Pubdate: Sat, 04 Jul 2015 Source: Pueblo Chieftain (CO) Copyright: 2015 The Pueblo Chieftain Contact: http://www.chieftain.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1613 Author: Bob Woody ALCOHOL CARRIES SOCIETAL PRICE TAG It doesn't appear that morality will be winning a popularity contest anytime soon. The marijuana issue has brought reproof directed at opponents of the industry. "This is not a moral issue," "put your moral compass down" and "there's no legislating morality." Not directly related, but more disappointing, a retired minister writing in The Pueblo Chieftain a few years ago said that when you attempt to legislate morals, "That's wrong." May I offer another view? I say that it is impossible not to legislate morals. Every law "imposes" someone's moral "values" on someone else. The issue is whose values will prevail. When District 70 officials inform us that 62 percent of all expelled district students have a marijuana issue as the reason or part of the reason for their problems, it's dishonest to try to silence those who have objections based on moral arguments. The existence of liquor stores is used occasionally as a devise to question the sincerity of marijuana opponents. The Center for Disease Control states that excessive alcohol use is a leading cause of preventable deaths and accounted for approximately 88,000 deaths per year from 2006 2010. In 2006 alone, it cost the United States about $224 billion. Let me know when we plan to vote on that one. Bob Woody Pastor, Tabernacle Baptist Church Pueblo - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom