cannabisnews.com: Med. Use of Marijuana Finds Support Among Pastors Med. Use of Marijuana Finds Support Among Pastors Posted by FoM on September 16, 2000 at 11:27:35 PT Religion News Service Source: San Jose Mercury News Forty-Four percent of Protestant pastors support the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, while only about 20 percent support decriminalizing the non-medicinal use of marijuana, according to a new survey. The study of 518 Protestant ministers, commissioned by Phoenix-based Ellison Research, found surprisingly strong support for the use of marijuana to relieve pain for patients with cancer and other medical ailments.Similar to a recent Ellison survey on the death penalty, the study found stronger support for medicinal marijuana use from pastors affiliated with the National Council of Churches as opposed to the more conservative National Association of Evangelicals. Among National Council of Churches-affiliated pastors, 66 percent supported medicinal marijuana use while 33 percent opposed it. The numbers were almost exactly opposite for National Association of Evangelicals-affiliated pastors, with only 31 percent supporting it and 69 percent opposed.Ron Sellers, the firm's president, said the most interesting findings lie in the difference between pastors who either ``strongly'' or ``somewhat'' oppose or support the policy. The number of pastors who have lukewarm feelings on the subject -- 58 percent -- is larger than the number who feel ``strongly'' either way, about 42 percent.``Many ministers may be trying to balance a strong anti-drug position with compassion for people who have medical problems,'' Sellers said.Sellers also noted that when asked about decriminalizing marijuana, older pastors were surprisingly more supportive. Just 4 percent of pastors under the age of 45 supported legalizing marijuana, while 12 percent of pastors over the age of 60 supported it.The survey of 508 pastors had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.Published: Saturday, September 16, 2000Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 2000 San Jose Mercury News Contact: letters sjmercury.com Address: 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95190 Fax: (408) 271-3792 Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/ Related Articles & Web Sites:National Council of Churcheshttp://www.ncccusa.org/Religious Leaders for a More Just & Compassionate Drug Policyhttp://religiousleaders.home.mindspring.com/Rethinking War On Drugs From Quaker Perspectivehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6769.shtmlHope Seen on Drug Laws http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6055.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by observer on August 02, 2001 at 10:19:58 PT re: The fruits of Marijuana Through my use of the plant, I believe that I have obtained a deeper understanding of what God is and what he means to me. see:Christians For Cannabishttp://www.christiansforcannabis.com/Uses of Marijuanahttp://www.marijuana-uses.com This hate that my father holds against the use of marijuana is one produced by society, certainly not the bible or any real experiences he has had. Drug Hate, David Sadofsky Baggins, p.140-143 The most potent of the forms of reassertion of traditional authority relations that the drug war facilitated is intergenerational, parents over children, tradition over new ways. In the liberal era youth proved that the parent generation was wrong about many things: the reliability of government, the usefulness of orthodox tradition to life in the modern world, the war in Vietnam, the harmfulness of pot, and so on. The drug war in many ways was pay-back time and a reassertion of the conservative view that those in power do not need to prove their point; they can simply punish non-conforming articulations into submission. It is precisely the unique cultural and physical aspects of marijuana that made the War on Drugs the focus of public policy. Marijuana was the cultural icon of rebellious youth. At the end of the Carter era 1 in 9 high-school seniors smoked pot daily. Sixteen years later half of high-school seniors still light up at some time during the year. The absence of physical harm from smoking pot has required that all the punitive force be government created. Punishment for marijuana is thus the great frontier of authoritarianism. A widespread popular behavior detested by the ruling culture has justified war propaganda, police engagement and mass punishment. A new movement began which counseled parents to quit trying to be understanding friends to their kids and develop a toughlove capacity to squelch all individuality and nonconformity in the name of drug resistance. Music selection, clothes choices, hair length all were appropriate instruments for parents to prove that they had rightful plenary power. The Reagan administration produced Parent Peers & Pot to encourage parents to view every expression of independence as an embrace of drug culture. The Zeitgeist of siding with youth and liberation in the 1960s was replaced with "Just Say No" as a way of creating hierarchical rule. The basic cultural tide had shifted from liberation embracing to control embracing.p.140-143Drug Hate and the Corruption of American JusticeDavid Sadofsky BagginsPraeger Publishers. Westport, Conn. 1998. 200 pagesLC 97-32946. ISBN 0-275-95956-2. C5956 $52.50http://info.greenwood.com/books/0275959/0275959562.html http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0275959562/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Luke K. on August 01, 2001 at 13:05:28 PT: The fruits of Marijuana My father holds that marijuana is the tool of the devil and will keep us from God as well our lives from producing any spiritual fruit. Through my use of the plant, I believe that I have obtained a deeper understanding of what God is and what he means to me. This hate that my father holds against the use of marijuana is one produced by society, certainly not the bible or any real experiences he has had. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Damian on September 16, 2000 at 15:42:02 PT: marijuana in religion The Cannabis plant has been a source of spiritual awakening throughout history. I am glad to see the clergy advocating its therapeutic and recreational use as a source of religious awakening and medical relief. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by MikeEEEEE on September 16, 2000 at 14:43:00 PT Common Sense This may be a good thing, but Pastors and Congressmen don't have medical degrees. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Dan Hillman on September 16, 2000 at 13:08:00 PT "what pastors think" Can't remember the last time I cared. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Frank S. World on September 16, 2000 at 12:41:55 PT more good news This is certainly a welcome sign that pastors are waking up to the patients need for this medicine, and the immorality of current policies that prohibit and suppress this therapeutic option.Churches need to start taking an active role in lobbying for drug policy reform and reducing the harm and inhumanity caused by the WoD.Cannabis isa gift from our creator, who put it here to help humans. Pastors and other religious folk need to recognize this, and act to facilitate compassion and healing through the use of mmj. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: