Tens of thousands of teens would argue that marijuana should be legal because it is no more harmful than alcohol — some even insist it’s less harmful. It’s not an unreasonable position to take. With all the controversy about some college presidents wanting to lower the drinking age, the alcohol debate has been ignited once again. Maybe it’s time to prohibit alcohol use as well as marijuana. What kind of message would that send to our youth?
It would probably underscore the fact that any dangerous substance should be outlawed. And it would certainly show young people that we’re serious about keeping them out of harms way by practicing what we preach. I realize that this is a highly unpopular position but every time I read about drunken drivers killing innocent victims it makes my skin crawl.
What might be the effect of another prohibition? For starters, less accidental deaths, less discretionary income squandered, less violence, less abuse, and less accompanying medical problems. Not a bad outcome, I must say. But what about all those people who responsibly enjoy a drink or two every now and then? Should they be penalized? And shouldn’t drinking be an adult’s prerogative? That’s a tough one to answer, particularly since research has shown that a daily glass of wine or two has salutary effects.
During these difficult economic times, I believe that no behavior of excess should be overlooked. As we all tighten our belts and make difficult decisions between necessity and discretion, why not revisit an old issue? Would we really be any worse off if alcohol were unavailable? Many would insist that organized crime would flourish as it did in the roaring twenties. But this isn’t the roaring twenties. And I believe that many changes are in the wind and all options should be considered when addressing the problems of risky behavior. After all, have you ever heard anyone say, he’s a big drinker and he’s better off for it?
What do you think?
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If I could change decisions I made while raising my children, it woudl be not to be an example of the only way to have fun is to party - drink, etc. Now that I understand the consequences of that decision and have changed my lifestyle to reflect my love for Christ, I’m seeing myself in my children - only magnified because the drugs are so much harder and more available. If there was any advice I could give as one who has walked that path, don’t be an example for your children unless that’s what you want to see in their lives. It may not be alcohol - it may be heroin…
I think it’s great you’re bringing this up, although I don’t think prohibition is the answer (spawns other problems, such as bootlegging). I do think open discussions about the issues can be tremendously helpful for parents and teens, alike, however. Here is some information that I’ve found particularly interesting when discussing this with my own children (both now in college).
The first has to do with the new body of research on the brain’s development during adolescence through early 20s that’s now possible because of brain imaging technologies developed in the 1990s (MRI, PET, SPECT, etc.). Because of what is going on during brain development during these years, adolescents are at higher risk for addiction or alcohol/drug abuse if they start earlier rather than later. There is an excellent program about adolescent addiction produced by HBO in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, NIAAA and NIDA, http://www.hbo.com/addiction/adolescent_addiction/index.html?current=1
The second is to look at some of the imaging related to brains before and after drug/alcohol use. Check out Amen Clinics’ website, http://www.amenclinics.org/bp/spect_rotations/.
Thanks for the topic!
Hi, not much on this website regarding marijuana. I would like to know if you can send me to any good sites with evidence that marijuana is dangerous. Just found out my 15-yo is smoking and states he has been for 1 year (which I didn’t see). Don’t know whether I should put him under house arrest. He seems to be saying he gets it from school mates. He says I don’t know anything about marijuana. I know this is just one of the arguments in his arsenal that don’t really need to be argued with. It is illegal and a substance which alters brain function, he is 15, therefore he cannot use it. I just want to be as informed as possible. What are the statistics if there are any and/or facts regarding going from marijuana to another substance to abuse. It has already altered our relationship and every aspect of our lives and that is enough to make be alarmed right there.
I agree with the second poster when she said that prohibition is not the answer. Whenever people put forth that argument I remind them that what happened the last time alcohol was illegal (in the 1920s) was that crime skyrocketed in the form of alcohol bootlegging. Also, Al Capone rose to infamy because the government essentially gave the alcohol industry from the legal shop owners and producers to him and his cronies.
To the first poster: Anne, honey, you may think you have a huge problem on your hands because your 15-year old has been smoking marijuana for a year without telling you.
