protect child molestors they probably won't try to do away with the one thing that is supposed to protect the childrun. Might look hypocritical :-0I am cynical too but I keep poking them and maybe they will debate me someday.send notes to Bishops and cardinals. If I knew how to send a note to the Pope I would.These aloof guys have got to have a weak point to get to.Keep trying all you catholics, the other religions had spokespeople for the cause. We need the catholics to rise up and not be afraid of the leadership. So what if you are ex-communicated there are other great religions who will embrace you and support you.Cheers Rainbow [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by ekim on June 29, 2002 at 06:17:35 PT Sun 3pm Am. writers will have live 3 hour C-Span From Michigan this program will talk about the Conservetive movement. Whilliam F. Buckley and another writer will be highlited. This is a good chance to see just how Mainstream Mr. Buckley is with his thinking on the D/W. The show being live will accept calls. I do not think Mr. Buckley will be there but someone will have to defend his positions. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Lehder on June 29, 2002 at 06:05:38 PT Number Seven Here are the symbols for some publicly traded companies that I keep in a yahoo portfolio titled "repression." Some of them (read the yahoo profiles) got involved with drug testing, their performance deteriorated, they lost their sponsorship and their values declined. I recall that OSUR,AVN, and TOX make drug tests, but havn't paid much attention to this list in a while. Of course there are many other companies involved in various forms of repression.OSUR ADSXE AVN INTM ASE RNO.TO TOX LFP PECS VSNX ASE INVN VISG I would not recommend purchase of flaky drug test companies, but hold shares in one of the listed companies (PECS) at a current loss because I expect to make a nice profit over the next couple years and, like George Bush #1, want to see profits kept in "higher, tighter, righter hands." [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Dan B on June 29, 2002 at 05:43:16 PT: You're Correct, Number 7 200,000 is an awfully small number in proportion to the total number of people living in the U.S. But suppose that some well-known church, like the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons), would have calledfor an end to the war on some drugs? Can we agree that this church, with membership in excess of 5.2 million, would have an impact on policy, at least to some degree? Consider this, then: according to the article "Higher Immorality?" the Presbyterian church also officially backs an end to the war on some drugs,and their membership totals are over 7.68 million. That article also mentions the Society of Friends (Quakers--125,000) and the Progressive Jewish Alliance as backers of an end to the war on some drugs. And the Episcopal church also has officially endorsed an end to the current war on some drugs (membership: over 4.8 million). While we're at it, we should correct the numbers for the Unitarian Universalist church which, according to the latest census figures, has a membership of 854,400--a far cry from 200,000.Now, there appears to be no mention of the actual number of members of the Progressive Jewish Alliance anywhere on the web, so one must interpolate based on a number of things. First, we know that it had, originally, 53 founders (in Los Angeles), and that it now supports a board of 48 directors, 12 of whom are rabbis. One must also call into account the fact that there are only 3.7 million Jewish Americans. Would it be fair to say that maybe 1/10 of that number would ally itself with a progressive ideology? Surely such a number would be a low estimate of those who actually believe that we need to drastically change our drug policy. So, let's add another 370,000 to the total.Now, we have upwards of 13.8 million people, all members of or adherents to a religious faith that actively and publicly supports an end to the war on some drugs. That's about 5% of the total U.S. population, which is not insignificant when it comes to the voting booth. And now that these religious groups have taken a stand, it seems a reasonable hope that others will follow.So, try not to give up on the religious portion of this movement yet. Our ranks in churches, mosques and synagogues are growing. I know that some of the people who comment here are very religious/spiritual people who adhere closely to their religious faiths, and many don't adhere to any of the aforementioned groups, suggesting a larger constituency among a variety of religious faiths. So, there is hope yet for religious groups in America. If we place everything into perspective, I think that what we have here is a good start--something to build on.Dan BNumbers were taken from these websites:http://www.adherents.com/adh_dem.html http://www.religioustolerance.org/quaker.htmConsider these articles/websites about religious actions against the war on some drugs, as well:http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n887.a10.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n888.a10.html http://www.christiansforcannabis.com http://religiousleaders.home.mindspring.com/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on June 29, 2002 at 03:01:00 PT Here's one Psychemedics is one drug-testing company - I'm not sure if it's the only public one or even the biggest, but it's a start... http://biz.yahoo.com/p/p/pmd.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Number 7 on June 28, 2002 at 23:45:32 PT need more numbers The first forth of this article is a perfect example of what I meant when I first started posted here. Granted, 200,000 people is a lot of people (yes, we need all the allies we can get, I was wrong to imply otherwise) but even that number is going to be easy for DC to ignore. Now if the Catholic church had a similar stand... Did the UUA have to hold their assembly outside the US because of their stand on legalization? It seems unusual that a Boston based organization would hold such a meeting in any place other than where they are based.As an off topic subject, does anyone know which publicly traded companies profit off of the sales of home drug testing kits? The only ones I can find are privatly held. Sorry, it's the capitalist in me. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment