This last week, Colorado voters legalized the use of
recreational marijuana for people age 21 and older. Among myriad
arguments surrounding this law, we have heard the age-old
question about the role of society in protecting people from
themselves. Seat-belt and motorcycle laws often raise the same
discussion. How much should society infringe upon a personís
individual liberties? Do people have the right to make decisions
that may be deemed unsafe to others? Fortunately, most of us
donít have to struggle with this question on a regular basis.
For people with intellectual disabilities, this struggle can
occur every day. When people with intellectual disabilities
receive support from governmental programs, they enter a system
whose main purpose is to support the health and safety of the
people it serves. In most cases, this is a worthy pursuit. Some
people with intellectual disabilities rely wholly on others to
make decisions to ensure that their basic needs are met. The
support of caregivers enables them to ha