David Hairston

There are some in our society who worship at the altar of intoxication. They promote a drunken “saloon” culture, how beer attracts beautiful women, make smoking tobacco look glamorous and encourage folks to consume large amounts of refined sugars and modified milk in their small amounts of coffee.

Many abuse alcohol and some abuse cannabis and more abuse sugar. Everything in excess of normal healthy moderation. Please do not count the members and supporters of Safe Access Tennessee who fight for medical cannabis among this faction that promotes intoxication and excessive behavior.

In fact, we are an anti drug abuse organization seeking to reduce all drug abuse. We strive to share the truth about drugs, particularly the promise of cannabis-based medicines.

Our membership consists primarily of disabled patients and their caregivers desperate for medical solutions. We are just like most folks in Tennessee: conservative to moderate politically, fiercely patriotic, church going, hard working and individualistic. Most of us have experienced medical tragedy fierce enough to ignore the social taboos against cannabis as a medicine.

Having tested this “illegal” medicine and finding it more effective than many government-approved medicines, many of which made us addicted and sicker, we no longer believe the obvious falsehoods sponsored by federal agencies run wild.

These federal agencies – run by bureaucrats grossly corrupted by Big Pharma and police state profiteers – claim cannabis has no medicinal value.

This is the heart of the widespread corruption that drives our healthcare cost consistently higher and blocks all lower cost medical solutions from ever coming to market. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration effectively blocks quality medical solutions made from nature – or as some of our members call it, God’s creation – for the financial benefit of large pharmaceutical companies.

How did this corruption attract the support of good people, including Christian leaders? The answer is very simple: the government lied. It is a good lie – meaning its premise has some truth in it. But it is still a falsehood.

The first five of the Ten Commandments can be boiled down to their essence: “Thou shall have no other gods.” Worshiping intoxication is clearly worshiping a false god from a theological perspective. Our government’s lie is that Cannabis has no medicinal value and is used only to intoxicate. And herein we see how a lie can be used against a good thing.

It is not the substance that is responsible for this “sin” for we know in Genesis 1:11 and 1:12 that God makes all natural things good. It is Man’s intention that makes a sin. Outlawing God’s creation is hardly good policy when one looks at the situation objectively.

Safe Access Tennessee calls upon all leaders in our society, including Christian pastors and other religious leaders to take a stand against the corruption that permeates our federal government and police state profiteers.

We ask that they support legislation at the state level that restores some grace to this sinfully distorted situation: a medical freedom program that allows natural medicines, including Cannabis to come to market in a responsible fashion for the benefit of the sick patients and our citizenry as a whole.

David C. Hairston is the chairman of the Board for Safe Access Tennessee, an advocacy group affiliated with the Americans for Safe Access. Safe Access Tennessee advocates for medical cannabis only and holds no opinion on the legalization of alcohol or recreational marijuana.