EDITORIAL
Legalize peyote use
of Native Americans
Native Americans have used peyote in religious rit
uals for centuries. There are no valid reasons why it
should be Illegal for them to continue to do so.
. The main problem, as it has been in this country
since the white man conquered it, is the law.
Riding a bastion of righteousness, a country was
bom that included in its basic creed the freedom of re
ligion.
Hut freedom of religion apparently applies only to
those who make the taws.
A-couple of years ago two Native American men
were employed in a government-sponsored counseling
program. After admitting to using peyote in religious
ceremonies, the men were fired.
The Oregon case went to the Supreme Court. The
high court said it was up to individual states to decide
the issue for themselves.
The use of peyote is currently illegal in Oregon un
der any circumstances, Bui 24 states allow the use of
peyote by Native Americans under exemptions in state
law Oregon should follow suit.
The United States’ two main legal drugs, alcohol
and tobacco, kill more people combined each year than
all illegal drugs combined.
Although 25,000 people die from drinking alcohol
and driving each year, and another 200.000 die alco
hol-related deaths from cirrhosis and other ailments,
millions are careful about alcohol use.
Drugs can be used responsibly. Native Americans
used peyote long before white people even knew what
it was.
They use it safely. The newspapers aren’t full of
headlines of people dying from peyote overdoses.
The issue comes with ramifications. Other reli
gious groups want to use drugs in ceremonies. Let cor
porate America jump on the bandwagon and we will
hear slogans like “Peyote tastes good like a cactus-bud
should.”
The only solution is to exempt Native Americans
from the current peyote laws. The government certain
ly has better things to do than harass Native Americans
and their use of peyote.
Realistically, in a state that can't finance its own
school system adequately, is Oregon ready to put law
enforcement money into busting religious rituals?
Not much is sacred in the United States these days.
Oregon should keep ancient Native American customs
out of the rule books.
Oregon
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7
Frohnmayer should admit responsibility
The race for Oregon's governor has tak
en another turn toward ugly this week.
Republican Dave Frohnmayer fired his
California based advertising agency and
hired the Eugene firm of Cappelli, Miles,
Wilt/ and Kelly Frohnmayer justified the
switch by saying his television ads had been
too negative. He said he wanted to turn the
direction of tin* campaign toward a more
positive tone.
This latest move by Frohnmayer to dis
tance himself from the responsibility of the
negative ads is inconsistent with positions
he and his staff took earlier in the campaign.
When Frohnmayer's political opponent,
Barbara Roberts was taking heat for the mis
takes her office had made leading to the re
moval of ballot measures from the November
ballot. Frohnmayer's camp claimed it was
her responsibility because she was the per
son at the top.
Since the person at the top of any cam
paign should be the candidate, the responsi
bility for the negative tone of the ads should
fall squarely on Frohnmayer's shoulders.
Now. he apparently is changing the rules
and it is all right to blame your subordi
nates.
Even when candidates claim to be doing
something in order to position themselves
on “higher ground” rather than slinging
mud, they still cannot be trusted at face val
ue.
Roberts has been closing the gap that
Frohnmayer opened early in the campaign.
In a poll released Oct. 4 by The Oregonian
Roberts had pulled dead even with Frohn
mayer. The most likely reason that the Re
publican candidate fired his ad agency is
that he needed some new ideas and a new
strategy.
Frohnmayer’s claim that he fired the
agency in order to add the missing element
of integrity to his campaign is a political
ploy playing on a public that has grown
tired of mud-slinging politicians.
With this move, campaigning has
reached a new all-time low. Now. rather
than simply using selective editing of debate
footage to smear the competition, Frohn
mayer has resorted to hiding behind the
mask of integrity to deceive Oregonians.
These latest moves by Frohnmayer work
to show that Roberts has got him worried.
LETTERS
Who decides
I would like to thunk tin*
three women who wrote the let
ter entitled "Autonomy."! ODH
Oct 8) for reminding me that
US citizens are not innocent
until proven guilty.
A jury was not able to find
Derek Horton guilty of sexual
abuse Who are you to decide
the outcome of his case?
I thought those who am ac
cused of committing a crime
are given the right to a fair trial
and that no one but the jury is
allowed to proclaim their inno
cence or guilt.
However, after reading your
letter I see just how ignorant
I've been. Being accused of a
crime automatically means you
are guilty.
In reference to your party, I
suppose women will bo able to
attend, drink and sleep with
whomever they wish.
When they become sober,
and if they regret their deci
sion. they can say. "Well, 1 was
drunk He made me.”
Men, on the other hand, have
to worry because it is assumed
men always lake advantage of
women and it could never pos
sibly Ik? the other way around.
Innocent until proven guilty?
What does that mean, anyway?
KoseMarie Beatty
loumalism
Psychology
1 am responding to a quote
made by Kristi Patterson in the(
ODE, Sept. 27) article "Classes
more crowded this year."
She stated all 4l)0-level psy
chology classes were closed be
forv registration. This is not
true.
In pre-registration, each psy
chology class is allowed to fill
up by 50 percent.
Therefore, during registra
tion at least 50 percent of each
psychology class is offered to
students.
If students have questions,
we psychology peer advisers
encourage them to come to the
psychology peer advising office
at 141 Straub rather than mak
ing assumptions that could
harm both students and the
psychology department.
Kimie Dallas
Psychology
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