Why We Should Care About Legalization of Marijuana

Let me begin with a story.

A professor not too long ago had a conversation with his students about some social policies that were in the mainstream political world's discussion at the time.  The students' views were that the it was the government's responsibility to take from those that have plenty and give to those that don't have enough.  The professor stated that it sounded good, with the "Robin Hood" type heroics, but that it doesn't work as well as it sounds.  The students insisted that they were right.  So the Professor conceded and said if it was the best way, then their class would go by the same policies.  After their first test, he told all the people with A's needed to give up some of their points because some people got F's on the test.  The Professor decided that if everyone got somewhere around a C it would be fair.  Not too surprisingly, on the second test the highest score was a B and there were a lot more F's.  He once again gave the points from the highest scores and gave to the lowest.  On the third test, almost everyone was below a C.  Why?  Were they affected by social policy (at a university class level)?

I bet most of you would say that the policies wouldn't affect your behavior much.  But in this little experiment, the professor showed that even the apparently good students (those receiving A's at the beginning) were quickly affected by poor social policy.

Let's go to the whole marijuana deal.  Recently a few states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana.  Who cares, right?  Now I've heard before that we shouldn't have control over other people's lives.  If they want to smoke pot, they shouldn't be stopped by me.  It is actually almost word for word (not necessarily regarding marijuana however) what Vice President Joe Biden said during the vice presidential debate.

However, laws are rarely neutral.  They either encourage or discourage certain acts.  In other words, if you legalize recreational use of marijuana that law, to some degree, is not neutral.  By legalizing it, the law is in fact supporting the behavior.  Possibly even encouraging it.

Can you start to see why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has such a strong stance on certain laws (e.g., same-sex marriage, etc.)?  Social policy has a strong influence on the entire nation as a whole.  If people were on a continuum, one side being the best citizen and the other being the worst, social policy essential shifts the majority of the continuum to whichever side it supports.

So for legalizing marijuana: those that want to smoke pot but didn't because of the laws now will smoke pot.  Those that were slightly tempted before now will be tempted a lot more.  Does this make sense?  The policy, although not directly affecting us, does in fact influence our actions.

Of course we still have the choice.  But it certainly increases the probability that people will indulge.

This explains two things.  First, why the members of the LDS church are told to be "in the world, but not of the world."  We are to purposefully step away from social policy the best we can and live in a more Christ-like way.  Second, why the Church has such a strong stance with policy that goes against what doctrines and principles they are upholding.  They fully understand that it is a law, something that cannot be altered, that policy and laws of the land influence actions.  

So those who have questioned this, saying something similar to "Why should we have a say in how someone else lives their life?  It won't affect me!  They should be the ones to decide."  Remember that you are being affected by it, maybe not by a lot all at once, but still it is affecting you.  Also remember, you aren't controlling how they live.  If they really want to live that way, they probably will (as much as they can) with or without the law's consent. 

In the Bible, when there is a wicked king, how often do the people as a whole stay righteous?  I don't believe that the United States is for some reason exempt from this influence.  We still have the choice.  But it has to be a conscious, committed choice in order for social policy not to affect you.  

Just something to think about.

Parameters

"People have to be given the freedom to show the heart they possess.  I think it's a leader's responsibility to provide that type of freedom.  And I believe it can be done through relationships and family.  Because if a team is a real family, it's members want to show you their hearts." - Coach Krzyzewski

 The job of a coach is a tough one.  He is supposed to lead and guide a team, with specific direction and goals, without stifling the strengths and the creativity the team possesses.  How can that be done?

I’d like to suggest a principle of powerful leadership that works for coaches.  In fact, it works for coaches, parents, teachers, and other leaders.  It is the principle of parameters. 

A story in the Book of Mormon illustrates this perfectly.  A man, known as the “Brother of Jared,” is given the task to build barges (i.e., boats).  As he is doing this, he encounters three problems.  He turns to the Lord, who answers in three different, distinct manners.  First, he tells the Brother of Jared exactly what to do.  Second, he asks the Brother of Jared what he’d like to do to fix the problem.  And third, the Lord says essentially that he’ll take care of it.

Each way demonstrates the Lord’s perfect understanding about being a leader.  The first and third questions are answered in a way that doesn’t require much thinking on the Brother of Jared’s part.  Might this be because the Lord knew that the issue was beyond what the Brother of Jared was currently able to fully comprehend? The second question, however, is the one I’d like to discuss, for it is a powerful principle of leadership that allows the growth of all involved.

“And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared:  What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?  For behold, ye cannot have windows, for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with you, for ye shall not go by the light of fire,” (Book of Ether 2:29).

The Brother of Jared was asked what he thought about the problem.  It was his choice, his creativity, his knowledge and skills, put to action.  However, the Lord gave him some guidelines—parameters—to follow.  No windows.  No fire.  With this guidance, the Brother of Jared was able to come up with a creative, well thought-out, idea of what could be done.  And with this experience, I believe that he became more confident in his ability to solve problems, to think for himself, and to be creative.

All too often leaders can stifle creativity, and fail to take advantage of the strengths of the group.  Yet, here is a powerful way to avoid that.  Give the group power to think for themselves.  However, if we know what doesn’t work (e.g., fire or windows) then we can start by giving parameters—the boundaries of what will work and what won’t.  That is where the principle of parameters can be a powerful tool.

Can you see how this, when applied right, brings answers to problems that you couldn’t come up with on your own?  As a leader, we must give people the benefit of the doubt.  We must have confidence in them.  If we don’t then we need to start looking harder at what strengths that each group member possesses.

This can certainly be applied as a parent.  The parent can ask the child, “What do you want to do?”  Then watch their child’s eyes light up with excitement.  Follow that up with some parameters.  For example, “We can do anything here at the house.  We can’t leave our yard or play in the road.  So what would you like to do?”  You might be surprised at how creative they can be.

Surprisingly, this is a good way to help spearhead our own problem solving.  We can look at the problem, find the parameters—the boundaries of what can work and what won’t work—and start from there.  Setting up some principles and rules will help inspiration come and ideas will flow.