So the Dems are moving now make pot legal in America. The morals of America are going down the toilet! Mark my word! This will bring nothing but more misery to our Country, and we are pretty sick the way it is.
MY HEART BREAKS: Drug Overdoses Killed A Record Number Of Americans In 2020
U.S. Senate Democrats roll out draft bill to legalize weed
New Mexico has legalized pot……
Past Past, this was written before pot became legal in New Mexico:
Our Dear Friend Chuck Akeley’s post from July of 2019 really hits a homerun for God!
“Legalization” Of Marijuana In New Mexico – Is This Really A Good Idea?
In our country and yes, our state, it has become almost fashionable to support the growth and use of marijuana, whether for medicinal use or recreational use. So much so, that even our state executive and many legislators consider government sanctioned and controlled distribution of marijuana to be a worthy effort as means to acquire tax dollars. Let’s consider some of the well-established issues facing New Mexico. For many years, we’ve been rated at the bottom or almost the bottom for quality of education, children living in poverty, drug use (e.g., opioid use), drug trafficking (I-40, I-10, I-25 and the southern border corridors) and DWI offenders (including the associated deaths). Is there really wisdom in enhancing these issues by creating a culture of “legalized” use of marijuana here in New Mexico?
A wise man once told me that if you have any doubt as to whether to do or say something, then ask yourself, would you look to Jesus and say “Lord, I do this thing as unto You” or “Lord, I give You thanks for this which I am about to do.” If the answer is no, then why are you doing it? Would you ask Jesus to bless your firing up of a joint or bowl or eating of a laced edible so that you would experience a high? The scripture says we should seek His wisdom. According to Proverbs 4:7, “[w]isdom is the principal thing; [t]herefore get wisdom [NKJV].” Ephesians 5:15-21 instructs us to walk in wisdom: “[s]ee then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ [NKJV].” Just because we CAN do something doesn’t necessarily mean we SHOULD do something.
My background includes a few years as a Special Agent with the USAF Office of Special Investigations, during which much of the training involved drug enforcement. I spent the first year after completing the initial academy leading the Travis AFB, CA Joint Drug Enforcement Team and subsequently worked for several years at Holloman AFB, NM participating in drug enforcement operations with the other agents. Once you have strapped on the equipment and executed a few warrants, you tend to develop a very different perspective about “low level drug use,” as the small amounts of drugs came from someone who was probably not your next door neighbor, and that person’s drugs came from a trafficker – a very dangerous person. The perspective that I’m not hurting anyone is a big lie. It is not surprising to me that the military and local or state police have had to lower standards in order to acquire acceptable cadets. Today, our children and youth often do things as a result of cultural or peer influences which can devastate future employment opportunities. How much worse it is when our children’s parents are the ones modeling this behavior? I thank God that our Lord is forgiving and merciful, and am reminded that we are called to forgive others and to help guide our friends, family and others unto salvation and into their God-given destiny!
It’s interesting to hear discussions about “legalizing” recreational use of marijuana at the state level. If a state allows something that is forbidden at the federal level, it is not really legal, but what is happening is that the federal government has elected, as a matter of enforcement discretion, to refrain from seeking prosecution under certain circumstances and the state has elected to ignore existing federal code or statutes. The federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”), 21 USC 812, establishes five schedules of controlled substances, identified as Schedules I, II, III, IV and V. Schedule I lists substances that have been determined to have: 1) a high potential for abuse; 2) no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States; and 3) a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or substance under medical supervision. The psychoactive substance in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”), remains to this day a listed Schedule I substance. Because of this, many states have struggled with the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana and declare legality, when in point of fact, what is occurring is simply enforcement discretion at the federal level and a glaring lack of willingness of the federal government to take a solid position one way or the other.
There is MUCH remaining to be said about this issue, including the increasing levels of THC in modern-grown marijuana plants provided by dispensaries and technologically-advanced illicit grows, the lack of clear means for law enforcement to easily determine the degree of driving impairment compared to determining alcohol impairment, the effect that such has or may have on us developmentally, mentally and physically, the wisdom and procedure for assuring sound regulatory controls at the federal and state level – and assuming this issue isn’t going away quickly, the spiritual implications of encouraging, yet another mind altering substance for use by our residents, demonstrating yet again, the wisdom of man in the face of the wisdom of God.
Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask that You would speak to the hearts of those in a position to encourage, allow, regulate and/or spend tax dollars on marijuana matters in our beautiful State of New Mexico (and across this nation). Give us ears to hear and eyes to see what is the will of God. May wisdom guide our discussions and determinations, with a mighty hedge of protection over all who are doing Your will and serving Your people, in light of this challenge. But regardless, help us to always love. Always. Amen.
Chuck Akeley
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Look what is going on in our Country……..
From Dr. Jim Denison:
Here’s the bad news: drug overdose deaths in 2020 hit the highest number ever recorded. Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, explained the increase: “This has been an incredibly uncertain and stressful time for many people, and we are seeing an increase in drug consumption, difficulty in accessing life-saving treatments for substance use disorders, and a tragic rise in overdose deaths.”
Group hangs pro-abortion banner on statue of Jesus
We live in a time of unprecedented scientific advances coupled with perpetual personal challenges. This is because humans can alter our circumstances but not our fallen condition. You and I are just as tempted to be our own god as were the first humans (Genesis 3:5). Our children live in a world just as threatening as the first children (Genesis 4:1–8).
And we are just as tempted by idolatry as those who first received the Second Commandment (Exodus 20:1–6).
Yesterday, we discussed the rise of a secular religion that views biblical morality as dangerous to society and seeks to replace our faith with a worldview centered on personal authenticity. Today, let’s explore the allure of such idolatry even for those who claim to be religious.
An activist group strung a banner across the sixty-seven-foot Christ of the Ozarks monument in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, last Friday night. The banner proclaims, “GOD BLESS ABORTIONS.”
A group of clergy gathered to pray for God’s blessing on Whole Woman’s Health in Austin, Texas, a clinic that provides abortions. Similar “blessing” ceremonies have been held for other abortion clinics.
More denominations than ever before endorse marriage for same-sex couples. A church recently confirmed a drag queen for ordination. A Lutheran bishop made headlines when she endorsed a polyamorous relationship (a man and two women, in this case).
