REEFER MADNESS

Sean J. Miller's article in Cityview raises an interesting question
[We the People, "Still burning," April 19]. Why is Carl Olsen of the
Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church forbidden by law in the United States of
America to use sacramental marijuana in his religious practices?

Shiva is the Lord of Marijuana for many practitioners of the Hindu
religion. Rastafarians consider Cannabis Sativa, the Tree of Life...
the sacred plant that has manifested as the holiest of holy signs
marking the end of tribulations and the beginning of the City of God
here on earth.

Marijuana and man have been together in many ways for a very long
time. Columbus sailed to the New World using cannabis sails called
canvas. The seeds have been used as a source of nutritious food for
thousands of years. Marijuana was a valued medicine for thousands of
years. Hindus and Buddhists have considered marijuana extremely sacred
for thousands of years.

So who exactly are these people in America who have a bug up their
behinds when it comes to marijuana?

My advice to Olsen is to "cultivate that which can not be taken." For
whatever reasons, America has banned the growing and smoking of
marijuana, but it is not illegal to consider and believe that
marijuana is the holiest and greatest plant in the world.

Jim Hodapp

Elmhurst, Ill.