An ad on tv shows a middle-aged father talking to one of his friends in a diner. He remarked, with only a tiny bit of alarm, that while he and his wife knew their daughter 'partied,' they'd recently become aware that she was using heroin. The friend did not know how to respond.
Think back to the post where a young woman related 'the talk' her mother had had with her as she was preparing to start high school- the mother had remarked that 'she knew' the girl would drink alcohol, that 'she knew' the girl would smoke pot; consequently, the girl felt the need to find options that her mother would not approve of. We can go further back to a novel that was published around 1970- young adults exclaimed 'of course' they did not drink alcohol- that's what their parents did; as they wanted to be 'different' from their parents, they used marijuana and other drugs. And from both the real-life situation and fiction that reflects real life, it should not be difficult to see what too many in the older generations are doing to today's youth: by giving them the green-light for some mind-altering substances, encouraging them to move on to substances that are even more dangerous.
You may have heard that for addicts, one of the most notable characteristics is 'denial': 'There's nothing wrong with it... It's harmless... I am just having a good time...' But while many assert they have been 'having a good time' for the last forty or fifty years, another characteristic is equally noteworthy: defensiveness. If you make any negative comments about drugs to an addict, he or she will go for your throat. Quite a few years ago, I wrote nearly 200 articles for an online writing site; while some of the topics were controversial, none generated the anger, hostility, and vitriol as the article in which I asserted that marijuana should remain illegal. None of the other articles resulted in dozens upon dozens of comments, either- streams of comments coming into my inbox, year after year until the site finally went off the www. To an addict, hearing their drug should remain illegal is like trying to take a pacifier away from an angry infant.
In the past, people were told it was a 'gateway' drug- that individuals who used it were more likely to move into 'harder' drugs. This may be true in some cases, but there were numerous individuals I knew in the distant past who did not use any mind-altering substance other than marijuana- and committed suicide. Yet individuals today still insist it is 'harmless.' And that's not even counting harm caused by driving under the influence, as well as other types of harm to innocent people.*
In the present, though, there can be an entirely different definition of a gateway drug: individuals who are foolish enough, or unconcerned enough, to present this substance to kids as perfectly acceptable should not be surprised when kids move into substances the so-called adults do not approve of.
The second common excuse is that it is not addictive. Individuals insist they are 'only having a good time'- even if they've been doing it daily for decades. Fortunately, some have come to their senses, either on their own or with help from others, as shown by the numerous 'recovery' programs and 'treatment/rehab' facilities for people whose sole addiction is 'Mr. Green.'
Take a step into the past when young adults came up with some interesting terms for their experiences: “Sh*tfaced...” “Wasted...” “F*cked-up...” Kinda says it, doesn't it?
http://dailysignal.com/2014/08/20/7-harmful-side-effects-pot-legalization-caused-colorado/
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/09/15/feds-release-marijuana-stats-to-show-negative-effects-of-legalization/
Long before a current tv series stated its episodes were 'ripped from today's headlines,' there was a series that began 'The story you are about to see is true- the names have been changed to protect the innocent.' One example* of how innocent people can be harmed aired in 1967:
http://sharetv.com/watch/103390
Many individuals will probably snicker about how 'cheesy' and 'old-fashioned' the episode was, but look at it this way- how old would (pseudonym) Robin be today if she hadn't drowned in the bathtub because her parents were too 'wasted' to look after her?
We've come a long way- in the wrong direction. Fifty years ago, at least most parents and other adults had the common sense to try to steer young people away from drug use. And young people these days deserve that, too.
Think back to the post where a young woman related 'the talk' her mother had had with her as she was preparing to start high school- the mother had remarked that 'she knew' the girl would drink alcohol, that 'she knew' the girl would smoke pot; consequently, the girl felt the need to find options that her mother would not approve of. We can go further back to a novel that was published around 1970- young adults exclaimed 'of course' they did not drink alcohol- that's what their parents did; as they wanted to be 'different' from their parents, they used marijuana and other drugs. And from both the real-life situation and fiction that reflects real life, it should not be difficult to see what too many in the older generations are doing to today's youth: by giving them the green-light for some mind-altering substances, encouraging them to move on to substances that are even more dangerous.
You may have heard that for addicts, one of the most notable characteristics is 'denial': 'There's nothing wrong with it... It's harmless... I am just having a good time...' But while many assert they have been 'having a good time' for the last forty or fifty years, another characteristic is equally noteworthy: defensiveness. If you make any negative comments about drugs to an addict, he or she will go for your throat. Quite a few years ago, I wrote nearly 200 articles for an online writing site; while some of the topics were controversial, none generated the anger, hostility, and vitriol as the article in which I asserted that marijuana should remain illegal. None of the other articles resulted in dozens upon dozens of comments, either- streams of comments coming into my inbox, year after year until the site finally went off the www. To an addict, hearing their drug should remain illegal is like trying to take a pacifier away from an angry infant.
In the past, people were told it was a 'gateway' drug- that individuals who used it were more likely to move into 'harder' drugs. This may be true in some cases, but there were numerous individuals I knew in the distant past who did not use any mind-altering substance other than marijuana- and committed suicide. Yet individuals today still insist it is 'harmless.' And that's not even counting harm caused by driving under the influence, as well as other types of harm to innocent people.*
In the present, though, there can be an entirely different definition of a gateway drug: individuals who are foolish enough, or unconcerned enough, to present this substance to kids as perfectly acceptable should not be surprised when kids move into substances the so-called adults do not approve of.
The second common excuse is that it is not addictive. Individuals insist they are 'only having a good time'- even if they've been doing it daily for decades. Fortunately, some have come to their senses, either on their own or with help from others, as shown by the numerous 'recovery' programs and 'treatment/rehab' facilities for people whose sole addiction is 'Mr. Green.'
Take a step into the past when young adults came up with some interesting terms for their experiences: “Sh*tfaced...” “Wasted...” “F*cked-up...” Kinda says it, doesn't it?
http://dailysignal.com/2014/08/20/7-harmful-side-effects-pot-legalization-caused-colorado/
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/09/15/feds-release-marijuana-stats-to-show-negative-effects-of-legalization/
Long before a current tv series stated its episodes were 'ripped from today's headlines,' there was a series that began 'The story you are about to see is true- the names have been changed to protect the innocent.' One example* of how innocent people can be harmed aired in 1967:
http://sharetv.com/watch/103390
Many individuals will probably snicker about how 'cheesy' and 'old-fashioned' the episode was, but look at it this way- how old would (pseudonym) Robin be today if she hadn't drowned in the bathtub because her parents were too 'wasted' to look after her?
We've come a long way- in the wrong direction. Fifty years ago, at least most parents and other adults had the common sense to try to steer young people away from drug use. And young people these days deserve that, too.