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Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments:
An Entheogen Chrestomathy
Thomas B. Roberts, Ph.D. and Paula Jo Hruby, Ed.D.
Author Index | Title Index
- Reason, Compassion, and the Drug War:
- A Statement by Religious Men and Women.
Religious Coalition for a Moral Drug Policy. (1990).
Washington: Religious Coalition for a Moral Drug Policy.
ISBN: None
Description: First edition
paperback pamphlet, stapled in wrappers, 54 pages.
Contents: Essay, bibliography,
information about RCMDP.
Note: RCMDP: 3421 M Street,
NW, Suite 351, Washington, DC 20007
Excerpt(s): We are calling
for an end to a war. Not a war on drugs as some would have us
believe, but a war on people. We could not do otherwise and still
consider ourselves authentic moral leaders. (inside front cover)
The Coalition for a Moral Drug Policy was founded
in 1990 to provide a support base for the hundreds of clergy nationwide
who oppose the War on Drugs. Founded through the generosity of
Dennis,
the Coalition boasts representatives of most major American religious
groups. The coalition is committed to broadening the public debate
on national drug policies with an eye toward alternative solutions.
(page 2)
Another type of crime is the deadly violence brought
by drug traffikers in to turf wars or contractual disputes. In
this way, tens of thousands of lives have been lost. In New
York City, Chicago, Los
Angeles, and Washington, 1,991 were killed in
drug markets in 1988. More recently, in cities like Chicago, New
York, and Washington, D.C., it is not uncommon that one to three
people a day are shot in the streets. Those of us who are pastors
have shared these tragedies with family members who have experienced
these losses in a personal way. All this is of course reminiscent
of the gang warfare during prohibition.
Ostrowski has calculated
the annual deaths per year caused by drug prohibition at 8,250,
including drug-related AIDS death, those who die of poisons, and
those who die on the streets. We believe that this represents
8,250 lives which
could be saved each year in absence of drug prohibition. This
poses an important moral obligation on all who reverence life.
(page 29)
For those Who Have Final Doubts/
If there are still those who doubt that our call for an end to
the drug war is headed in the right direction, and that our current
system is bound to cause more social problems, consider this.
Drug use and drug markets are rampant in our prisons, even those
of the highest security. "These's been a real explosion in
drug use in prison," says Dr. Harry Wexler
of Narcotics and
Drug Research, Inc. "The explanation is simple: There's been
a real explosion of drug users going to prison."
What this suggests is that even if a police officer
were stationed at every corner of every block in America, or even
in every house, we could not end drug abuse. It would only make
the problem worse.
This is the ultimate question to ask policy officials:
"if the government can't keep drugs out of prisons, how can
it succeed in keeping them off our streets?" (pages 49-50)
Compilation copyright © 1995 – 2001 CSP
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