cannabisnews.com: Blessing Marijuana For Mercy's Sake Blessing Marijuana For Mercy's Sake Posted by CN Staff on June 25, 2004 at 21:33:13 PT By Bill Broadway, Washington Post Staff Writer Source: Washington Post Several major religious denominations have joined a growing movement to legalize the medical use of marijuana, asserting an ethical responsibility to help ease the pain and other debilitating effects of such diseases as cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma. The United Methodist Church, the Union for Reform Judaism, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, the Episcopal Church, the Unitarian Universalist Association, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Church of Christ have made statements supporting the controlled use of marijuana for medical reasons. "According to our tradition, a physician is obligated to heal the sick," begins a resolution adopted in November by the Union for Reform Judaism. The statement acknowledges the medical use of marijuana as a 5,000-year-old tradition and encourages the federal government to change marijuana's status from a prohibited substance to a prescription drug. The denominations have called for a reassessment of penalties for marijuana users trying to increase their appetites during chemotherapy or alleviate chronic pain. "We believe that seriously ill people should not be subject to arrest and imprisonment for using medical marijuana with their doctors' approval," asserted a Coalition for Compassionate Access statement endorsed in 2002 by the United Church of Christ. Some denominations assert strong support for medicinal marijuana but reject its recreational use -- thus supporting one goal of secular marijuana lobbying groups but not the ultimate goal of completely decriminalizing the drug. "The medical use of any drug should not be seen as encouraging recreational use of the drug," reads a statement approved last month at the general conference of the United Methodist Church in Pittsburgh. "We urge all persons to abstain from the use of marijuana, unless it has been legally prescribed in a form appropriate for treating a medical condition." One thing notable about religious support of medical marijuana has been the lack of intense debate, especially in denominations riven over the issues of same-sex unions and the ordination of gay clergy, according to religious activists. The Rev. Cynthia Abrams, director of alcohol, tobacco and drug programming for the United Methodists' General Board of Church and Society, said delegates to last month's convention voted 877 to 19 in favor of an amendment to drug-use guidelines that supports the drug's medical use in states that allow it. "The surprising thing, it was almost unanimous," she said of the vote. Snipped: Complete Article: http://freedomtoexhale.com/blessing.htmSource: Washington Post (DC)Author: Bill Broadway, Washington Post Staff WriterPublished: Saturday, June 26, 2004; Page B07 Copyright: 2004 Washington Post Contact: letterstoed washpost.comWebsite: http://www.washingtonpost.com Related Articles & Web Sites:Unitarian Universalist Association http://www.uua.org/main.html Coalition for Compassionate Accesshttp://www.compassionateaccess.org/The Debate: Hinchey- Rohrabacher http://freedomtoexhale.com/dofcomm.htmUnitarians Calling for Alternative To Drug Warhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13257.shtmlTaking a Stand on Public Policy Issues http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13255.shtmlHigher Immorality? - ABCNews.comhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13175.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #21 posted by FoM on July 03, 2004 at 17:11:17 PT WP: High Court To Ponder Medical Marijuana In Brief -- Bill Broadway Saturday, July 3, 2004; Page B09 The Supreme Court said this week that it will decide whether the federal government can prosecute patients who use marijuana under California's medical marijuana law. California and eight other states -- Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington -- have passed laws that allow patients with debilitating diseases or chronic pain to grow, own and use marijuana. The Justice Department has continued to pursue medical users in those states as drug offenders, citing federal law barring all marijuana use. A growing number of religious denominations have weighed in on the issue, urging the federal government not to prosecute patients who qualify for marijuana use under state laws. Most religious groups oppose recreational use. The case in question involves two California women whose medical marijuana was confiscated by federal agents who raided their homes. A panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled in December that states are free to adopt medical marijuana laws so long as the marijuana is not sold, transported across state lines or used for non-medicinal purposes. Judge Harry Pregerson, writing for the majority, said using marijuana on a doctor's advice is "different in kind from drug trafficking." The Bush administration appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that federal laws supersede state laws that make exceptions for medical marijuana. The court will hear the case in the next session, which runs October through June. Copyright: 2004 The Washington Post [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by dongenero on June 28, 2004 at 06:51:11 PT Bush brand of religion Bush is a United Methodist apparantly. I wonder if this will affect his view on the issue of medical marijuana? I doubt it as he seems to place himself well above church and just below...possibly just below...God. Okay then, right hand of God. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by The GCW on June 28, 2004 at 03:47:58 PT Truth is, cannabis is good, Biblically. Clergy should testify that the Son's of God should not be caged for using what Christ God Our Father said is good, on literally the very 1st page of the Bible. Sick or not.Half the truth is not the truth.Clergy must stop suppporting the evil practice of caging humans for using plants. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by E_Johnson on June 26, 2004 at 19:46:18 PT Why religions get organized Most people like community and derive their meaning in life from their sense of affiliation or belonging a community of other humans.Then the people who don't enjoy being in control or are too lazy to care abdicate their power to the people to enjoy being in control, and the trouble begins. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by OverwhelmSam on June 26, 2004 at 17:32:15 PT This Always Comes To Mind People killin', people dyin' Children hurt and you hear them cryin' Can you practice what you preach And would you turn the other cheekFather, Father, Father help us Send us some guidance from above 'Cause people got me, got me questionin' Where is the love (Love)Black Eyed Peas [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by FoM on June 26, 2004 at 14:06:02 PT Agog You're welcome. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by Agog on June 26, 2004 at 13:50:49 PT Thank you Well said, kind of restores faith........ It is in within us all at some level isn't it?Agog [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on June 26, 2004 at 12:07:20 PT Agog A comment on organized religion. This is how I see it. Faith is an individual thing. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Faith is personal and unexplainable. When someone has faith they feel joy. When they feel joy they want to tell others about their joy. That is why organized religions are out there. The problem is when a persons faith gets highjacked by a Churches doctrine they have developed. That is when the problems start. So Churches are good but they soon can become corrupt or at least lose the real focus of what churches should be. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by Agog on June 26, 2004 at 11:26:17 PT Organized Religions Very big hot button issue.So, treading ever so lightly... how is it they all study and revere selfless unconditional love and compassion........yet so adamantly seek to control "their flocks" through threats of "damnation" excommunication, inquisition etc.Isn't that more control through coercion? WWJD?now covering head and shoulders....Agog [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by E_Johnson on June 26, 2004 at 10:21:50 PT Pentecostalism is nowhere near Gnostic The Pentecostals are nothing like the Gnostics or Sufis or cabala from a theological standpoint. They don't have a philosphy of individual enlightenment. They didn't even allow their members to go to college until Ashcroft told them he wanted to put Jesus into public service.The handling snakes and speaking in tongues is acting out the Bible. I don't think it compares to what dervishes do even if it does get them just as worked up. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Max Flowers on June 26, 2004 at 09:08:16 PT E_Johnson, what about Pentecostal snake rituals? The film I've seen of those Pentecostals working themselves into a trance with the snakes, rolling around on the floor speaking in tongues and having out-of-body experiences doesn't look all that different to me from a Sufi spinning for religious ecstasy... and you can bet that all the other Christian sects/branches don't approve much. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by E_Johnson on June 26, 2004 at 08:31:52 PT Doonesbury was more than I hoped for I hope Zonker doesn't get arrested bringing pot into an Army hospital. No matter what the Supremes say next week, he's covered by federal law. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by E_Johnson on June 26, 2004 at 08:05:34 PT It's peculiar to Christian history The Gnostics were the branch of Christianity that supported a personal experience of the Divine. They were exterminated fairly thoroughly by the anti-heresy campaigns. In Judaism, cabala survives and in Islam, Sufism survives. But the Christians are still lacking the Neoplatonic branch in their own religion.It's kind of chilling when you think about it. The anti-heresy campaign was pretty effective. There is no analog of cabala or Sufi practice that survives in mainstream Christianity today. