Why the Catholic Church is Leading Fighting Against Legal Marijuana in Massachusetts

[mdgspencer]

see newsy-today.com/why-the-catholic-church-is-leading-the-fight-against-legal-pot-in-massachusetts-the-atlantic/
The question of legalizing marijuana is now on the November ballot in a number of places in the U.S., including Massachusetts. The Catholic Church in Massachusetts, this article reports, is putting money into a campaign against its legalization because marijuana has a destructive effect on individuals, families, and communities.

 

[Ite_ad_Ioseph]

Maybe people would take our church more seriously if we fought against issues that matter instead of a plant.

 

[jediliz]

Drug abuse and use is a serious issue. Addicts neglect their families and their jobs. They end up on the street.

There is NO HOPE with DOPE.

 

[Randolph]

Maybe people would take our church more seriously if we fought against issues that matter instead of a plant.

It IS precisely because the Church has fought against issues like these that people have taken the Church seriously. Lives of millions and their families in the US alone (let alone in the world) have been ruined because of this drug addiction. Addiction to marijuana (yes, a plant) is an extremely seriously matter. And yes, it can be a gateway drug to other more dangerous drugs.

Yes, I am aware of the counter arguments about alcohol use–responsible usage and otherwise. And yes, arguments have been well made for medicinal use for marijuana. But with widespread legal usage of marijuana, we will have many, many more people HIGH while driving on the road, operating machineries, working in critical jobs, etc… With this legalization comes additional societal costs and damages. We should be very concerned, if not alarmed, of the bad news that will come.

Marijuana/drug addiction is a very serious matter, and I am grateful that the Church, among fewer and fewer entities, is fighting it.

 

[Beryllos]

I think it’s great that the Boston archdiocese is campaigning against legalized pot.

Why is this article so badly written? It’s like it was written by someone who is not a native English speaker, or else very high.

 

[po18guy]

Maybe people would take our church more seriously if we fought against issues that matter instead of a plant.

Very millennial statement.

Those of us who worked drugs for decades saw the destruction it wreaked on individuals, families, and now society. Declaring the war on drugs to be lost and simply giving up is not charity.

 

[Randolph]

I think it’s great that the Boston archdiocese is campaigning against legalized pot.

Why is this article so badly written? It’s like it was written by someone who is not a native English speaker, or else very high.

I have non-“native English speaker” friends who would agree that this artciles WAS so badly written. In the meantime, many “native English speaker” friends of mine would say: “IT’S LIKE…why would it matter whether the writer is native or non-native?”

Respectfully, a badly written article was just simply badly written. Don’t automatically and incorrectly assumed that it was written by a non “native English speaker”, or by someone who is very high." Think about the comparison for non-native English speaker writers…

… Or did I miss your joke?

 

[Beryllos]

I have non-“native English speaker” friends who would agree that this artciles WAS so badly written. In the meantime, many “native English speaker” friends of mine would say: “IT’S LIKE…why would it matter whether the writer is native or non-native?”

Respectfully, a badly written article was just simply badly written. Don’t automatically and incorrectly assumed that it was written by a non “native English speaker”, or by someone who is very high." Think about the comparison for non-native English speaker writers…

… Or did I miss your joke?

Sorry if I offended anyone. Actually I was not joking. Several years ago, I used to review manuscripts for a major scientific journal, and I noticed that certain kinds of English language errors appeared when the author’s mother tongue is not English. Some authors from certain countries, not to name names, tended to compose sentences with major structural errors, or often chose the wrong word in translation. As I read the article cited in the OP, I got the impression that the author had that kind of language difficulty. I have also read plenty of poor writing by American students, which exhibits a different sort of language error.

I am not a linguist, so it’s possible that I have got this wrong.

 

[Randolph]

Sorry if I offended anyone. Actually I was not joking. Several years ago, I used to review manuscripts for a major scientific journal, and I noticed that certain kinds of English language errors appeared when the author’s mother tongue is not English. Some authors from certain countries, not to name names, tended to compose sentences with major structural errors, or often chose the wrong word in translation. As I read the article cited in the OP, I got the impression that the author had that kind of language difficulty. I have also read plenty of poor writing by American students, which exhibits a different sort of language error.

