Buzzby

Marijuana Clearly No Laughing Matter
Cindy Schaider | Tri-Valley Central | 02/01/2005

(BuzzNote: That's funny. I'm laughing! Prepare for Reefer Madness and Mythology ahead.)

I heard a rather tragic story recently. A father learned that his middle-school-age son was smoking marijuana. He told the child's mother about it, and he found it funny to think of his son getting high after school, just like Dad did.

Mom was not amused, either by the boy's drug use or Dad's attitude about it. Dad told her, "Oh, don't over-react! We both smoked dope at his age - it is no big deal. It is just pot."

The same attitude was portrayed on a television show just last night. Very well-to-do high school students, and their parents, considered marijuana as "it's just pot - it's not like real drugs."

The debate about the safety of marijuana use has gone on for many years. Marijuana use and possession was not illegal during the time of alcohol prohibition, and marijuana intoxication often became a replacement for alcohol intoxication.

Prior to that time, marijuana use was limited to certain pockets of our culture rather than being widespread. As its use became more common, the negative effects became more visible. Marijuana was recognized as an addictive drug (BuzzNote: Myth #9) that impaired judgment and often served as an introduction to the use of harder drugs(BuzzNote: Myth #13). Efforts toward reducing access to marijuana began shortly thereafter, from both public health officials and law enforcement.

(BuzzNote: Actually it started because William Randoph Hearst was a racist. He and several other robber barons also thought marijuana would cut into their profits.)

Many of us in our 30s and 40s and 50s remember a time when students could smoke a joint before school, at lunch or after school and still go to school and pass their classes. They felt like they were getting away with something, and the use of pot did not appear to disrupt their lives. Because that was our experience, we presume it is the same for students today. It is not.

Advances in agriculture and chemistry and international trade have impacted the marijuana industry. The marijuana available today is more potent than that of the pot of "our day." (BuzzNote: Myth #2) Today's marijuana has a higher concentration of THC (the addictive (BuzzNote: I think she means "active") chemical in pot). The result is a drug that is strong, highly addictive, seriously affects clear thinking and impairs the user's ability to drive a vehicle safely. Children (including middle school and high school children) should not be exposed to even second-hand pot smoke, much less actually smoking or eating marijuana directly.

Parents who used to smoke pot sometimes feel like hypocrites for telling their kids not to do it. They may have told their child about their past, and then buy into it when the child says, "Well, you did it - why shouldn't I?" The truth is, all adults can look back and identify choices we made that were not good choices. One of our roles as adults is to encourage children to benefit from the mistakes we made and avoid the same mistakes, rather than repeating them. In fact, it would be irresponsible to know of a dangerous situation for your children and do nothing to protect them from it.

If you were a drug user at one time, here is a suggested response if your child asks about your drug use: "Yes, I did it, but I wish I never had. I did it because I thought it was necessary to be accepted by my friends. But now I know two things - real friends like you just the way you are, and using drugs is not a good choice. In those days, we did not know as much as we do now about the bad effects of marijuana and other drugs. I don't want any bad things to happen to you because I love you. I don't want you to use drugs, including marijuana."

(BuzzNote: Or you could say: "Marijuana can be a lot of fun and you can learn something from it. The important thing is not to go overboard and start neglecting other important things. Keep your grades up, get plenty of exercise, participate in school activities, and read books. If I see you're getting into pot to the detriment of other things we're going to have to talk about your cutting back on it and getting your life back in balance.")

Cindy Schaider is chairman of the Casa Grande 2000 Alliance and can be reached at cgalliance@cybertrails.com.

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