The Armor of Righteousness

This week we plan to ponder the counsel Lehi gave his sons, to achieve freedom from sin through Christ by choosing personal righteousness:

Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust.
-- 2 Nephi 1:23

By small means

We see examples all the time in our everyday lives of the power of small things (our cell phones, a car key, a remote control, etc.), yet it can be hard sometimes to trust the small means of the Lord (like prayer and daily scripture study) to bring about great things in our lives. So this week we will ponder 1 Nephi 16:29:

by small means the Lord can bring about great things.

Ye can do all things

This week we are pondering Moroni 10:23 from the Book of Mormon.

And Christ truly said unto our fathers: If ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me.

The background of this image comes from the printer's manuscript of the Book of Mormon.

Let Us Be Faithful to Him

For the past few years, I have put up a new scripture next to our refrigerator nearly every week to ponder.  I will start posting them here.  This week we are pondering 1 Nephi 7:12 from the Book of Mormon.

"the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him. Wherefore, let us be faithful to him."

Why I Oppose Legalization of Marijuana

I oppose legalization of marijuana for many reasons.  One of the primary reasons is that marijuana hurts so many people, and worse, it hurts the poor and minorities worst of all.  Those who are concerned about growing income inequality, the high incarceration rate of African Americans, and bigotry in general should stand up against legalized marijuana.

JAMA Psychiatry just published a study on the “Prevalence of Marijuana Use and Disorders in the United States” (“Prevalence of Marijuana Use Disorders in the United States Between 2001-2002 and 2012-2013”, published online October 21, 2015).   The study found that not only did marijuana use and DSM-IV marijuana use disorder nearly double during the decade ending 2013, but this disorder grew by a larger percentage among black individuals and those with the lowest income.

In other words, legalizing marijuana may affect African Americans and the poor more than other populations.  What follows are quotes from the study.  I added the underlining.

Conclusions

“The prevalence of marijuana use more than doubled between 2001-2002 and 2012-2013, and there was a large increase in marijuana use disorders during that time. While not all marijuana users experience problems, nearly 3 of 10 marijuana users manifested a marijuana use disorder in 2012-2013.”

How many Americans are experiencing marijuana use disorder?

“In 2012-2013, 9.52% of US adults used marijuana in the past year, and 2.9% had a diagnosis of DSM-IV marijuana use disorder. Thus, nearly 3 of every 10 marijuana users had a diagnosis of a marijuana use disorder (approximately 6,846,000 Americans).”

What demographic groups are most affected?

“The prevalence of DSM-IV marijuana use disorder increased significantly between 2001-2002 (1.5%) and 2012-2013 (2.9%), nearly doubling between the 2 surveys (Table 2)….  Groups in which the magnitude of increase was most notable included those aged 45 to 64 years (0.4% vs 1.3%); black individuals (1.8% vs 4.6%); Hispanic individuals (1.2% vs 2.8%); those with the lowest income (2.3% vs 5.4%); and those in the South (1.0% vs 2.6%).”

What are the risks of marijuana use?

“[U]se or early use of marijuana is associated with increased risk for many outcomes, including cognitive decline, psychosocial impairments, vehicle crashes, emergency department visits, psychiatric symptoms, poor quality of life, use of other drugs, a cannabis-withdrawal syndrome, and addiction risk.  Further, marijuana use disorders (abuse or dependence) are associated with substantial comorbidity and disability and are consequently of substantial public health concern."