Cannabis Controversy

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  A historic event about to occur. Churches protesting and praying. Politicians and doctors hopeful. Civilians torn between yes or no.
  Its the cannabis controversy regarding Caye Caulker, an extremely popular tourist hotspot off the coast of Belize City. A proposal which garnered nationwide attention with individuals both for and against which in turn inevitably led to this moment: a referendum. Read the whole article below:


  Not surprisingly, a majority of the Mennonites I spoke to are against it, despite the fact that the main motive behind the movement is to create a legal industry which could in turn have a positive effect on the medical field, fearing that to legalize it would open a flood of consequences which the nation of Belize is wholly unprepared for. Rampant misuse of the substance, addiction among youth skyrocketing, etc. just to name a few. There are those who are liberal in religious views (it's ok to drink beer now and then) but conservative in political ideaology who genuinely feel as though the end of the world would arrive if cannabis is legalized. Well, if you can drink a few beers with your friends on Saturday night and be part of the worship team on Sunday then you could practice the same pattern with cannabis, right? Besides, legalization does not automatically mean that church-goers are forced to consume it.
  There are conservative (in religious terms) Mennonites who do not have political views and shrug their shoulders. Although they are unmoved by the referendum in itself, they do shake their heads and sigh. It's getting closer to Judgement Day. These things must come to pass. It's all prophesied in the Bible. So what if the government legalizes it? We need to stay faithful and firm to our beliefs.
  Then, there are those in-between Mennonites such as myself, who are in favor of it. Yes, I personally am in favor of legalizing cannabis for medicinal purposes. Am I crazy? No sir. After struggling with chronic hip and spine pain which keeps me awake for hours at night, and seeing our youngest child born with weak lungs and a severe deficiency, I genuinely wonder if perhaps the country shouldn't invest heavily in researching the positive impacts of cannabis on physical health and perhaps become an international leader in that field. Unfortunately, seeing the incompetence of political leaders and the level of corruption in certain departments, I would say my answer is no to legal cannabis at this time.
  There are Mennonites who disagree strongly with me and claim that legal cannabis would backfire and ruin the lives of people. Based on what I have observed and heard, adultery and pornography are already accomplishing the same thing inside their churches.























                        A. Mendoza

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