Matisyahu - King Without A Crown

Legal Marijuana in Colorado:Blessing or Curse

Everyone has an opinion for or against the selling of marijuana.  I would like to add my two cents.  I believe it is economically a good decision and my feelings are strongest from that perspective.  Years ago when I was addicted to nicotine by way of cigarettes; my decision to quit was based on economics.  At the time I was solely responsible for raising five children.  I heard all the arguments about the danger to my health and those from the religious right that somehow equated smoking cigarettes with sin.  Neither one of these arguments was valid enough for me to quit smoking cigarettes.  When I went to the grocery store and had to choose between a loaf of bread and a pack of cigarettes I  realized I was too poor to have a habit.  By the way at that time the cost was 65 cents.   As I reflect at the continual rise in cost of cigarettes over the years; I thank God for the way he intervened in my life to help me quit smoking cigarettes.

Now the issue is whether the legalization and sell of marijuana is a blessing or a curse.  It depends on who you talk or listen.  One of my nephews thought it would be a good idea if he wasn't a believer in Jesus Christ. I too am a Follower of Christ but I did not see in the Scriptures that I try to live my life by that if I wanted and could start a business selling the herb that it would be contradictory to my Faith.  Like all controversial subjects our facebook chat turned into use of the herb and in a direction that the first post had not mentioned.  Being a mature Believer, I ended the conversation by agreeing to disagree about the subject. 

Now I feel that legalizing a plant that has been used since before I or my nephew was born is a good thing economically.  I was all for the medical use of this herb and could point to Scripture/Bible to support my position in the book of Genesis. I do not currently use this herb for any reason just to clarify the validity of my position, though in the past I have been familiar with it's properties.

I compare the use of marijuana to that of alcohol and the fact that alcohol has been legal even though we have all experienced the problems associated with it's use. This is an economical decision.  Yes the individual is responsible for the choice to use or not.

In my opinion and knowledge abuse of alcohol is as bad a the use of marijuana or worse.  The legalization of marijuana is good for revenue first and foremost.  Legalization does not relieve the user of responsible use of the things they put in their body.  For those who like me believe in Jesus Christ, I do not believe that marijuana is a sin.  Like food, wine, sex, or other gifts given by our Creator, man chooses to abuse it and for them it is a sin.

The Clues to School Violence is Staring Us in the Face.

In the recent school shooting at Arapaho High School, investigations continue to uncover what the shooter planned.  The fact that the shooter killed himself after critically wounding a fellow student declares that this matter has ended.  This particular person is no longer a threat and further investigation is prolonging an incident is over.
Of course in the age of social media there are those who don't agree with me and that is understandable. Their argument is continued examination of his intentions will reveal clues.  I disagree.  The facts that we as a society refuse to deal with is easy access to weapons.  Why should a young man who has not completed high school be allowed to purchase a weapon.  He is still the responsibility of his parents.  Anything he does will fall back on his parents.
This is not a clue; this is an in our face reality.  Easy access to guns is a problem.  We as a society can not muster the guts to do anything but argue about it. If we refuse to address what we know; why look for more "clues" as my opposition mentioned.
Next we have dropped the ball as far as rearing our children are concerned.  They are spoiled, weak mentally and physically due to our coddling.  We refuse to address this as a society so why look for more "clues" to hopefully avoid another tragedy like we continue to experience.
If parents are afraid or unconcerned enough to search their children's room to see if they have weapons or drugs then why look for more evidence that we are not going to do anything about.
The "clues" are staring us in the face. No one wants to face it and no one wants to do anything about it.
When parents could no longer whip or physically spank their children then the children started physically punishing every one that gets in their way.
I raised five children so I have experience enough to speak on this matter.  Some were easier to raise than others but when those who were disruptive acted up in school I immediately came up with a plan to nip their bad behavior in the bud.  They were not allowed to keep others from learning by their behavior.  They were taken out of the classroom and studied for GED certificates.
When my boys purchased BB guns that ended up damaging neighbors windows, those guns were confiscated and put in the hands of the police and never returned.
In my child rearing plan, the teacher was always right.  I never took the side of my children against the teacher.  I was raised the same way.  It was a mortal sin to get in trouble at school.  If you allow your children to be placed in the hands of educators then you must support them.
I prayed with my children before they left the house. Now we pray for those who are wounded by the gunman.  We are so afraid to do what needs to be done so we all suffer for our lack of responsibility to the children we bring into the world.  Keep looking for "clues."