California is in dire straits fiscally—even letting out prisoners early because we can’t afford to keep them. And this Tuesday we’re voting on if we should legalize the sale of marijuana.
Proponents of this initiative (Proposition 19 on the ballet) suggest that legalizing the drug will bring in revenue through taxes and help with the overcrowded prisons. Neither will be a long-term result.
My dear friend and our state senator, George Runner, pointed out the degradation legal drugs brings to society: “I have heard from people who have traveled to countries where they allow marijuana use, and it doesn’t appear to me that is a model society that (voters) want to see in California.” Runner further explained, “You don’t go to prison for possession of marijuana. But if you have a lot and you’re selling it to minors, or carrying a gun around with you, that’s a different story.”
Assemblyman Steve Knight posed some haunting questions: “Is that our purpose in government, to find something that we can make money off of? Is this really what we want our governments to be involved in, a drug cartel of sorts?”
America has developed a recent history of legalizing sin. But state permission doesn’t make something right in the eyes of God. Galatians 5:20 identifies “witchcraft” as one of the sinful works of the flesh. This word is translated from the Greek word pharmakeia, from which we get the word pharmacy. It refers to the use or administration of drugs.
Pagan societies have long been affiliated with drugs and sorcery linked together as part of their culture. Christian societies have refrained. I pray that Christians in California will come to the polls on Tuesday and make a choice that honors God and the people of our state.
[Statements from Antelope Valley Press article by Craig Currier, 3/26/10]
