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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 1992)
Opinion Monday, October 19,1992 The Battalion Page 9 /oil M*<L : intheiiii I m Frans i ind less lr§ onofCa is bad & d Imam. ccrttia doors C?W cte’* 1 Xp/n' 5por^ Taking sides: Should marijuana be legalized? ANTHONY C. LOBAIDO Columnist --1 ill The marijuana bogeyman contin ues to haunt the warriors enlisted in America's "war on drugs," trum peting a message devoid of good sense. Let's wake up to the fact that drug prohibition is not working in this country. Marijuana has already been le galized for per sonal use in the state of Alaska. In most states, possession of under one ounce of marijuana is a misdemeanor which car ries only a minor penalty. Marijuana is not like the deadly drugs that crack and cocaine are. There is no recorded incident of any person dying from an overdose of marijuana. Since over 500,000 Americans die each year from lung cancer, one won ders why the Drug Enforcement Agen cy isn't busy burning tobacco fields in stead of sending Green Beret units to take down marijuana plants. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), mari juana's active ingredient, is not physi cally addicting, making it the easiest drug to kick. Alcohol, on the other hand, is a dan gerously addictive drug which has pro duced wide-spread societal problems. Marijuana has been known to aid peo ple with poor appetites and is said to promote "great sex." The worst side effects of marijuana documented by the medical community are sterility in males and a loss of short term memory. DEA task force chief Earl McKigney calls marijuana "the healthiest recre ational drug in the world." The religious right spearheads the ideology of the drug war with an anti marijuana mantra which claims that drug legalization is tantamount to ad mitting the loss of the drug war and would contribute to destroying Ameri ca's "Christian foundation." This is laughable on its face. No one would argue that the distri bution of marijuana to minors should continue to be a crime. But as a natural ly occurring agricultural product, it should come as no surprise that mari juana has been used in the treatment of glaucoma and to counteract the effects of radiation on cancer patients. Why should people stricken with such suffering be forced to break the ex isting marijuana laws to find relief from their agony? There are valid questions addressing the problems of legalized marijuana distribution. An underground multi billion dollar drug economy has existed for many years. Legalizing marijuana would help to cut into the crime and corruption asso ciated with the drug trade. With the experience the federal gov ernment gained by financing wars in Southeast Asia and Central America with the drug trade, organizing a safe and profitable distribution plan should present only a minor problem. The time has come to exorcise the marijuana bogeyman and say, "This bud's for you!" LoBaido is a doctoral student in educational technology ROBERT VASQUEZ Columnist People who ad vocate the legal ization of marijua na must be on drugs. I'm speak ing figuratively, of course. I realize there are many sound arguments which advocate the legalization of marijuana, just as there are many which advocate euthanasia and suicide. Arguably the most important point made by pro-pot people is that the threat to our civil lib erties would be greatly reduced. People ask, "Does the government have a right to tell us what to do in our own homes?" Why should some bureaucrat ban something that affects only the user and infringes on nobody else's rights? Like alcohol, which was finally legal ized after a failed attempt at prohibi tion, marijuana affects only those who use it. Right? Wrong. The fact is people under the influence of alcohol often violate more than the rights of others. A recent study confirmed the long- held suspicion that alcohol consump tion and crime are related. The study reported that at least three-quarters of American women have experienced some form of sexual aggression before early adulthood. One quarter of those have experi enced rape or attempted rape, a majori ty of which have been acquaintance rapes. Three quarters of the acquain tance rapes involved consumption of al cohol. This means that you, your sister, daughter or mother is a potential victim of molestation by an acquaintance whose judgment was skewed by a legal mind-altering substance. The possibili ty seems preposterous, if not outra geous, but most women refuse to report sexual molestations, silenced by shame and social stigma. Legalizing marijuana would make one more substance available for a mind altering experience, fondly re ferred to as a "trip." I used to take trips at school. It was my first semester at Trinity University. I was 17 and ready to experience the world. The guys in the dorm room next to me came from Houston and St. Louis. They had lots of money, lots of free time and lots of pot. Coming from 12 years in a private school, I knew nothing about smoking cigarettes, let alone pot. I learned quickly. My first semester was a blur, but I must say my classes were most fascinating. I didn't rape anyone, except maybe my parents who paid for a very expensive lesson in the form of tuition. Why did I do it? I wasn't addicted. Pot isn't physically addictive, only psychologically habit forming. I did it because it was avail able and convenient, almost as if it were legal. For people who are dumb enough to want pot and sly enough to get it, mari juana seems all but legal already. If given the opportunity to try it, take a cue from a national leader and go for it. Just don't inhale. Vasquez is a senior journalism major lay 1 . Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the views of the opinion page staff and editor in chief only, and do not represent, in any way, the opinions of reporters, staff, or editors of other sections of the newspaper. Columns, guest columns, and Mail Call items express the opinions of the authors only. The Battalion encourages letters to the editor and will print as many as space allows in the Mail Call section. Letters must be 300 words or less and include the author's name, Social Security number, class, and phone number. We reserve the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters should be addressed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald /CampUs mail stop 1111 Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843 h Gov. Clinton loves country; hated war This letter is in response to Karl Krueger's letter that appeared in the Oct. 12 Battalion. Karl — I'm afraid ou just don't get it. I'm not surprised owever. Your letter is the perfect ex ample of the brain-dead Republican ideology I have seen at this university this semester. Karl — where are your priorities? We are in the midst of the worst economic record for any Presi dent since Hoover, and you are look ing back to 1967. Let me explain to you what really happened in 1967. Bill Clinton, a self- made man who put himself through Oxford, paid his own way on a sight seeing tour through Scandinavia. Like thousands of other Americans that year, he visited Moscow. Remember Karl, you go to college to open your mind — not to close it. Karl, are you suggesting that the 50,000 other Amer icans who visited Russia that year are traitors? Do you understand that it is possible to love your country and op pose a war it is engaged in? For the record. Bill Clinton organized no ral lies and he only attended one. How pathetic can your President's record be when you have to sink this low and this far back to get votes? Karl — look at the real issue. Under George Bush we've seen the worst eco nomic record since World War II. Last week. President Bush said he did not think we were in a recession. How can Bush get our country out of his rut if he does not admit we are in trouble? Karl — get used to the idea of shin ing shoes because with four more years of the same failed economic poli cy, that is the highest paying job you will get — even with a college degree. Don't worry though. If you do a good job on my shoes, I might give you a good tip — because Aggies take care of Aggies. Mike Brannon Class of'94 America shouldn't trust draft dodger After listening to the Presidential debates, I was once again reminded why they call Bill Clinton "Slick Willie." When President Bush said that he thought it was wrong to demonstrate against the United States on foreign soil during Vietnam, Slick Willie responded that Bush was "at tacking his patriotism," and he equat ed it to the McCarthyist Red Hunt for communists. This allowed Slick Willie to avoid the question of the protests on foreign soil. However, I think this served to highlight the way that Slick Willie ma nipulates events to avoid the hard truth and tough questions. It is a fact that Slick Willie protested against the United States on foreign soil and thus the accusations are not equatable to the McCarthy hearing and Red Hunt. By manipulating the truth. Bill Clin ton tried to slide out from another one of his "youthful mistakes." But it leaves me and many other Americans wondering what credibility he would have as commander in chief. It is a question of Bill Clinton's pa triotism, but George Bush isn't respon sible for the acts mat call it into ques tion. Bill Clinton is responsible for his own actions, and thus for a lack of pa triotism. Slick Willie needs to grow up and admit his "youthful indiscre tions." And the American people need to wake up and see who has the char acter to guide the United States: A conservative veteran of World War II with foreign affairs experience; or a liberal tax-and-spend hippie draft dodger and anti-American war protester. John Gillespie Class of '96 We must bring God back into our schools As an American and a Christian I believe in free speech and the freedom of the press, but I cannot imagine that an A&M professor would invite my son or daughter to meet with him preferably late at night over "appropri ate drinks" to discuss his "meaning of life." This is totally inappropriate for a professor and sounds very unprofes sional. Jesus Christ said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." The Bible is our road map and if we lived by it our world would not be in such a mess as it is today. We kicked God out of our schools and our schools have become laden with drugs, guns, violence, and serve as a distribution source for con doms. At least the Supreme Court has realized that maybe by allowing prayer again there will be some hope for our nation. New Age methods of living are not new, they are just re vived from Babylon. Marilyn Smith Longview, Texas No more excuses; abortion is murder If a tree fell in the forest and no one was there to here it, would it make a sound? If an individual sprang into exis tence and we could not discern this fact, would it make abortion some thing other than the taking of an inno cent life? There is only one central question of the abortion debate — is there human life? It's time to stop fooling ourselves with all sorts of rationalizations, the sole intent and purpose of which is to relieve our own guilt.. If you cannot answer this question definitively, protection of that life dic tates what action we should take, since it is always best to err on the safe side. Once a life is taken, it can't be given back. If you can answer this question definitively, then please refrain from playing God with others' lives. Paul Deignan Class of '93 Pro-choice is not always pro-abortion Just to clear up a misconception, pro-choice does not mean pro-abor tion. I am pro-choice — that means I don't believe anyone has the right to tell a woman she has to have her baby. It's her body, and her right to choose. However, I would not ever suggest a woman have an abortion. In tact, I suggest they get lots of counseling and find out all the facts about all the op tions there are. I realize that some women will still choose abortion even after counseling and this is a very sad fact. But, saying a woman has no right to choice is saying a woman's body is more important than the woman. They are both equal. Timi R. LeCroy Class of '94 Everybody has a place in Aggieland In regard to Tiffany McEachern's letter on Oct. 12, I would like to apolo gize for the unfortunate act whicn oc curred at the Texas Tech game, and ap plaud you for standing up for your rights. To the Aggie who did this act, I would like to say that that is very bad bull. McEachern chose to wear green Doc Marten boots. To hinder this right goes totally against what we boast so highly of — diversity. Diversity and multiculturalism are two highly regarded assets of the Ag gie Orientation Leader Program. Be ing a member of this program, I would just like to say that everything told to you at your New Student Conference was true. Please do not let one bad ap ple speak for the other 40,000 students and faculty members at Texas A&M. Tiffany, do what you know is best for you, not what everyone else thinks is oest for you. Be yourself. I invite you to contact me through the Aggie Ori entation Leader Program anytime so you can meet some Aggies who do ap preciate diversity. Brian Hicks Class of '95 Aggie spirit alive despite negativism I have spent the last few weeks reading the increasing number of neg ative letters printed in Mail Call. Be it for our football team, a particular group, or other Aggies in general, it seems all I have read has been deroga tory in nature. I want to relate an act I witnessed last week that contradicts this trend. While driving on Wellborn to a meeting for a group project I got stuck behind a truck that had stalled and was holding up traffic. The truck was an old Ford with a paint job my grand father used to call "custom by colli sion." It was being driven by a beard ed man, probably in his late 30s, wear ing an old pair of jeans and a tattered T-shirt. When they saw his predicament one of the guys leaned into the cab, and af ter talking briefly to the man, the three pushed the truck approximately 100 yards off of Wellborn and onto the road by Albritton Tower. The feeling that really made this simple act of car ing and compassion stand out to me was that it truly exemplified the spirit of Texas A&M. Helping out a friend, acquaintance, or even Aggies helping Aggies is too narrow a definition of Aggie spirit. Being an Aggie is about Aggies help ing others, period. Not because you have to, but because you have a feeling inside that makes you want to. I want to thank those three for reminding me why this University is so much more than buildings, brains, and books. Gig em. Bill Bodnar Class of'94