I am not a linguist, so it’s possible that I have got this wrong.

I understand you now. Thank you for your clarification.

 

[J_Peterson]

Haha, I got this far and stopped reading:

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy authored a Boston Globe op-erectile dysfunction opposing the measure in March

Seriously? I know this seems to be a small online news source but how hard is it to read what you wrote before submitting it?

Sarcastically speaking, it’s nice to see our Bishops on the same side as the alcohol and gambling industries. It’s already decriminalized and they made a mess of medical marijuana. It’s time to just legalize it all together, even though I have a good friend who will be out of a job

 

[Wesrock]

I don’t want recreational marijuana legalized for its own merits, but the cost to our criminal justice system and the number of families broken apart by it just doesn’t seem worth it, and in terms of ‘influence’ on perception it’s more like alcohol than anything harder.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

The Church also supported "prohibition. "

How’d that work out ?

Jim

 

[Randolph]

The Church also supported "prohibition. "

How’d that work out ?

Jim

Jim:

We are discussing the legalization of marijuana, and the destructive impacts of marijuana/drug addiction on millions of people and their loved ones in the US (who knows how many in the world). Although alcohol use is a different issue, are you using the failure of prohibition as a rationale/logic for the legalization of marijuana?

If “yes”, using the same rationale/logic, are you then also in support of legalization of all drugs (cocaine, heroin, LSD, cracks, opium, etc…)?

“Just a side note, my friend (a mother), at this very moment, is dealing with her son who just checked out of the hospital for drug overdose. Just two days after coming home, her son got on drugs again. My friend found the drugs and flushed them down the toilet. Right now, her addicted son is so mad that he is destroying her house-smashing everything in his sight. The police is being called… This will not end well…”

Now back on topic, the devastation and destruction of drug addiction is already so enormous right now. With the new flood of legalization, it will only get much worse. I can’t even fathom the thought of innocent/naive children who would use these drugs under the false pretense that “it’s ok because it is legal.” Once addicted, what will become of the lives of these innocent/naive children? These children could very well be my own children, nieces, nephews…

 

[Ite_ad_Ioseph]

1.) marijuana isn’t “all drugs”. That’s illogical.
2.) marijuana is a plant that makes people laugh sometimes. Heroin is a drug. LSD is a drug. People get addicted to alcohol. As is easily findable online, one can’t get addicted to marihuana.

 

[Ite_ad_Ioseph]

Very millennial statement.

Those of us who worked drugs for decades saw the destruction it wreaked on individuals, families, and now society. Declaring the war on drugs to be lost and simply giving up is not charity.

Very baby boomer statement to be into big government and throwing every single drug into the same category and claiming it ruins lives.

 

[Jason_Firestone]

Maybe people would take our church more seriously if we fought against issues that matter instead of a plant.

The fact is, in certain medical cases, (intractable nausea in some cancers, some advanced HIV, and some other cases such as chronic pancreatitis), and in some pediatric seizure disorders, it may be the only effective treatment. The Church should stay out of this unless they actually know what they are talking about, … and in most cases they DO NOT.

 

[Randolph]

1.) marijuana isn’t “all drugs”. That’s illogical.
2.) marijuana is a plant that makes people laugh sometimes. Heroin is a drug. LSD is a drug. People get addicted to alcohol. As is easily findable online, one can’t get addicted to marihuana.

Just because something came from plants, or exists in nature, does not mean that it is good. For examples:

Heroin comes from opium poppy; Esctacy from sassafras roots; Cocaine from Coca leaves; marijuana from cannibis.

I beg to differ with you that “one can’t get addicted to marijuana.” Although it is still widely debated, there is reasonable evidence that marijuana is addictive and that it is a gateway drug (plant) to other addicted drugs. See this recent article from The NY Times:

nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/04/26/is-marijuana-a-gateway-drug/marijuana-has-proven-to-be-a-gateway-drug?nytmobile=0?referer=https://www.google.com/

We can argue all day long about if alcohol and tobaccos are legal, then why not marijuana. We can argue about civil liberty and responsible/irresponsible use of marijuana. At least, I hope we can agree that there are huge societal costs and damages to our society with more widespread and legal use of marijuana. In particular, poor people with less access to proper education and innocent/naive children who will be misled into using marijuana under the false pretense of legality, are the ones that will be hurt the most.

 

[Randolph]

The fact is, in certain medical cases, (intractable nausea in some cancers, some advanced HIV, and some other cases such as chronic pancreatitis), and in some pediatric seizure disorders, it may be the only effective treatment. The Church should stay out of this unless they actually know what they are talking about, … and in most cases they DO NOT.

Cardinal O’Malley is against widespread legal recreational use of marijuana because it is a gateway drug/addiction to other more dangerous drugs, and it will hurt the poor.

No where in the article did it mention Cardinal O’Malley is against appropriate medicinal uses of marijuana. Among which are the ones that you mentioned.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Jim:

We are discussing the legalization of marijuana, and the destructive impacts of marijuana/drug addiction on millions of people and their loved ones in the US (who knows how many in the world). Although alcohol use is a different issue, are you using the failure of prohibition as a rationale/logic for the legalization of marijuana?

If “yes”, using the same rationale/logic, are you then also in support of legalization of all drugs (cocaine, heroin, LSD, cracks, opium, etc…)?

“Just a side note, my friend (a mother), at this very moment, is dealing with her son who just checked out of the hospital for drug overdose. Just two days after coming home, her son got on drugs again. My friend found the drugs and flushed them down the toilet. Right now, her addicted son is so mad that he is destroying her house-smashing everything in his sight. The police is being called… This will not end well…”

Now back on topic, the devastation and destruction of drug addiction is already so enormous right now. With the new flood of legalization, it will only get much worse. I can’t even fathom the thought of innocent/naive children who would use these drugs under the false pretense that “it’s ok because it is legal.” Once addicted, what will become of the lives of these innocent/naive children? These children could very well be my own children, nieces, nephews…

Prohibition was a failure, but so is the prohibition of pot.

People become addicts despite marijuana being illegal.

The idea that it’s a gateway drug is irrational. Most drug addicts started out drinking before they tried pot.

Is alcohol a gateway drug ?

Fact is, the one’s who strongly oppose the legalization of pot are the drug cartels and dealers.

They’re the one’s will suffer the most.

I’m not an advocate of people smoking pot, just as I’m not an advocate of drinking alcohol.

However, young people are smoking pot which they buy from drug dealers. The pot they’re buying is often laced with stronger drugs. The dealers are also selling dangerous synthetic pot.

It was the same during prohibition. Bootleggers made bad booze which hurt many people.

Prohibition doesn’t work for people who want to drink or smoke poit.

Jim

 

[Randolph]

Prohibition was a failure, but so is the prohibition of pot.

People become addicts despite marijuana being illegal.

The idea that it’s a gateway drug is irrational. Most drug addicts started out drinking before they tried pot.

Is alcohol a gateway drug ?

Fact is, the one’s who strongly oppose the legalization of pot are the drug cartels and dealers.

They’re the one’s will suffer the most.

I’m not an advocate of people smoking pot, just as I’m not an advocate of drinking alcohol.

However, young people are smoking pot which they buy from drug dealers. The pot they’re buying is often laced with stronger drugs. The dealers are also selling dangerous synthetic pot.

It was the same during prohibition. Bootleggers made bad booze which hurt many people.

Prohibition doesn’t work for people who want to drink or smoke poit.

Jim

Using your rationale that people will do what they will do despite what laws we passed, then what would be the use of laws in a civilized society? To name some:

–Why stop at legalization of marijuana? Let’s legalize all drugs:: Cocaine, LSD, opium, cracks, heroin, meth., etc…
–People raped others in the past and will in the future despite of laws: Why not also legalize it?
–Same go for murders, child trafficking, kidnapping, racism, pedophilia, polygamy, corruption, etc… People will break the laws anyway…

What would a civilized society be without laws to protect people from others and from themselves? The opinions/votes of the majority do not mean just and correct all the times. Pope Benedict once spoke of this as the “tyranny of the majority”.