Transcription: Debate draws yea for legalized dope
By Dave Franzman, ids Staff Writer
There’s an old party game called “yea-boo” and nearly 100 people played it Thursday night at Briscoe Quad’s south dining hall. The game was played during a debate on marijuana legalization and went like this:
1st speaker: Marijuana is not harmful. Audience: (yea).
2nd speaker: Marijuana may be harmful. Audience: (boo).
1st speaker: Marijuana should be legalized. Audience: (yea).
2nd speaker: Marijuana should not be legalized. Audience: (boo).
The program was sponsored by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and was entitled “Reefer Madness: Fact on Fiction.” After the debate, the audience overwhelmingly voiced the opinion that marijuana was innocent of guilt and proceeded to verbally acquit “Mary Jane’’ of any wrong doing to society. During the discussion, the audience got their chance to speak and only one person out of the 100 present ventured to say anything derogatory about the “devil weed.” Confessing their beliefs and actions among themselves, the audience joked and told dope stories - pausing to laugh or sneer at any anti-dope comment. The debate was handled by two may be members of the I.U. Speakers Bureau and the defender of the present laws soon be found herself under verbal attack. NORML presented a 1961 drug education film made by the Santa Monica, Calif. police department. The film (designed for elementary school children) showed that the road to heroin addiction is lined with marijuana. In “Seduction of the Innocent” the victim went from popping pills and smoking “reefers” to lifelong slavery to heroin -all in 10 minutes. The audience appreciated the film, interrupting every now-and-then with bursts of applause.
