3/18/15

Biblical christians make case for legal cannabis

It has just recently struck me why the Right is resisting parts of the Common Core standards: they stress human influence on climate change, genocide of indigenous by colonizers, gender equality and social justice.
Iowa Christian leader and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats on Wednesday said that he supports a deal to allow the growing and harvesting of cannabis for limited medicinal use. [Washington Post]
Cannabis is the fastest growing industry in the US: Houston Chronicle.
“I don’t believe that when God made marijuana he made a mistake that government needs to fix,” wrote state Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, in a column in the Tribune on Monday. The Republican-led HB 2165 repeals dozens of marijuana statutes in Texas, which has some of the most notorious marijuana penalties in the nation. Last year, a teen faced life in prison for making brownies with a marijuana extract. Rep. Simpson wants to decriminalize cannabis Texas-style — without all the layers of government regulation and red tape. HB 2165 would simply treat cannabis like a crop, similar to tomatoes or coffee. The conservative lawmaker states that cannabis prohibition runs counter to Republican values and it runs counter to Christian beliefs. “Is there a place for prohibition? Yes, a prohibition of aggression (Romans 13). Our laws should prohibit and penalize violent acts … harm to one’s neighbor. Civil government should value everything God made and leave people alone unless they meddle with their neighbor.” [David Downs]
A friend flying to Houston from Quito, Ecuador engaged a teacher who had also just visited the Galapagos: in Texas they teach adaptation, not evolution.

Chris Christian is director of the Wyoming chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
Zephaniah Thompson flips through his Bible. He is a Christian Naturalist. "I believe that everything that god put upon this earth that is seeded and fertile is here for our use and our purposes," said Thompson. Thompson was recently charged with possession of marijuana and he says he shouldn't be due to his religious beliefs. ["]What that means is a law that applies to everybody, somebody saying because of my religion that law doesn't apply to me," said David Patton, Thompson's attorney. ["]This is a free exercise of religion case plain and simple," said Patton. [Robyn Estabrook, KOTA teevee]
Amen.


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