TheSkepticChristian Posted February 13, 2016 Posted February 13, 2016 (edited) Quote By Stephanie Watson WebMD Feature Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD Is the idea of marijuana as an illegal drug starting to go up in smoke? Two states have already legalized pot for recreational use. And since polls show that most Americans are in favor of the practice, it might not be long before joints are rolled and bongs are smoked in many more states without fear of jail time. Although there isn't much evidence that the occasional toke leads to long-term health problems, researchers are concerned that long-term, heavy pot smoking can leave lingering effects. So in other words substance abuse is the problem. However, being addicted to 1. gambling 2. cheesy potatoes 3. red bull is also bad, so why does our church not have a political position on those issues? the Church opposes SB 73 and the war on drugs gives power to the drug cartels and the people that are not afraid of drugs don't care if they are legal or not, which means the war on drugs is a failure. Edited February 14, 2016 by TheSkepticChristian
sheilauk Posted February 14, 2016 Posted February 14, 2016 Perhaps the Church has no position on cheesy potatoes because there have not been any legislative moves to ban or allow it. The Church does have a stance on gambling and addiction and, if legislation came up, may well take a political stance as well. Is anyone trying to legalise gambling where its illegal now or vice versa? Really, this is a spurious argument. Buying and selling drugs gives power to drug cartels. Unless the government becomes a supplier of what are highly addictive and dangerous substances, somebody will be buying and selling them. The UK tried decriminalising cannabis - the result was far more of it was grown, by individuals as well as cartels, more came in from Afghanistan and it was much stronger. The level of psychosis has grown and the UK has toughened its stance (though personal users still don't usually get prosecuted). Most of the people who are my clients use cannabis and offend, often as a result of their use - often not because they need money to buy it (its pretty cheap really) but because of the mental state it induces. The war of drugs will be never ending, but I'd rather not throw my hands up in despair and quit, leaving young children to deal with the fall out as with have with alcohol. As with morphine, if scientists can show that there is a medical benefit to cannabis, and it can be produced safely, then have the effective substance sold as a prescribed drug in tablet or liquid form. I have sympathy for those who say it helps them, but, given the effects of it that i've seen, i completely disagree with allowing cannabis weed to be sold. 3
Okrahomer Posted February 14, 2016 Posted February 14, 2016 (edited) I think you are probably wrong to include gambling in your list. For example, the Church took a very public stance against a proposal to legalize certain forms of gambling in Utah back in the '90's: https://www.lds.org/ensign/1992/03/news-of-the-church/churchs-stand-against-gambling?lang=eng The Church has also officially opposed proposals to introduce gambling in other states as well--including in my home state of Oklahoma. I agree that "cheesy potatoes" and "Red Bull" addictions can also have negative impacts on human health, but I wasn't aware of any evidence that long-term consumption of either of those could actually change the structure of one's brain: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-smoking-marijuana-does-to-the-brain/ My understanding of the Church's most recent statement about medical marijuana is that they would like to see more information before legislators act, while acknowledging that some folks with certain medical conditions may actually benefit. There are two medical-marijuana bills being proposed to the Utah State legislature:. The LDS Church officially opposes only one of them. Edited February 14, 2016 by Okrahomer 1
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