The great marijuana debate finally erupted at Cabrini College on Tuesday, Nov. 9. The Cabrini Activities Programming Board sponsored the event titled “Heads vs. Feds.” Bob Stutman and Steven Hager were the two speakers voicing their opinions either supporting or arguing against the use of marijuana.
The event began with a short 10-minute biographical video of each speaker that let the audience know why they supported each view. Following the video, each speaker was given a 15-minute period to voice their arguments to the eager crowd.
In the beginning, it appeared that many Cabrini students were in support of Hager, the marijuana advocate. He spoke first and delivered five simple points as to why he believes that marijuana should be legalized. Hager’s five points ranged from marijuana as a good medicine to assessing how our prison system is out of control.
“The government and drug companies have a problem with marijuana because it is free medicine,” Hager said. He firmly believed that we should learn to change from a petrochemical society to one that utilizes hemp and other natural resources.
Stutman had an answer for every belief that Hager could offer. Stutman began his 15-minute speech with a comical joke about brownies being handed out at the door.
“I’m suspicious; they’re handing out brownies and everyone looks happy. Either they taste great or Steve cooked them,” Stutman said. The audience erupted as he went on to state his conflict with Hager.
“Steve took his opinion and molded it into fact,” Stutman said. Stutman argued that people who want marijuana legalized really don’t care about medicinal reasons. He felt they basically just desired it for recreational purposes. Also, if marijuana were legalized, there would be far more automobile accidents because of marijuana’s effects on depth perception.
Cabrini students found it interesting when both sides agreed that no one should be imprisoned for the possession of drugs. Also, Stutman stated that if the majority of the population of the United States voted for marijuana to be legalized, he would support it.
The event concluded with an audience question session and final thoughts from each speaker. Some questions delivered to the speakers were if Stutman has ever gotten high before and if they see addiction as a disease.
“It was a good debate, but I feel that Stutman, the CIA agent, had a better argument,” freshman Brendan McCauley said. Other students felt differently about whom they felt won the debate.
“I think that Hager had some great points, especially when he said that there is no evidence of marijuana being a gateway drug,” sophomore Dana Bennet said. Bennet and fellow freshman friend, Natalie Holzer, enthusiastically agreed that, “There is nothing wrong with smoking a fat blunt every now and then.”
For the overall rating of the event, many students agreed that Heads vs. Feds was a success. “It was a really good event for students. Good job CAP board,” senior, English and communication major, Jermaine O’Neil said. The CAP board estimated that a total of 250 tickets were sold for the event, which packed the Grace Hall Atrium.
The most humorous and memorable quote of the evening came from marijuana advocate Hager when he explained some of the benefits of marijuana. “You’ll eat great, sleep great and you will have the best sex of your life.”
Posted to the web by Ryan Norris
