HARLINGEN — The legalization of marijuana will diminish its attraction among kids.
That’s one of several arguments Mark Peinado, 18, used to defend legislation legalizing all Schedule 1 narcotics, which includes cocaine and heroin.
“It will reduce the allure of kids to try something to be rebellious,” said Mark, a member of Vanessa Alaniz’s Speech, Drama and Debate Team at Harlingen High School where he’s a senior.
That argument helped Mark take first place Nov. 11 at the Region 1 UIL Student Congress competition. His high rank and that of Grant Burbach, Elizabeth Everett and Chris Smith, qualifies them to compete in the UIL State Congress Meet in January.
At the Nov. 11 event, hosted by Harlingen High School South, students defended or opposed bills before a “mock Congress.”
“There were three judges that rated everybody’s speech,” said Lee Ann Ince, the coach and sponsor of the Speech, Drama and Debate team at Harlingen High School South.
Elizabeth, one of Ince’s students, said she was proud to compete as an alternate and still obtain fourth place.
“We prepared as a team,” said Elizabeth, a 16-year-old junior.
“It was a lot of team effort,” she said. “We decided what we wanted to speak about and made speeches.”
Her bill proposed allotting more money to NASA for space exploration.
“I believe there are two places that are still unexplored, the ocean and space,” Elizabeth said. “We should do more in space.”
If the United States took more cues from the German autobahn highway system, life on the American’s interstates could be much safer, according to one argument. Chris Smith, 17, urged Congress to adopt many of the regulations of the autobahn.
“We’d decrease the number of drivers,” said Chris, a junior in Ince’s team. “People in the U.S. can get a driver’s license easily. In Germany it’s not easy, six to eight months.”
He’s excited about qualifying for state.
“Last year I qualified,” he said. “It was just a lot of fun. I really enjoy competing with them.”
Mark and Grant researched the topic thoroughly through a variety of sources, including Cato International and various think tanks. That’s why he was so well prepared to explain why the bill should pass. Grant, 17, seconded the bill which was passed by students serving as legislators. Grant’s speech won third place.
“I feel pretty good about it,” said Grant, a junior in Alaniz’s speech, drama and debate team at Harlingen High School. He’s been to the state event before.
“My goal was to get back to state,” he said triumphantly. “It’s a great opportunity to do better.”
Alaniz was delighted Mark and Grant did so well.
“I consider myself blessed to be able to guide students like Grant and Mark into the next phase of their lives,” she said. “This organization gives students like them a platform to be able to express themselves and make a real difference.”
