WAR ON DRUGS MOVES US CLOSER TO BEING A POLICE STATE

Let's talk about beer the way letter writer Bill Moore talks about
marijuana (You Can't Justify Marijuana Use By Quoting the Bible, May 19).

"Beer contains alcohol which is a dangerous mind-altering substance. It
causes dizziness and vomiting. Beer damages the liver and is a cause of
domestic violence. Teens who become addicted to beer suffer emotional
problems, and today's beer is 10 times more potent than it was 20 years ago."

Common sense dictates that some of this information is false, and that the
line is blurred between use and abuse as well as between adults and
children. And yet this is the fallacy used by prohibitionists when they
talk about marijuana.

Mr. Moore said "the Bible condemns intoxication." How then does he explain
Psalm 104:15, "Wine makes glad the heart of man?"

The word "strong drink" (shekar in Hebrew) in Deuteronomy 14:26 likely
refers to wine containing other psychoactive plants, such as cannabis, and
was used as an offering in the ancient Jerusalem temple.

The Bible teaches "moderation" and condemns both excess and prohibition.
This is best summarized in Sirach 31:27-31 of the Apocrypha.

But since we live in a religiously diverse nation we should ask, "What are
the limits of state power?" The government's war on drugs is dangerous
because it's moving us closer to a police state.

RANDY VIZYAK

Mukwonago, WI