'76 Blog

(CCU Faculty) This week, The Centennial Institute hosted a debate on the question of whether, and to what degree, marijuana should be legalized in the state of Colorado.  This is obviously a very important issue and extremely relevant.  The Colorado legislature is currently attempting to deal with the continuing issue of how best to administer its current medicinal marijuana law. During the Centennial Institute debate, the libertarian position favoring the easing of restrictions and possibly outright full legalization continued to surface.  At the root of this argument is a belief that people should be able to make choices for themselves, without government restriction.   While respect for liberty is indeed a fine thing, liberty itself is not unlimited.  The approach of most libertarians typically seeks a liberty unchecked.  None of the participants at the Centennial Institute debate expressed a personal desire for to have access to marijuana, and all expressed personal reservations for themselves and their family members concerning its use.  What this position amounts to is the following: its wrong for me but you can do whatever you want. During the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858, Senator Douglas explained how slavery had existed in his home state of Illinois for a time, but when the people of his state decided that it no longer worked for them, they voted to end it.  In contrast to this, Kentucky, Illinois’ southern neighbor, had slavery and continued to have it.  In Douglas’ mind, they continued to have legal slavery, as it worked for them.  Douglas’ opinion of this discrepancy between Illinois and Kentucky concerning the legality of chattel slavery was an attitude of indifference.  It was not right for some, but was for others. Abraham Lincoln responded to Douglas’ indifference to slavery in the last of their seven debates, held in Alton, Illinois: [Douglas] says he “don’t care whether it is voted up or voted down” in the Territories.... Any man can say that who does not see anything wrong in slavery; but no man can logically say it who does see a wrong in it, because no man can logically say he does not care whether a wrong is voted up or down.... Lincoln correctly questions the logic of Douglas.  If something is wrong, how can we not care whether it is legal?  If there is something wrong with marijuana, how can we “not care” whether or not it is legal?  The panelists all seemed to agree that for them, marijuana wasn’t a good thing.  Is this merely a personal preference or it there something inherently wrong with it, which explains why they don’t want to use it, nor do they want their children to?  This is in no way an attempt to equate slavery with marijuana usage.  What is similar is the argument that was put forth by Senator Stephen Douglas in 1858 concerning slavery and the argument put forth by most libertarians concerning marijuana and most other morals laws that exist in the United States. There are indeed obvious and significant differences between slavery and marijuana.  What needs to be acknowledged is that the libertarian argument shares the same “don’t care” indifference of Senator Douglas.  If we recognize that something is indeed wrong, how can we not insist on laws prohibiting it? This attitude toward law and governance is enormously important, not simply in the debate over marijuana.  The other, more significant example of this indifference and its tragic consequences is our current laws on abortion.  Again, the libertarian position is often one of: I wouldn’t do it, but that doesn’t mean we should prevent others from making this choice.  If we know something is morally wrong, how can we argue that we “don’t care” whether it is voted up or down?

(’76 Editor) Since our big debate on Colorado drug policy, Feb. 17 at CCU, I’ve been repeatedly asked who won or what conclusion emerged.  There’s no simple answer in light of the cross-cutting perspectives from our five debaters – legislators Shawn Mitchell and Tom Massey, psychiatrist Chris Thurstone, and attorneys Carol Chambers (opposed to outright legalization of marijuana) and Jessica Corry (in favor of same) – and the three-layer complexity of the subject.  (1) How to regulate medical marijuana, (2) what to do about marijuana’s illicit recreational users, and (3) how much to use state power for the individual’s own good, were all topics in play during the 75-minute discussion.  Questions from the panelists on stage (myself, CCU senior Natasha Starceski, and CCU freshman Drew Goorabian), along with written questions submitted from the audience, most of which weren’t put to the debaters because of time limitations, are tabulated in full below.  They reflected a commendable degree of thoughtfulness on a difficult matter of governance and civic standards, I believe. Moderator's Opening Question: What difference can you see, if any, between America’s failed experiment with alcohol prohibition in the 1920s, and the marijuana prohibition of today, with or without a medical exception? Is the federal heavy hand on marijuana an example of the welfare clause gone amuck or do we actually need a stronger federal government than Mr. Madison believed?  Was Madison wrong? What do you think of legalizing marijuana but requiring drug testing for welfare/tax supported programs? Would the legalization of marijuana in Colorado provide an economic boost within the state; does the economic boost outweigh the detrimental effects on society as a whole? If marijuana is legalized, what can be expected when it comes to the price and legal limit?  How much is too much, and what will the legal buying age be? If marijuana is legalized, should its regulation be handled by state or federal authorities? It is common knowledge that the prohibition of alcohol did not work – why do you think the prohibition of marijuana is any more effective? Generally, marijuana has the same psychological effects as alcohol and the same physiological effects as tobacco, yet alcohol and tobacco are legal.  Alcohol, if used in excess, can lead to alcohol poisoning and kill a person, but it is impossible to O.D. on marijuana.  Why then is tobacco and alcohol legal, but marijuana is not? Dr. Thurstone: Could you please explain smoked marijuana verses a pill or the patch? Ms. Corry: Part of your stance is that legalizing marijuana will help reduce our deficits… How do you balance that with the cost that this issue has placed on local government at a time when they are struggling to provide basic services in this economy? Ms. Corry: Is there any free market (perhaps human sex trafficking) that government should limit or eliminate? Why is medicinal marijuana so much more expensive than illegal marijuana? Dr. Thurstone suggests that marijuana increases violent behavior; however, anyone who has used it knows that this is false.  Has he ever had any personal, legitimate experience with marijuana? Would you all agree or disagree that seniors may be more likely to treat ailments such as arthritis with marijuana if it were legalized? Micah 6:8 says, “Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with the Lord your God.”  Since laws are meant to punish those who cause harm to others, how can we justify laws that are more harmful to our citizens than the substances they ingest? When does state law trump federal law?  How does that affect federal dollars to our state for drug enforcement  Marijuana is known as a “gateway” drug – will this therefore lead to increased use and incidents of heroine, cocaine, meth, etc.? Rather than enacting immediate government regulation, why don’t we allow the free market to handle the over supply?  Many “conservatives” profess a belief in state sovereignty and the 10th Amendment, yet support the DEA’s recent arrest of a medical marijuana grower who was in compliance with Colorado law.  How can one reconcile those two positions? Making marijuana legal will not prevent the crime we are seeing now like robbery or dispensaries – nor will it prevent a black market.  Will your view tolerate this associated crime? Cain asks God: “Am I my brother’s keeper?”  If the answer is yes, how forceful should I be in protecting my brother from marijuana, or fatty foods, or whatever?  Man needs free will to serve God or not and otherwise behave. I could understand legalizing marijuana if Medicare and Medicaid did not pay for the consequences thereof.  Why should Medicare pay for a new liver for an alcoholic? If drug abusers were allowed to die on a Denver sidewalk, cry out in pain for another joint, then legalization would make some sense.  We could make sure our children could see the miseries of a dopey life. Do you think prohibition of marijuana leads to more problems than just if it was legalized? Marijuana is known for being a "gateway" drug - therefore, do you foresee an increase use and abuse of other illicit drugs if marijuana were to be come legalized?  Would this in turn lead to higher incidence of drug-related crime Students know it is possible to fake ADD symptoms and get a Ritalin prescription (“my new homework buddy”), so wouldn’t it also be easy for young people to fake and lie their way to a medical marijuana card? If we legalize marijuana, should we therefore legalize ALL drugs? Moderator's Closing Question: What is the single most compelling reason Colorado should not go ahead and legalize all marijuana?  

