{"id":75,"date":"2016-11-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-11-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calchurches.planetpov.com\/impact\/index.php\/2016\/11\/01\/california-clergy-meet-in-support-of-marijuana-legalization-ballot-measure-prop-64\/"},"modified":"2016-11-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-11-01T00:00:00","slug":"california-clergy-meet-in-support-of-marijuana-legalization-ballot-measure-prop-64","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchimpact.org\/index.php\/2016\/11\/01\/california-clergy-meet-in-support-of-marijuana-legalization-ballot-measure-prop-64\/","title":{"rendered":"CALIFORNIA CLERGY MEET IN SUPPORT OF MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION BALLOT MEASURE PROP. 64"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t<\/span>\"Picture\"<\/a><\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

VIDEO EXCERPTS AVAILABLE\u00a0HERE<\/a><\/em>
\u00a0
Clergy gathered Sunday night in the nave of St. Mark\u2019s United Methodist Church in Sacramento, but this was no normal Sunday service. Five ministers and church officials from around the state met with a retired police commander, and medical marijuana providers to discuss Proposition 64, the measure to legalize marijuana on the November 8th ballot. Just nine days before election day, the clergy and others made clear that they strongly support ending the war on marijuana that results in thousands of Californians being incarcerated every year, and that they urged all people of faith and conscience to vote \u201cYes\u201d on Prop. 64.
\u00a0
\u201cPeople of faith play a unique role in this election cycle, and encourage respectful dialogue that builds community and a hope-filled future for all people,\u201d said Reverend Rick Schlosser of California Council of Churches IMPACT,\u00a0 \u201cMany black and brown lives are destroyed because of incarceration, and this is an opportunity for the faith community to speak to the moral imperative for supporting Proposition 64, and to speak out for the need for broader criminal justice reform.\u201d
\u00a0
The church officials and others agreed that California\u2019s feckless 100-year war on marijuana had failed to reduce use or availability of marijuana, but that criminalization was a cudgel used to attack immigrant and low income communities. That incarceration and cartels were far more damaging to health and safety than marijuana ever could be. That regulation and control was key to protecting communities, especially young people.
\u00a0
Quoting Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s letter from Birmingham Jail, Rev. Mahsea Evans, a youth pastor from Sacramento\u2019s St. Mark\u2019s Church, said, \u201cChange does not come in on the wheels of inevitability–that you are going to have to fight for it, that you are going to have to advocate for it.\u201d He concluded that pastors as well as voters would have to support the legalization ballot measure, \u201cWe as pastors, as people in healing ministries care about our communities, then we must support the passage of Proposition 64.\u201d
\u00a0
The collected clergy made it clear that Prop 64 came as a form of redemption for the state and that it was smarter to tax cannabis production and distribution in order to provide hundreds of millions of dollar in new revenue to vitally needed community programs, including drug and alcohol prevention and treatment for young people, including students, foster kids, homeless youth.
\u00a0
\u201cThe war on drugs has failed California,\u201d said Reverend Walter Contreras from Pasadena, and a representative of the 3000 churches of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition. \u201cProposition 64 provides the necessary regulation that we need to protect our children, and also to decriminalize our youth.\u201d
\u00a0
Contreras continued: \u201cProposition 64 will bring forth an incredible answer to the big problem we have with mass incarceration, especially among Latinos.\u201d
\u00a0
Among the participants was a retired police lieutenant turned avid supporter of ending the drug war. Diane Goldstein spent 20 years in law enforcement, including years of anti-narcotics work. She said, \u201cWe have abdicated control to criminals and cartels who would do more danger to our children and our communities. So when you vote, look at it as a moral imperative.\u201d
\u00a0
In conclusion, Reverend Dr. Alan Jones, the Pastor of St. Mark\u2019s United Methodist Church in Sacramento said, \u201cJesus when asked what the bottom line is, said, \u2018Love God with all your heart and soul and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019 And if you do that, you have to find your way into Prop 64. Please vote to support Proposition 64.\u201d
\u00a0
Video excerpts of all speakers will be up online today at: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/drugpolicyaction<\/a>
\u00a0
Speakers:
\u00a0
The Rev. Dr. Alan Jones, Pastor St. Mark\u2019s United Methodist Church, Sacramento; President California Council of Churches
\u00a0
The Rev. Dr. Art Cribbs, Executive Director Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity; Pastor Los Angeles Filipino American United Church of Christ, Director California Council of Churches
\u00a0
The Rev. Walter Contreras, Vice President of NaLEC, National Latino Evangelical Coalition, Latino Pastor at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, Member of CLUE, Clergy United for Economic Justice and La Red de Pastores del Sur de California
\u00a0
Rev. Mahsea Evans, St. Mark\u2019s United Methodist Church Sacramento, The Ignite Institute at the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley
\u00a0
The Rev Kevin Kitrell Ross, Senior Minister\/Spiritual Director, Unity of Sacramento Dale Sky Jones, Oaksterdam University Executive Chancellor
\u00a0
Diane Goldstein, Lieutenant (Ret.) Redondo Beach Police Department, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP)
\u00a0
Moderators:
The Rev. Dr. Rick Schlosser, California Council of Churches\/IMPACT
Kendra Lewis, California Council of Churches\/IMPACT
\u00a0
California Council of Churches IMPACT (churchimpact.org) represents 1.5 million members within 20 denominations of the mainline, progressive Protestant communities of faith.\u00a0<\/strong>
\u200b<\/div>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VIDEO EXCERPTS AVAILABLE\u00a0HERE\u00a0Clergy gathered Sunday night in the nave of St. Mark\u2019s United Methodist Church in Sacramento, but this was no normal Sunday service. Five … Read More ›<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchimpact.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchimpact.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchimpact.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchimpact.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchimpact.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/churchimpact.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchimpact.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchimpact.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchimpact.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}