“Let justice roll down like waters.”Amos 5:24 Dear Friends and Colleagues,  In the world of addiction treatment the is ubiquitous. Maia Szalavitz noted in a column this week for the New York Times that 90% of residential addiction treatment centers in the United States are centered in 12-Step methodology.  She acknowledges that many people, including herself for a time, found critical help and support in the program. But far too often, this explicitly spiritual approach, one deemed religious by the courts, is the only option.  She highlights a few problems including lack of opti ..read more

“Let justice roll down like waters.”Amos 5:24 Dear Friends and Colleagues,  It has been exciting to see the growth of this community over the past year with the work of my colleague Timothy McMahan King.  I’ve been working diligently on a book that will articulate a theological framework for ending the so-called War on Drugs. I will be excited to share this project with you in the future.  While I know our supporters are across the country, I wanted to share with you a letter we are collecting clergy and faith leader signatures to send to the Illinois General Assembly.  The ..read more

“Let justice roll down like waters.”Amos 5:24 Dear Friends and Colleagues,  The other week we set a record for this newsletter. We had more unsubscribes from our email criticizing the drug policy priorities in Biden’s State of the Union than ever before.  That’s ok, this newsletter isn’t for everyone.  The creation of the “War on Drugs” has been a bipartisan project, and our criticism of it will span the partisan spectrum as well. Since we lost some subscribers last week, we have a request for those of you who have stuck around: will you help us spread the word? Maybe you k ..read more

THE CLERGY FOR NEW DRUG POLICY WEEKLY NEWS ROUND-UP “Let justice roll down like waters.”Amos 5:24 Dear Friends and Colleagues,   I am inspired by those parents who have lost a child to overdose and chosen to share their story and their pain. In his State of the Union speech, President Biden shared the story of Doug Griffin, from my home state of New Hampshire, who lost his daughter Courtney to an overdose. Across the country grieving family members have, as President Biden said last night, “turned pain into purpose, working to end stigma and change laws.” It was fitting to honor a pa ..read more

THE CLERGY FOR NEW DRUG POLICY WEEKLY NEWS ROUND-UP “Let justice roll down like waters.”Amos 5:24 Dear Friends and Colleagues,  Pain resists words. We use stories, songs and poems to express great love but great pain finds its deepest expression in the screams and groans that aren’t words at all.  “To have great pain is to have certainty; to hear that another person has pain is to have doubt,” writes philosopher Elaine Scarry. The difficulty of expressing pain in words, as well as the often hidden nature of physical, emotional and spiritual pain can make it difficult to address. Many ..read more

The Clergy for New Drug Policy Weekly News Round-up “Let justice roll down like waters.” Amos 5:24 Dear Friends and Colleagues,  The prayer of confession in the Book of Common Prayer contains the familiar phrase, “what we have done and what we have left undone.”  In many religious traditions, there is the concept of sins of “commission”, the wrongs that we do, and also “omission”, what we fail to do. We aren’t just held responsible for a bad action but also the failure to do good, support justice or defend the vulnerable. The Hebrew prophets make this especially clear that those who ..read more

The Clergy for New Drug Policy Weekly News Round-up “Let justice roll down like waters.” Amos 5:24 Dear Friends and Colleagues,  We are in the midst of the Christian season of Advent. It is a time of waiting and anticipation that culminates in celebrating the incarnation.  This is when those of us who are Christians celebrate that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. God and God’s grace not just as a far-off promise but as an imminent presence.  Mary prophetically sang upon the news of her coming child: He has brought down the powerful from their thrones    and li ..read more

The Clergy for New Drug Policy Weekly News Round-up “Let justice roll down like waters.” Amos 5:24 Dear Friends and Colleagues,  I became a father for the first time last year. Time and again I was told that there was nothing that could fully prepare me for that experience and friends, that is the truth.  When thinking about issues of drug policy the question often arises, what kind of message would this send to kids? As a new parent, I fully agree with the importance of that question. The things that we allow or don’t allow, praise, or condemn do send important messages to children ..read more

Fentanyl test strips allow for a safer supply and safer use, which minimizes the harmful effects of fentanyl rather than simply ignoring or condemning it.  The post Legalize Fentanyl Test Strips appeared first on Clergy for a New Drug Policy ..read more

Dear Friends and Colleagues, Blessings to all of you who are observing Holy Week and Passover this week.  It’s been exciting to jump in with Rev. Sharp and help to identify new opportunities for the CNDP community to make a difference. Faith leaders are a critical voice when it comes to ending the War on Drugs.  For too long, our society has reduced substance use and substance use disorders to moral failings and responded with punishment and incarceration. We are in desperate need of a compassionate public health approach to drug use.  First, thanks to all of you who took action ..read more