John Lennon’s 1971 lyrics to “Imagine” reflected the head Beatle's lofty idealism -- which was embraced by many,  while others attacked the song's brazen, impudent, hardened, and bold promotion of socialism. Imagine there's no Heaven , It's easy if you try No hell below us, Above us only sky Imagine all the people, Living for today Imagine there's no countries, It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too Imagine all the people, Living life in peace You may say that I'm a dreamer, But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us, And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger, A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people, Sharing all the world You may say that I'm a dreamer, But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us, And the world will live as one Lyric highlights (or lowlights, depending on your perspective): IMAGINE THERE’S NO HEAVEN…IMAGINE THERE’S NO COUNTRIES…AND NO RELIGION TOO…IMAGINE NO POSSESSIONS…IMAGINE ALL THE PEOPLE, SHARING ALL THE WORLD…I HOPE SOMEDAY YOU’LL JOIN US, AND THE WORLD WILL LIVE AS ONE. Weren’t statements like "imagine no possessions" characterized as un-American in 1971? How about no religion, no countries, and his vision for a one world society? John Lennon expressed his world vision to a rebellious and sympathetic post-Vietnam war America. Was his agenda idealistic, therefore, unrealistic? Was he promoting Communism or Socialism, therefore, a radical agenda? Most assuredly. According to Wiktionary “What goes around comes around” is an English Proverb which means the status eventually returns to its original value after completing some sort of cycle. That can be a frightening thought, but, unfortunately, it is true. Fast forward 38 years… Can you IMAGINE a police officer in Cambridge, Massachusetts arresting a hostile and unruly Harvard University professor late one night after which the President of the United States, shooting from the hip, hastily and irrationally jumps into the fray offering “I don’t have all the facts, but the police acted stupidly.” After several days of hectic damage control meetings and frantic back peddling by his minions our “beloved” President spoke again saying “I should have chosen my words more carefully.” No, Mr. President, you should have stayed out if it. But I am thrilled you have alienated every policeman and policewoman in America. And to cap off several days of irresponsible remarks our #1 hothead-in-chief offered “it might have been better if cooler heads had prevailed.” Don’t you have anything else to do Mr. President? How about dealing with the unprecedented debt, reckless spending, massive unemployment and the economic crisis you and your cronies in Congress foisted upon an unwilling America? Or yet another “Obamnation” due to your ill-advised and disastrous cap & trade plan which is nothing more than a new tax on the working class? How about the health care program you are forcing down our collective throats despite our repeated protestations? And all you can do is resort to name calling for those who oppose your plans (“obstructionists”). That doesn’t sound like really mature leadership and the change we need, Mr. President. To add fuel to the fire Massachusetts “beloved” African-American Governor Deval Patrick chimed in with this ill-advised remark, “A policeman coming to your front door is every black man’s worst nightmare.” What? Oh, did I mention Cambridge police sergeant James Crowley is white and the unruly Harvard professor is an African-American and the neighbor who called the police to report the apparent home break-in was also African-American? It should all be irrelevant. While others may say President Obama is arrogant I cannot agree. He is more than arrogant...perhaps elitist. It has been said his arrogance is exceeded only by his lack of integrity. Shame on President Obama and Governor Patrick for their racially divisive and uninformed remarks. EPILOGUE: My personal response to the very talented Mr. Lennon whose life was cut way too short and the perhaps well-meaning but certainly inexperienced Mr. Obama regarding your shared agenda for socialism in America… no, I cannot IMAGINE that!