wfn.org | MCC's Rev. Troy Perry on Supreme Court's Medical Marijuana Ruling

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Statement by The Reverend Dr. Troy D. Perry
Moderator, Metropolitan  Community Churches
 
On The	U.S. Supreme Court Ruling On Medical Marijuana

"The Supreme Court's ruling is an act of exceptional cruelty,"	says human 
rights activist Rev. Troy Perry.

 
STATEMENT:

June 9, 2005

With its ruling on  medical marijuana, the U.S. Supreme Court has voted to 
treat sick people as  criminals.

By a vote of 6-3, the Court has effectively invalidated  compassionate state 
laws, thereby prohibiting the use of medical marijuana by  people who suffer 
from diabetes, glaucoma, cancer and HIV/AIDS.

The  Supreme Court's ruling is an act of exceptional cruelty.

California,  Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, 
Oregon, Washington  and Vermont all have passed laws that allow for the 
compassionate use of this  drug by individuals who suffer from chronic pain
or the 
debilitating side  effects of treatments for these illnesses. The Court's
decision 
to invalidate  these laws will lead to needless pain and suffering.

In their decision,  the majority justices ruled that Congress alone is 
responsible for passing  federal legislation that will allow sick people
access to 
this drug -- a drug  that has been proven to alleviate pain, induce appetite,

and relax muscles, and	relieve suffering in ways that many prescription
drugs 
cannot	provide.

Today, I am calling upon the Congress of the United States to  enact 
legislation that will allow compassionate use in every state where doctors 
prescribe 
medical marijuana for their patients.

Before the 1996  appearance of protease inhibitors and other HIV medications,

medical marijuana  was one of the few remedies that brought relief to people 
wit HIV/AIDS. I am  proud that some of our churches, including Golden Gate
MCC 
and MCC San Francisco  provided for the care of persons with HIV and AIDS by 
distributing medical  marijuana to people with doctors' notes documenting 
their need. A hallmark of  the LGBT community is that we have historically
found 
ways to address our needs  -- social, political, spiritual as well as medical

-- when those needs have been  ignored or devalued by the larger society.

In 1996, Phyllis Nelson, a  member of Metropolitan Community Churches and a 
mother who lost two sons to  AIDS, said that any public official who had
spent 
an entire morning, as she  had,  trying to help her son eat a half bowl of 
cereal, would never oppose  the compassionate use of medical marijuana. The
same 
is true today.

It is  time to end the hypocrisy that makes medical marijuana illegal, and 
it's time  for the U.S. Congress to enact laws that will make medical
marijuana 
available  to anyone whose condition would be improved by its regulated use.

Jesus  said, "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice." (Gospel of Matthew 12:7)  
There  is no virtue in people suffering pain or discomfort needlessly.	I
call 
on  Congress to enact legislation that will show mercy to persons who are 
suffering,  and I call the LGBT community to a new era of health activism. We
must 
not  become complacent in the face of any injustice. Had this ruling occurred

10 or  15 years ago, our community would have taken to the streets to 
publicly  demonstrate our outrage. It is time for us to reclaim our voice,
and our  
actions, and our activism. 

In Metropolitan Community Churches, we	will not be done "Acting Up" until 
everyone has access to the health care they  deserve, not as a privilege, but
as 
a right.

/signed/
The  Reverend Dr. Troy D. Perry
Moderator, Metropolitan Community  Churches

(END)

For Additional Information, Contact:
MCC  Communications Department
8704 Santa Monica Boulevard
West Hollywood,  CA  90069
Tel. 310-360-8640, Ext. 226
E-Mail:  info@MCCchurch.org
Website: _www.MCCchurch.org_ (aoldb://mail/write/www.MCCchurch.org)