Rev. Schuller Joins Ranks Urging Drug Law Reform

Entering the debate over how society should respond to drug abuse, the Crystal Cathedral’s Rev. Robert H. Schuller on Wednesday joined a growing list of prominent public figures calling for reform of U.S. drug laws and opened his church to a forum on the topic.

The religious leader became the latest major figure to sign a petition that calls for President Clinton and Congress to form a federal commission that would study the drug issue and recommend changes in existing policies. The document already contains the names of former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke and economist Milton Friedman, among others.

“Our society must recognize drug use and abuse as the medical and social problems that they are and . . . they must be treated with medical and social solutions,” according to the resolution of the Coalition for National Drug Policy Change signed by Schuller.

The announcement of Schuller’s decision came just one day after Justice Department officials said that Atty. Gen. Janet Reno is considering easing prosecution of some low-level drug offenses, such as possession of small amounts of narcotics.

The petition stops short of supporting drug legalization, a position once advocated by Orange County Superior Court Judge James P. Gray, who helped organize the group and now is a proponent of “regulated distribution” of certain narcotics. Instead, it calls for greater scrutiny of failed drug policies, a spokesman said.

But Schuller’s mere presence on a list of signatories who support the controversial platform was hailed as an unexpected boost to efforts to force a rethinking of current narcotics policies. Schuller is a nationally prominent religious leader whose weekly “Hour of Power” television show is viewed by an estimated 13 million people worldwide.

“I don’t think we can underestimate the impact of Rev. Robert Schuller signing this petition,” said Gray, whose pro-legalization stance in the past year sparked vociferous opposition from local law enforcement leaders in favor of tough drug prosecution.

Harriett M. Wieder, chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, said in an interview that she has not signed the petition but would likely do so if approached. “Change is in the wind,” she said. “We’ve got to look at this issue and see what it would mean to legalize drugs. Debate is terribly important.”

Kevin B. Zeese, vice president of the Drug Policy Foundation, a Washington think tank that supports new policy approaches, said Schuller’s reputation as a conservative religious leader makes him an important addition to the list of names on the petition.

Other members of the clergy have already signed on with the movement, Zeese said, “but he’s the first that’s got his kind of national recognition. So for that reason, this is a very significant move.”

The Crystal Cathedral, which Schuller heads, will also be the site of a forum Monday night organized by a local coalition seeking changes in drug laws. But Larry Sonnenburg, chief of staff for Schuller, said the religious leader is not sponsoring the forum and has no plans to use his television show to promote the cause.

“Judge Gray makes a good case that there is a major problem. While Schuller does not agree with his position, he is willing to say it needs to be looked at,” Sonnenburg said after a press conference.

Also joining the list Wednesday were San Diego Appellate Court Justice Charles W. Froelich Jr. and San Francisco Appellate Court Judge William A. Newsom.

Schuller was in Amsterdam on Wednesday and could not be reached for comment. But his newly announced position took some people aback.

“I’m somewhat surprised,” said Orange County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley. “I would think (Schuller) would say someone else should take the leadership in that issue. . . . Maybe it’s part of the Marine in me, but all I know is you enforce the law. That idea that when things get bad, just don’t enforce it--that raises hackles in me. I don’t believe in that.”

“There are a lot of people searching for answers. But I don’t think the path down which they’re traveling is the answer,” said Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi.

Betsy Arnow, vice chairwoman of the Orange County Advisory Board on Drug Programs and an opponent of drug legalization, said that petition organizers such as Gray seem intent on making drugs legal--even if the petition doesn’t say so directly.

“We are opposed to this because we know where (Gray) is headed with it,” she said.

Gray said he and an Anaheim surgeon began working on the petition after meeting with the Rev. Cecil Murray of the First AME Church in Los Angeles, another official eager to focus more attention on what he sees as the failures of current drug policies.

San Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan could be the next official to join the coalition’s ranks. A spokesman for Jordan said Wednesday that he is “looking favorably” on the petition, but has not signed yet.

The petition offers a broad indictment of the failure of current drug policies. The current practice of attempting to resolve the drug problem through the criminal justice system has come “at enormous financial cost and loss of civil liberties,” the petition asserts.

The present system “has spawned a cycle of hostility” against minorities, and the spread of AIDS and hepatitis through contaminated hypodermic needles is “epidemic,” the petition notes. Meanwhile, “huge” drug revenues go untaxed here and undermine “legitimate governments worldwide.”

“We want the government officials in Washington to feel that they can pause, that they can step back and take a fresh look at (drug policies) and not commit political suicide,” said Joseph D. McNamara, a former San Jose police chief who is one of the petition’s original signatories.