Just in case you've been living in a cave the past decade or so - welcome to 2012! It seems like as long as there has been Man, there have been teenagers. As as long as there are teenagers, they will be doing some drug they aren't legally allowed to. It's a fact.. Maybe not all of them, but a lot of them.. The harder drugs always seem to be in cycles. When I was a teen, mescaline seemed to be popular. Then by college, the richer kids had cocaine.. By the mid 90's heroin took command as the 'it' drug - that is, until half of Seattle died. But, through it all, there have been two constants - Alcohol and Marijuana....
Teen drinking has always been pretty steady, but Pot usage among kids is starting to become an almost regular habit. A study out today showed that 27% of all teens smoke Pot (or Grass, or Weed, or Mary Jane, or Chiba, add your own here) on a regular basis. Even more scary, 1 of every 10 kids smoke it at least 20 TIMES a month!!! That is pretty stunning, even to us. But maybe it shouldn't... I thought I was just getting old and thinking every other kid seemed like a total doofus, but I guess Mr. Hand was finally right - ALL kids are on dope!
I'm no prima donna here. Yeah, I have smoked a joint or two in my life. I stopped in college, after a particularly stoned/paranoid incident in a foot of snow on the way back to campus. Truth is, I never bought it - I only did it if someone had it. Why? Because I was a retard when I was stoned... sitting silently in the corner, totally zoned out. No enlightenment, no relaxation - just 'duh', so I stopped. But, if you're doing it 20 times a month, you're dependent on it, and that's a problem...
Why the rise? Well, it's a cultural thing I think. Not to sound stodgy, but there are tons of movies and musicians that flaunt Pot use, and it does have an effect on impressionable kids. Seriously, you think kids' lives are so stressful they have to resort to Pot to cope? We don't think so... But, the illegality of Pot does give it more allure as well - and that has us wondering about whether it's time to regulate it.
I was watching 'The Five' and it was a funny dialogue they had on it... Liberal Bob Beckel - who admits to doing every drug that ever existed - was against legalizing and regulating it. Why? Becuase he is convinced that Marijuana does lead to doing harder drugs. Whether or not there are studies to back that up, I don't know.. Meanwhile, conservative Greg Gutfeld was full bore in favor of regulating it. Why? Because making it legal allows you to control WHO can use it, and the concentration to stop superpowerful pot.. In short, teens have a harder time getting alcohol becuase it's legal and regulated, and marijuana would be the same. Yeah, people still make moonshine, and some will still grow pot - but if they're getting paid to grow and sell it, the illegal crop (pun intended) will die out.. Maybe, maybe not.
These are all opinions, but the real problem right now is too many kids are smoking too much pot. It's cheap, and a slow economy doesn't help either. Don't think so? A friend of mine who smoked weed almost daily, recently quit because she got a job, and didn't want to lose it over a positive drug test. Our guess is most kids will outgrow the phase, and go straight. But, anyone who spends any time at all in public can see that there is a segment of society walking around stoned 24/7. That is the danger of giving everyone the green light to light up a doobie. We knew we forgot a nickname!
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2 comments:
You can't overlook the monetary aspect. Are jails and courts are overburdened with people accused of drug offenses. We have wasted TONS of money on this War on Drugs, which to quote Herc from The Wire, we shouldn't be calling a war b/c wars end.
I dunno..... Afghanistan seems to be lasting forever! Just found out a buddy of mine here in Flotown will be going for his 4th tour in September. It's been a while since my cousin has been there, so it wouldn't surprise me if he wnet again too..
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