Marijuana legalization was heatedly debated by Steven Hager, editor in chief of High Times, and former Drug Enforcement Agency employee Robert M. Stutman in Sturm Hall yesterday evening.
“The Great Debate” was attended by approximately 150 DU students and some other members of the community. It ran from 7:30 p.m. to almost 10 p.m.
Most of the audience seemed to favor legalization, showing its support through applause and laughter, with only the occasional side-comment muttered in dissent.
One of Hager’s principal arguments was in favor of the legalization of marijuana for medical use.
Hager said “There is no substance on Earth that will treat as many diseases as marijuana… not even close,” and he argued that the pharmaceutical industry is preventing legalization because “they can’t make a profit” off of a medication that is derived from a plant which can grow anywhere.
Stutman, however, argued that canibinoids within marijuana “may prove useful medicine for some diseases,” but “smoking marijuana is not and never will be good medicine.” He argues that, in order to be legalized, marijuana must pass through the FDA process and be approved like any other drug.
Another key argument Hager made was that over 50,000 hemp products can be made to replace petrochemicals and that these products could have an enormous impact on preventing environmental damage.
Stutman argued that hemp products have not proven viable and cited the failure of major Canadian hemp companies. Hager countered by highlighting the fact that the hemp producing companies had limited access to resources and advertising.
The two also spent time discussing the prison system and agreed that, as Stutman said, ” No one should be put in jail for their use of any drug.”
While Hager said that he believes the U.S. prison system is “the sign of a police state that’s out of control,” Stutman argued that “our prisons are not gulags,” and said that no one was ever prosecuted by the DEA for personal use during his 25 years there.
After their initial presentations, both presenters answered questions from the floor in a “town hall format.” Students raised concerns about the relative danger of marijuana as compared to alcohol and cigarettes.
Stutman responded with “if you have two drugs that kill, why does adding a third help?”
Hager, on the other hand, said, “If everything that is bad for you was made illegal we couldn’t buy cheeseburgers or watch TV.”
Many students also questioned Stutman, occasionally needing to be reminded by the moderator to limit their remarks to questions and not arguments, on why smoking marijuana was not a personal choice.
He responded that personal choices which impact society as a whole can be regulated by the government and cited suicide and alcoholism as examples.
Hager stressed the point that addicts should be treated and argued that alcoholics do not represent the drinking population just as addicts do not represent the smoking population.
He did, however, say that in order for people to call themselves responsible users, they need to first figure out what responsible use actually is and cautioned students to make responsible choices.
Despite an audience bias towards Hager’s side of the issue, both he and Stutman reached the audience with their messages and both parties ended their remarks with pleas to the student body to make responsible choices. All students who addressed the speakers made sure to thank them for coming and acknowledged the importance of their open and articulate debate. Stutman ended first by telling students that marijuana can negatively impact their ability to achieve their goals. Hager concluded with the observation that college is “not a time that marijuana should be a big part of your life.”