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by wecre8it on June 26, 2004 at 08:01:11 PT My commentary of the subject from a MJ.com article I posted this 6-20-04 on a similar article:Religous beliefs evolve to keep up with SANITY --------------------------------------------------------------------------------It's nice to see formalized religions WAKE UP to the REALITIES of the INSANITIES that have been created over the FALSE MORALITIES used to perpetuate the War on Drugs.As folks wake up to the idea of self-regulating/medicating, they will discover that recreational use and medicinal use are indeed quite frequently, one in the same.Prohibitionists of the past have used a forced morality, the religious sense of SIN, as a means to color peoples behaviours. Religions are now waking up to the rediculousness of some of these notions. It is no longer fashionable to attack ailing beings, crushing their spirit of well being, in the name of enforcing someone else's view of some perverted concept of morality and godliness.Dubya and Ashcroft are dug in, and stand firm in their personal convictions, too pridefull to admit they are wrong for persecuting humans to conform to their ideas of God and Morality. How dare any human make themselves feel better...Unless Jesus drops them a direct line, publicly, they are likely not to change.For the LOVE of All-That-Is, what was the Divine creative force which caused the beloved cannabis to come into being in the first place? Did Satan inspire the Devil(lived) weed into being? NOT!Cannabis is one of a myriad of Divine gifts intended for the enhancement on an individual's state of BEING. The sooner the CONSENSUS REALITY comes to accept this, the sooner things will improve. The idea that religions are no longer embracing the nobility of suffering as some form of moral fortitude is a SIGN of the changing times.By the way, for all of you not currently suffering from some sort of 'official' physical malady, stamped with the approval of a doctor, and are still self medicating, SHAME ON YOU. HOW DARE YOU MAKE YOURSELF FEEL BETTER ABOUT THE PHYSCIAL CONDITION CALLED LIFE. Don't you know that cannabis consumption is strictly for the suffering, and your 'God' is very dissappointed in you. Just kidding... Wake up SHEEPLES, there is still plenty of work to do.Higher Self [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by John Tyler on June 26, 2004 at 07:56:53 PT Experiencing the Devine Organized mainstream churches serve a useful purpose, but they don't really show, tell, or instruct their people on how to have a direct experience with the devine. I think it is because they just don't know, or maybe they just forgot what the devine experience is like. I think the Uniterians may come the closest, but I'm not sure. What good is it to know about the fruit, but never taste it? [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by E_Johnson on June 26, 2004 at 07:44:53 PT And now God bless the Reformation Martin Luther did some evil things, but I think more kindly towards him when I realize that the Catholic Church is not on this list. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by E_Johnson on June 26, 2004 at 07:40:46 PT goneposthole The Methodists are really into abstaining from things. They're partly to blame for Alcohol Prohibition. So to get them to support medical marijuana is quite a victory, for which we can thank Scott Imler personally. Scott is a devout Methodist and has worked closely with many religious groups in LA, not just his own, to educate them on medical marijuana. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Kegan on June 26, 2004 at 06:27:29 PT Medical Marijuana In Doonesbury Just so you are up to the story here, BD is in an army hospital after losing his leg in Irag to an RPG.http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by goneposthole on June 26, 2004 at 06:26:08 PT ?????????????????? "We urge all persons to abstain from the use of marijuana, unless it has been legally prescribed in a form appropriate for treating a medical condition." How can you get evidence if people don't try smoking it? Looks like a catch 22. Medical cannabis became legal by the voting process, not fiat. The law is the law by 'popular demand', so to speak."Increased evidence of the drug's usefulness and personal anecdotes of lay members and clergy helped the amendment's passage..."Someone long ago, by experimentation, discovered what cannabis does. It wasn't illegal or legal or anything else like that. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by mayan on June 26, 2004 at 04:50:50 PT FoM... It is nice to see an article like this in the mainstream press, isn't it? When mainstream,organized religions embrace cannabis (or at least tolerate it) the war is all but over. The U.S. government has never held the moral ground regarding cannabis laws and now the masses are finally starting to realize it! If God gave us EVERY green herb and EVERY seed bearing fruit, then who would try to deny us them??? The way out...Join the International Fahrenheit 9/11 Campaign - Leaflet the openings of Michael Moore's historic new documentary! http://www.septembereleventh.org/alerts/index.phpLondon Daily Mail review of The New Pearl Harbor: http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=324&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0The Explosion of the 9/11 Truth Movement -- U.S. Media's Dirty Little Secret: http://www.newtopiamagazine.net/content/issue17/oped/911.php [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on June 25, 2004 at 21:34:27 PT Thank You Washington Post! I really like articles like this one. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment