My first opinion of the legalization vs banning of various drugs was something along the lines of "whatever." People are free to make their own choices. As long as they're not hurting other people, what does it matter to me?If they want to do drugs, let them. But then I realized that people are really hurting themselves with drugs. Drugs cause tragic problems, and I want to protect the people that would use them - even from themselves. So, a part of me wants to take drugs off the streets so as to protect potential drug-users from themselves and from the people who would exploit them. But is it really my place to do that?
On an individual level, it's not my place to govern the moral choices of others. But as a member of society, I have the responsibility to try to improve society, and I think society would be much better off without drugs. This topic and a few others were the subject of a conversation I had recently with a person I had met on my mission. He explained that making a thing illegal is to create an illegal business for it. Drugs still exist, even when they're illegal, and people are still going to grow, sell, buy, and use them, even if they could be arrested for it. Illegalization doesn't work. But what's the alternative? Legalize drugs, but bring them into the light. Make sure they're manufactured safely, make sure people know the side-effects and alternatives, and stop fueling the black market narcotic monopoly.
The person who argued that point did so much better than I did just now, mostly because he seemed to honestly believe it was a good idea, and so did I... until I heard Elder Holland's talk.
So if love is to be our watchword, as it must be, then by the word of Him who is love personified, we must forsake transgression and any hint of advocacy for it in others. Jesus clearly understood what many in our modern culture seem to forget: that there is a crucial difference between the commandment to forgive sin (which He had an infinite capacity to do) and the warning against condoning it (which He never ever did even once).
I repeat for emphasis, "We must forsake transgression and any hint of advocacy for it in others." Partaking of drugs is, according to Mormonism, some level of transgression. I don't know if it's strong enough to be called a "sin," but I'm pretty darn sure God doesn't want us to do it. So, if I'm interpreting this correctly, I have a moral responsibility to discourage the use of drugs - to "forsake... any hint of advocacy for it." Does voting for something to be legal count as advocating for it?
At first, that sounds like a stupid question. If a politician voted for something, it would be considered a clear indication of advocacy for it. Why should it be any different for us? I strongly believe that people shouldn't use drugs. I don't advocate for drugs, as I understand that term. But still, do I have any right to protect someone from themselves? Do I have a right to force people to not take drugs? If that's not something that I think I should do, even if I had the power to do it, then why should I give police the power and responsibility to do it? I can't stop others from taking drugs, and I probably shouldn't, even if I could.
But that doesn't mean that I'm in favor of drugs. I still hate them. I hate what they do to people. I wish that they didn't exist. If I could get rid of such drugs, I probably would (which essentially amounts to the same thing as forcing people not to do drugs, but it sounds less controlling this way). Does that mean I should vote against the legalization of drugs? It wouldn't really do any good to make drugs illegal, since people are going to do them anyway. If anything, illegalizing drugs will make the partaking of drugs more dangerous and harmful to the people who are going to do drugs either way, and it'll put more money into the hands of people who are actively working against the law. In light of that, it makes sense to legalize drugs and bring them into the light, but that would probably constitute a "hint of advocacy" for something I believe is a transgression, so I should actually vote against it, even though I don't think it's right to force my moral beliefs on other.
To be honest, if I had to vote for or against the legalization for drugs right now, I'd have to pray really hard about it, and then probably flip a coin.
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