The war on drugs just lost the support of 600 churches. So what’s next?
By Hunter Schwarz
July 10, 2015
After four decades, the "war on drugs" has lost its appeal -- including to some of the country's biggest arbiters of moral behavior: churches.
The war on drugs became a thing under Nixon in 1971. Reagan passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 while his wife championed the "Just Say No" campaign. Under Clinton, incarcerations rose to historic levels. But today, the Obama administration has called the war on drugs "counterproductive, inefficient and costly," while some of those hoping to take his job -- like Hillary Clinton and Rand Paul -- are calling for a new approach to handling the issue.
And now, even churches are even joining in. The New England Conference of United Methodist Churches passed a resolution recently calling for an end to the war on drugs. In a statement, the group said the war hasn't been effective and it's led to unintended consequences like crime.
The conference includes more than 600 churches. That's a drop in the bucket in a country with hundreds of thousands of churches, but they're not alone. In 2014, Christian leaders in Tennessee and Indiana also called for an end to the war on drugs.
Churches would be a significant loss for the war on drugs, which has already been losing ground among all Americans -- and increasingly politicians too.
continued here http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...st-the-support-of-600-churches-so-whats-next/
By Hunter Schwarz
July 10, 2015
After four decades, the "war on drugs" has lost its appeal -- including to some of the country's biggest arbiters of moral behavior: churches.
The war on drugs became a thing under Nixon in 1971. Reagan passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 while his wife championed the "Just Say No" campaign. Under Clinton, incarcerations rose to historic levels. But today, the Obama administration has called the war on drugs "counterproductive, inefficient and costly," while some of those hoping to take his job -- like Hillary Clinton and Rand Paul -- are calling for a new approach to handling the issue.
And now, even churches are even joining in. The New England Conference of United Methodist Churches passed a resolution recently calling for an end to the war on drugs. In a statement, the group said the war hasn't been effective and it's led to unintended consequences like crime.
The conference includes more than 600 churches. That's a drop in the bucket in a country with hundreds of thousands of churches, but they're not alone. In 2014, Christian leaders in Tennessee and Indiana also called for an end to the war on drugs.
Churches would be a significant loss for the war on drugs, which has already been losing ground among all Americans -- and increasingly politicians too.
continued here http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...st-the-support-of-600-churches-so-whats-next/
