Students speak out on legalizing marijuana

By Steve Hraha

The Mock Republican Party voted to oppose plank 12, legalizing the use of marijuana, during the MPE’s Republican National Convention Thursday night.

Students acting as Republican delegates addressed the issue during debate about the GOP platform, or a statement of the party’s principles and goals. The platform consists of 30 planks, or stances the party decides to take on key issues.

The Republican platform committee opposed the legalization of marijuana because they believed it is a state issue.

However, students assembled in the Union Grand Ballroom disagreed.

“Marijuana is a federally controlled substance,” said senior political science major Brady Childs, who suggested the platform’s decision on plank 12 be amended from opposing the legalization of marijuana to taking a neutral stance.

“Marijuana has caused zero deaths,” Childs said, “It is far less harmful than alcohol and tobacco. It should be legalized.”

The crowd of delegates supported Childs and the motion was seconded.

Another student also said that marijuana is far less harmful than tobacco and alcohol.

Childs added that “certain strands [of pot] don’t contain THC, the psychoactive substance found in marijuana, but can be used to make paper. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were both written on hemp paper.”

His final argument was that “marijuana could boost the economy.”

The students voted in favor of changing the Republican Party’s platform stance on legalization of marijuana from opposed to neutral.

The legalization of marijuana was just one of many Republican platform stances that students disagreed with.

Student delegates also spoke out about same-sex marriage, the death penalty for convicted murderers, and the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Students voiced strong opinions and often disagreed with other delegates.

During the first two days of the Mock Presidential Election, the debate over the legalization of marijuana has become a frequent topic. Fred Karger, a declared GOP candidate for President who also supports the legalization of marijuana, finished third in Tuesday’s Republican primary/caucus balloting.