Freiheit für Pastor David!

22. Juli 2006

The War on Drugs is upon you – know what to do, a word of advice in this time of need

von Wiccan Seeker

Greetings, I am wiccan seeker, a moderator of the largest online community devoted to entheogenic mushrooms, www.shroomery.org

When the news of Pastor David's legal peril reached me it was a stab in the heart for me. I am not a member of your Church, nor do I consider myself a Christian, but I admire the stance your Church takes, and it is rare to find a religious leader so kind and benign, and so outspoken in his video messages.

And to think that they have taken this kind man and dragged him down, jailed him for what is nothing more than his birthright, to worship God in the way he sees fit.

And despite the quest of this peaceful man now war is upon you, the War On Drugs. Regardless of how you or I view psilocybian mushrooms, they consider it a drug, and declared users of this mushroom their enemy, in an unilateral declaration of war.

With a Church in development, like your Church, the War on Drugs can only be fought as a guerilla war, not at all unlike the struggle of the Early Christians, with the minions of the Empire being the authorities of Switzerland, and "Caesar" residing at the heart of the Empire, the United States of America.

It is abundantly clear: the "Empire", the powers that be, are intent on wiping you guys out, and have taken down your religious leader. […]

I cannot stress enough that decentralisation is the key to victory, to win this war we never wanted. Information and goods must be distributed among those who can be trusted, and in places which are safe.

[…] What is most important is that an attempt is being made to destroy the Church, the Religion itself, in direct violation of the Declaration of Human Rights and Freedom of Religion.

[…] The Human Rights Declaration in spite, "Caesar" seeks to wipe your religion out. Don't sit by and ride it out, that mentality has been the death knell of many oppressed minorities, and if the Early Christians had done that then "Christianity" today would be nothing than the name of just another religion that never made it past its first century. Don't let it be like this.

I strongly suggest that everyone here really thinks through what they CAN do to help the Church, and then proceeds to do it independently and without sharing their plans. Decentralize. Find a plan that is sound, which you yourself can carry out, and carry it out in your own name for the greater good.

And have faith, do have faith.

In the end, truth shall prevail.
May you be blessed in your endeavors,

WS

8. Juli 2006

An open Letter to the SMCS community

von Anonym

The Sacred Mushroom Church of Switzerland is a wonderful organization – important and even central to the lives of it's members, as any religious organization would be. It is unfortunate that the SMCS is beeing viewed as an unlawful and presumably dangerous organization by Swiss and international law-enforcement organizations. Many people around the globe would be emotionally devastated if the SMCS were to be shut down or forced to seize it's activities.

The SMCS promotes and enables it's members and other interested parties to undertake activities that are presumed to be harmful and dangerous when in fact it is the excact opposite. Psilocybin mushrooms enable us to learn, expand perspectives, and experience profound and even divine experiences.

The SMCS acts openly, and through its website it is accessible to the public without attempt to disguise its activities or agenda from public scrutiny.

The incarceration of the leader of the SMCS is an attempt to stop the activities of the SMCS. In freezing it's bank accounts and confiscating personal information, the swiss polize (possibly in cooperation with other government agencies) have succeded in temporarily stopping the activities of the SMCS. It also creates an impression to the media and to the public that the SMCS is an unlawful organization. It could well be a fatal blow to the SMCS, when it is still a young and quite small organization. We must ensure that this does not happen! We can only hope that both the SMCS and it's founder will emerge unscathed, possibly strengthened by this unfortunate incident.

Most people are not aware of the power and potential of the entheogenic mushroom. Following Davids release or possible sentence, the SMCS should to everything in its power to become as legitimate as possible. Sometimes the law can be against good practice, against human rights or in favour of atrocity. In such cases it is our explicit moral duty to promote a change in legislation. Not only in Switzerland, but in every country of the world.

Everyone should know about the possibility for entheogenic experiences, and take personal, well-informed choices of wether or not they want part in it.

The SMCS should make every effort to present objective and unbiased information on the services they offer. There should also be made a greater effort to present instructions on safe and responsible use. Mind-altering entheogenics can lead to unpleasant experiences and give rise to dangerous situations if used irresponsibly. The SMCS should make every effort to minimize irresponsible use. A stronger emphasis on responsible use, safety and general education might help the SMCS in avoiding future trouble by the law. This could possibly save the future of the SMCS.

Today, mushrooms are beeing confused with addictive and dangerous narcotics and other drugs. The law is not clear on these differces. Judges, police and prosecutors are not evil and should never be percieved as such. They are acting in the best interest of the safety of the people. This does not mean they are educated on the subtleties of the matter. The funny thing is that this leaves it up to us to educate them, and convince them of our point of view. Namely that when used responisbly, psilocybe-mushrooms are infact tremendously safe.

The SMCS should strongly consider making better access to information it's main effort in the short term.

If the law decides that the distribution of mushrooms is indeed illegal in Switzerland, one should consider moving the SMCS distribution center abroad, or start supplying fresh samples only. If this is not feasible, one is left with two options.

Option one: Focusing on policy change, and grow-your-own solutions.
Option two: Taking the SMCS underground.

The SMCS could used it's member base to gather support for it's political views, and at the same time provide information and possibly equipment for people to grow their own sacrament. This would involve closing down the sacrament-donation thing, but will allow the SMCS to live on as a legitimate organization with a clear agenda.

The second option is definitely not an attractive one, and it would definitely hurt the accessibility of the SMCS, and it's potential to appeal to the general public. It would be very unfortunate if the SMCS were forced to go to such measures.

In either case the Sacred Mushroom Church would still be dependent on donations, wether or not there is a direct compensation involved. It is shortsighted to worry about return of monetary donations at a time like this. It's a DONATION for Teonanacatl's sake. There will never again come a time when donations are more needed. The whole organization is at risk.

But hell, this is an organization with affiliates all over the world – we can all make a difference. Wether located in Switzerland, Germany, the US, the UK or wherever. The continued existence of the SMCS requires the support and collective effort of the entire community. It should not be laid on the shoulders of one man to do this. David has already made tremendous efforts to make the SMCS possible, and enabled many people around the world to experience the blessings of the entheogenic experience.

It is evident that in addition to beeing the founder and leader of the SMCS, David is emerging as something of a figurehead for supporters of the sacred mushroom. Let's hope that sustained imprisonment will not break his extraordinary dedication to share the flesh of the gods with the people of Switzerland, and indeed the world.

Best wishes to everyone reading this. Especially to David in captivity.
Hope you will be given back your freedom soon!