Schuller Takes His Name Off Resolution : Petition: Crystal Cathedral pastor said the ‘public perception’ of his involvement in the effort to reform national drug laws had become blurred.

The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, pastor of the Crystal Cathedral, announced Friday that he is removing his name from a petition to reform national drug laws in an attempt to dispel any notion that he was advocating the legalization of drug use.

Schuller, in a news conference at the church, said he agreed to sign the petition in haste and was unaware until recently that the resolution organizer, Orange County Superior Court Judge James P. Gray, has waged a campaign for the legalization of some drugs.

Although the petition, now backed by a number of prominent figures, does not mention decriminalization, Schuller said the “public perception” of his involvement had become blurred.

“In no way do I support a position that would decriminalize drugs,” Schuller said. “It’s a poison.”

Schuller said he had talked about the issue recently with Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates, a harsh critic of Gray. But Schuller said the decision to remove his signature was his own and that he was not bowing to pressure from followers of his worldwide ministry.

The religious leader’s weekly “Hour of Power” television show is beamed to an estimated 13 million people throughout the world.

“My mind was changed by Robert Schuller,” Schuller said. “I want to disavow myself from a resolution that a new movement should be started.”

Schuller said that when he met with Gray and others last month to discuss the resolution, his time had been limited because of other business and he was not aware of the judge’s controversial stance on drug use.

Schuller was out of the country when his support was first announced last week, also at a news conference at the Crystal Cathedral.

“I don’t feel as though I was deceived by Judge Gray,” Schuller said. “He thought I knew who he was and what he was advocating.”

Gray, who was in Eureka on Friday addressing a gathering of judges on the same issue, said he was “sick about any misunderstanding that may have occurred.”

However, Gray said that Schuller seemed to be aware of his position at that first meeting and remembered the reverend telling him that he could sign the resolution but would not join the judge in his push to make some illegal drugs available to the public.

“I have as much admiration and respect for Rev. Schuller (as for) anyone alive,” Gray said. “I am very deeply sorry that there has been this misunderstanding.”

Other prominent people who have signed the resolution are former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke and economist Milton Friedman.

The resolution states in part that current drug policies have failed and that society has suffered “enormous financial cost and loss of civil liberties” to resolve drug problems through the criminal justice system. It calls for a commission to be empowered by President Clinton and the Congress to recommend revisions in the law.

That Schuller would add his name to the resolution surprised many, especially those involved in local anti-drug efforts.

“Today, (Schuller) clarified his position,” said Tom Wadkins, a special agent with the Justice Department who is also a member of Orange County’s Drug Advisory Commission. “His association appeared to give credibility to the legalization of drugs and that’s not the position he wanted to support.”

Wadkins and others involved with the local anti-drug effort attended the morning news conference, and called for stronger support of their own efforts.

“The way to win this war is to continue to do what we have been doing for seven years,” said Michael Hayde, board president of the Drug Use is Life Abuse organization. “Proponents of legalizing drugs are only looking at it from a criminal justice perspective,” he said in a written statement. “They see overcrowded jails and conclude that we can solve this problem by legalizing drugs.”

Aside from his philosophical differences with Gray, Schuller said there are points within the written resolution that he did not agree with based on a second reading.

Schuller said he does not agree that the nation’s drug policies have caused harm, as stated in the final paragraph of the resolution.

“There is nothing in here that says that good is being done,” Schuller said, holding up a copy of the document. “It implies that everybody who has been working at this, have failed. I don’t want to sign anything that would be so perceived.”

In the future, Schuller said he would continue his support of Drug Use is Life Abuse and a Virginia-based group called Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America.

“We could improve on how we’re doing this (fighting drugs),” Schuller said. “I talked with (Sheriff) Brad Gates about this yesterday. We need to have a system of incarceration that is creative, redemptive and healing for many first offenders.”

Referring to an element of his ministry in Moscow, Schuller said he is making great progress with a clinic there that treats drug users in much the same way as those addicted to alcohol.

Gray and others supportive of the resolution said Schuller’s withdrawal is not necessarily a setback for the movement.

“I am sorry to hear about Rev. Schuller’s announcement,” said Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, who added her support Monday. “I think his first instincts were right. Obviously, there (was) some pressure was put on him. This resolution does not support the decriminalization of drugs. All it does is bring the discussion about our present drug policies out into the open.”

Gray said the resolution is in no way an endorsement of his personal effort to make illegal drugs available under a regulated distribution system.

From the time he first announced his position a year ago, Gray said he has remained loyal to the proposal but he has refined some of his statements and does not use the term “legalization” any more.

“This is a controversial issue,” he said. “I am prepared for some misunderstandings.”