There are some in our society who worship at the Altar of Intoxication. They promote a drunken “saloon” culture, how beer attracts beautiful women, make smoking tobacco look glamorous, promote TGIF every day, encourage folks to consume large amounts of refined sugars and modified milk in their small amounts of coffee. Many abuse alcohol and some abuse cannabis and more abuse sugar. Everything in excess of normal healthy moderation – and for some of us, this is outside of the will of God. Please do not count the members and supporters of Safe Access Tennessee who fight for medical cannabis among this faction that promotes intoxication and excessive behavior.
Many conflate being an advocate for medicinal cannabis with the stoner culture of getting “high.” Here at Safe Access Tennessee, we are not stoners and do not worship at the Altar of Intoxication. In fact, we are an anti drug abuse organization seeking to reduce all drug abuse. We strive to share the truth about drugs – particularly the promise of cannabis-based medicines.
Our membership consists primarily of disabled patients and their caregivers desperate for medical solutions. We are just like most folks in Tennessee: conservative to moderate politically, fiercely patriotic, church going, hard working and individualistic. Most of us have experienced medical tragedy fierce enough to ignore the social taboos against cannabis as a medicine. Having tested this “illegal” medicine and finding it more effective than many FDA approved medicines (many of which made us addicted and more sick) we no longer believe the obvious falsehoods sponsored by federal agencies run wild.
These federal agencies – run by bureaucrats grossly corrupted by big pharma and police state profiteers – claim cannabis has no medicinal value and yet hold patents (US patent 6,603,507) that plainly document the obvious medical value.
This leaves us in a situation where commercial interests control our federal government in direct contradiction to citizens’ interest. This is the heart of the widespread corruption that drives our healthcare cost consistently higher and blocks all lower cost medical solutions from ever coming to market. Cannabis is but one of those solutions. There are many, many more. The DEA effectively blocks quality medical solutions made from nature – or as some of our members call it – God’s creation – for the financial benefit of large pharmaceutical companies.
How did this corruption attract the support of good people, including Christian leaders? The answer is very simple: the government lied. And just like Adam in the Garden of Eden: good people and their leaders stood by and believed a lie. It is a good lie – meaning its premise has some truth in it. But it is still a falsehood.
What truth was leveraged to accomplish the government’s falsehood? Again the answer is simple: the first five of the Ten Commandments can be boiled down to their essence: “Thou shall have no other gods.” Worshiping intoxication is clearly worshiping a false god from a theological perspective. Our government’s lie is that cannabis has no medicinal value and is used only to intoxicate. And herein we see how a lie can be used against a good thing.
It is not the substance that is responsible for this “sin” for we know in Genesis 1:11 and 1.12 that God makes all natural things good. It is man’s intention that makes a sin. Outlawing God’s creation is hardly good policy when one looks at the situation objectively. No good can proceed from a lie and no lie should be supported by Christian or other religious leaders.
Safe Access Tennessee calls upon all leaders in our society, including Christian pastors and other religious leaders to take a stand against the corruption that permeates our federal government and police state profiteers. We ask that they support legislation at the state level that restores some grace to this sinfully distorted situation: a medical freedom program that allows natural medicines, including cannabis to come to market in a responsible fashion for the benefit of the sick patients and our citizenry as a whole.
David C. Hairston