The one with Mary J

Mary J. Marijuana. Hey Juan will you marry me?

Interesting that the legalization of Marijuana was one of the biggest things that came out of this last election - second, of course, to the re-election of our president. I think what concerns me most is this: with all the poverty, failing economy, people without jobs, people without health care, starving children, etc, how are we really SOOO concerned about marijuana?????

Is there anyone out there that will have the money to buy it anyways? Or am I really going to be paying for a family to be receiving food stamps while Mom and Dad use what little money they do earn buying pot to release their frustrations and hot box in the bathroom?

I've never used the stuff, I can say that. Partly because I'm not an idiot (ha ha). But mostly because it's against the law and because it alters your mental status, and my parents would kill me, and Jesus said no, and there are really an entire list of reasons.

I have absolutely heard all of the "PRO-Marijuana" arguments. My husband is from Portland, okay, it's not like we haven't gone this round with a million people. And while I am all for people doing whatever they want with their own body, I think too many people fail to recognize that almost nothing (maybe even nothing) we do actually only influences ourselves without affecting others.

I've heard this argument: "People smoke it anyways, we might as well make it legal." SERIOUS? You are absolutely right! My child craps in her diaper even though I tell her not to, I might as well not potty train her. People drink and drive even though it's against the law, we might as well not throw them in jail for it. People shoot up heroine anyways, we might as well give them a clean and sterile needle to do it with. This is known as the fallacy of perfection. And it is one of the biggest fallacies (bend in reasoning) we all depend on - seriously, just think about how much this example comes up in your life. If we can't stop all of it, we may as well not do anything at all.

Another one. "There's no way marijuana use will kill people like driving drunk does." Really? Is that something we can accurately measure? Are there actually polls out there that show that people who drive while high don't ever have an accident? Here's the most obvious counterargument for that one. Say someone you love, maybe even a child was in a car. Say they were hit by another car, and this person died. You are grief stricken, and upset, then the police tell you the person driving the other car was high. I have a hard time believing that is NOT going to make you upset. I have a hard time believing you would not push for that person to go to jail for driving while under some sort of mind altering drug. Because that's what it is. YES it absolutely slows your reflexes - the whole purpose in smoking it is to feel like you don't have a care in the world. Does that sound like a person attentive at the wheel to you? And the idea that the number of people driving while under it's influence won't increase is absolutely nuts! Marijuana consumption of ANY kind was illegal before. OF COURSE PEOPLE stayed at home when they were high, it was the easiest way to conceal the fact that they were doing something illegal! I guarantee the number of people pulled over under the influence of marijuana increases in these states.

I think the thing that honestly makes me the most sad is seeing where our country is going. I am now starting to see what our grandparents talk about when they say things like "In our day, that would never have been acceptable." Why is it that things that have been inherently labled as wrong from birth are now changing. Now I'm the bigot because I believe in the sanctity of marriage, and preserving life, and God in our country! Fifty years ago someone having an abortion was abhorant, and now I'm supposed to be okay with it because why? What changed? Some years passed?

I have many family members who are in same-sex partnerships. I love them, and I love their partners. Its a tough one for me for sure. But I am just finding it depressing that now because I carry the same values and beliefs that have been passed down from generation to generation, I am a terrible person. Why have the tables all of a sudden turned?