Blogging for Freedom

 This is a sad commentary on US Drug Policies:

Pastor David has ministered the Church of the Sacred Mushroom for years in Bern, Switzerland.  He, his family and followers have lived openly and responsibly in their community without incident. That is until the DEA set their sights on him.

At the same time, the results of a research project studying the effects of psilocybin, the hallucinogenic property of the Sacred Mushroom were released. 

" In what some are calling a landmark study on the effects of hallucinogens, Roland Griffiths and colleagues brought 36 adults into the laboratory where they experienced their first psychedelic high. 

Two-thirds said it was among the most profound events in their lives, said Griffiths, whose findings appear in the journal Psychopharmacology.  The positive effects appeared to last for as long as a year. 

The volunteers, average age 46, took the drug in a relaxed setting with two monitors present for another eight hours.  They were given either psilocybin, an amphetamine compound or a placebo. 

Afterward, volunteers completed a battery of tests.  Two-thirds recounted a profound spiritual experience.  "These are successful, dynamic people with plenty of life experience," Griffiths said.  "We didn't expect this." ... The negative effects, at least in the calm study setting, didn't last beyond the session, whereas positive ones persisted.  "They felt that they learned something true and deeply important," Griffiths said.

Pastor David has been walking the path of the Sacred Mushroom - in another country - but now he has been indicted by two US federal grand juries for international drug trafficking. His letter to CannabisCulture.com:

Dear Marc Emery: I write this to you from prison in Switzerland. I’m in solitary detention here in a jail in Bern, unable to see my wife and children. I have been here since June 9th, 2006. My laptop, books and money have been confiscated. There is some kind of investigation of me in regards my Church of the Sacred Mushroom and our distribution of the wonderful mushrooms.

For years I tried to tell local Swiss officers of what I was doing: that I, Pastor David, was doing missionary work with the sacred mushrooms. I was ignored, now to be treated very harshly. They read my mail and perhaps are seizing correspondence sent to me. I am now in big trouble. My lawyer, jailers and the police have all said I may be extradited to stand trial in the United States for my mushroom work. I have been told that I have been indicted twice already by a US grand jury.

If you can, please publish news of my fate. I can be reached at:
Pastor David Schlesinger
Regionalgefängnis Bern
Zelle 309, Genfergasse 22
3011 Bern, Switzerland.
The mail will be read by authorities, so please be careful.

Swiss authorities have treated me like I’m the Taliban. I believe the Swiss are violating my citizenship by finding ways to have me extradited to the USA. If I make bail, I will inform you, but so far after four weeks I have no prospects for release. I’m being held without bail because officials see a “danger” of “collusion” as long as I can talk and write. I doubt my tongue and fingers will be cut off like worshippers of Teonanacatl experienced 500 years ago.

I asked for jurisdictional clearance from the police, they let me go on for years, and then when their ‘non-action’ was “understood” by me over these years, the police, without warning, raid me and put me in jail. I was naive, no doubt. But now I sit here waiting to find out if I will be sent to the US to spend my eternity in jail there.

My children of course do not understand, and my wife is heart broken. The religious community of Teonanicatl is now without support.

Teonanicatl bless you all,

Pastor David
In Jail in Bern,
Switzerland

** DC note:  so, here we have an ancient, natural substance born of the Earth and used for thousands of years for spritual enlightenment and revelation but now, in 2006, the US government declares it evil. Pastor David teaches respect for the Sacred Mushroom - so that it isn't used as a recreational or casual party drug. DEA, however, has chosen to demonize him for his spritual and religious beliefs and practices.

Who the hell are we anymore? Can we even call ourselves true Americans?  I'm ashamed our government is putting people like Emery, Rainey, Williams, and now Pastor David in prison.  Regardless of what one may think about the War on Drugs, our government is waging an international War on Ideology and that is not what the United States stands for.