What UUs Can Do to Develop and Promote Realistic and Compassionate
"Alternatives to the War on Drugs"
November 2002
prepared by Unitarian Universalists for Drug Policy Reform
contact: CharlesThomas@uudpr.org or 301-938-1577
The Unitarian Universalist Association and its member congregations are
encouraged to develop and promote drug policies designed to reduce the harm
associated with the currently illicit drugs -- including the harm caused
or exacerbated by the policies themselves.
Here's how UU congregations, individual UUs, and the UUA can help:
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Sign up to receive UUDPR's electronic newsletter and periodically check UUDPR's web page to see what's
happening and where help is needed.
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E-mail charlesthomas@uudpr.org
to sign up for UUDPR's e-mail action alerts (2-3 per month). These alerts
can be forwarded to the congregation's e-mail list, photocopied and
distributed to UUs at social justice group meetings and Sunday morning coffee hours,
posted on bulletin boards, re-printed in the congregation's newsletter and
order of service, etc.
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UUs should continue to educate ourselves about drugs and drug policies and a variety of reform options.
- UUDPR makes several of the best books on the topic available
through the order form at http://www.uudpr.org/books.html.
Individual UUs and congregations may purchase them for our church libraries.
UUs can hold regular discussion groups about these books and other drug policy
material located throughout UUDPR's web page. In addition, congregations can
sponsor speakers from local and national drug policy reform organizations.
(UUDPR can help locate good local speakers.) Then, UUs can take the message
into our communities at large.
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UU Religious Education professionals can work with UUDPR to
develop harm-reduction based drug education curricula, analogous
to Our Whole Lives.
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Congregations can start experimenting with
such discussions and activities. Please contact UUDPR to request information about the
drug education curricula that we are currently developing. Also, see
http://www.safety1st.org/ for more information about comprehensive drug
education.
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UUs should ensure adequate supervision at gatherings of youth to ensure that there is no non-medical
drug use taking place.
- Such gatherings can demonstrate to the young people that it is
possible to have a good time without drugs, and non-users would
not be made uncomfortable by peer pressure.
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Help national and local drug policy reform organizations advocate
non-punitive reform options.
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The reform movement has had some recent successes regarding medical marijuana,
needle exchange, and property forfeiture reform. There are many such victories
to be achieved within a few years if even 10% of the nationšs 250,000 UUs
would write letters-to-the-editor and to public officials, testify before
legislative committees and engage in other such activities regularly
coordinated by drug policy reform groups around specific bills pending in
Congress and state legislatures. Even more often than the reform
organizations are able to pass good bills, they are able to defeat new
bills which would make the existing laws even harsher.
"A few good UUs" in each legislative district who obtain information from
reform organizations and assist in their advocacy efforts could exponentially
increase their effectiveness. See the
"links" section of UUDPR's web page, or contact us to find out what the
hot topics are in your state or congressional district -- and to find a
local group in your area.
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Congregations should encourage open, honest discussion
about past and present drug use (pros, as well as cons) among
UUs of all ages.
- Congregations should be "safe spaces" to talk, with no fear
of censure or reprisal. Only through such dialogue can we more
fully understand the role of drugs in people's lives, rather
than only the scare stories we regularly hear in the media.
We should learn the difference between use, abuse and addiction,
and through dialogue, we can learn how users, abusers, addicts
abstainers can peacefully co-exist in our congregations and
ultimately, in society as a whole.
Open discussion can also
encourage UUs to take a good personal inventory about their
own drug use -- not just of currently illicit substances,
but alcohol, tobacco, caffeine and pharmaceuticals. UUs
can help drug users recognize if they have a problem,
and an honest, loving spiritual community can have a
tremendous influence in persuading someone to seek help.
"Acceptance of one another and encouragement of spiritual
growth" should be the guiding principles.
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UUs can develop and experiment with a variety of drug treatment approaches within the church communities.
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UUs should learn
about the "harm reduction-based" treatment approach --
see http://www.harmreduction.org/ -- and
advocate for such policies and programs.
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UU clergy and other respected lay leaders and members can speak out whenever possible for the need to respect the
worth and dignity of drug users.
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Examples include speaking up at parent-teacher meetings, scout meetings,
places of employment with unfair or intrusive drug testing programs, Elks
clubs that demonize users of the currently illicit drugs (while simultaneously
serving alcohol), Rotary clubs and other civics groups that invite speakers.
UUs can also write letters-to-the-editor -- see http://www.mapinc.org/resource/
-- call in to radio shows discussing the drug issue, participate in protests and
demonstrations, etc.
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UUs should be encouraged to visit drug prisoners and offer comfort and support to their families.
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Make a financial contribution to UUDPR, to help cover the costs of our staff time
and overhead for our important work.
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Free books are available as premiums! Please see http://www.uudpr.org/
- When legislative action needs to be taken on specific bills, action
alerts can be posted on the UUA web page, in the UU World, and in church news bulletins.
- UUs can reach out to other religious denominations, starting with congregations in our locales.
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UUs can meet with clergy or denominational leaders from other faiths and explain why the UUA is
taking a stand, and encourage them to join us. UU congregations can host interfaith dialogues, etc.
- UU foundations and philanthropists (e.g., the Veatch program) can fund UUDPR, as well as
national and state organizations working on specific, attainable drug policy reform goals.
- The UU World can run thought-provoking articles about drug policy reform.
- In ministering to active users of the currently illicit drugs, we should not assume
addiction or other pathology.
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The goal should be to help users assess whether drug use is conducive or detrimental
to their personal and spiritual growth. If drug use is having a quantifiable
negative impact on their physical or psychological health, their families or the
congregation, they should be confronted firmly but lovingly. If no quantifiable
harm is being done, they should be treated the same as people who use alcohol,
tobacco, or pharmaceuticals.
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