But I started at 15, and i’m 19 now and I’m doing okay. I’m now a hard working student at Boston University (and I got accepted into NYU and GWU, too), a sophomore, majoring in Biological Anthropology, with a minor in French.
Let me clear up a few things. Your son says he’s been getting it from friends at school: of course he is! That’s how most kids begin, because people they know are trying marijuana, and later some of their friends start selling to either make a little money or just to have a free supply of weed.
Also, when he says he’s “been doing it for a year,” that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s been high 24/7. Sure, some kids turn into huge pot-heads and prefer to go through life with a joint every two hours. But most of the time, kids smoke either once a week, or once every two weeks, or once a month, or less. Most kids who try it, don’t get uber-attached to it.
The best way now to influence your son is to talk to him. Correction: when I said it’s not a HUGE problem, I meant that it’s only a problem if you deal with it in the wrong way. The right way? Find out who he smokes with, what quality of marijuana he’s buying, and what his habits are. Does he smoke often, and why? Usually it will be because it’s fun. But don’t force him not to do it arbitrarily, because then you are the enemy and he’ll stop trusting you. (I’m speaking from experience, here. My mother has a zero-tolerance policy, so whenever she finds it she flushes it down the toilet. Now it’s a don’t ask/don’t tell policy, which isn’t much better.)
I’m serious. It may seem crazy, but actually the way to make sure your son doesn’t get into trouble now is to help him have a healthy relationship with marijuana. Use it as both the carrot and the stick. Tell him he can only use it for special occasions, or only when he doesn’t have homework on a particular night. If his grades begin to slip, ask him how often he’s been smoking and then don’t let him smoke for two weeks (or one, or three, or a month).
Teach him that marijuana isn’t a social crutch, but a fun thing to do. It’s just like alcohol. We look down upon people who drink as a way to deal with their emotional and social difficulties, but we understand that a few drinks at a party or a lone glass of wine doesn’t hurt but is actually quite enjoyable.
I’m trying to teach parents (and future parents) that it’s not fundamentally bad if their children are drinking or smoking pot. But it IS bad if the parents aren’t connecting positively with their children, teaching them how to have healthy relationships with alcohol and marijuana. That to have a joint every 2 hours, every day, of every week is only okay for medical patients who are prescribed it, not for young teens whose brains are still developing.
I’m not unhappy that I began drinking and smoking marijuana at 15. In fact, I’m glad, because here in college I know my limits and I know what I’m doing. Some people I know don’t have just a couple of drinks, or just a single joint, but have 8 drinks in a short time and/or take multiple enormous rips from their bongs (a very intense way to get high).
I smoke joints like I sip wine: a small joint among two people is enough. A glass or two of wine, or a couple of nice beers is a nice thing. Moderate. Slow. I’m still functional.
Then when a dinner party comes along and it’s not a formal thing, it’s fine to get a bit drunk with a few more glasses, as long as you’re not trying to get trashed. Making a fool of oneself is not okay.
So, do not worry about your son in that way. Care for him. Teach him responisbility the way you teach him how to drink correctly. I respect parents who teach their children how to have a glass of wine and then stop, and do that at least once a week with dinner. Then their kids turn out like my cousins (who live in England): smart, reasonable, and able to have a good time without endangering themselves and others.
I hope this helps. Good bye!
To Anne, Novemer16…
Hi Anne,
Here are two links that might prove helpful in your conversations with your son.
The first one is ONDCP’s (Office of National Drug Control Policy) “Marijuana: Facts and Myths…” http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/marijuana_myths_facts/index.html
The second is NIDA’s (National Institute on Drug Abuse) “Marijuana: Facts for Teens”
http://www.nida.nih.gov/MarijBroch/Marijteens.html
What I learned with my own daughters is that having factual information, sharing it, letting them sit with it and then having further discussions about it - even researching our own respective opinions further and sharing that information, was more effective in guiding some of their drug and alcohol use decisions than just dictating - not that you don’t set limits, even zero tolerance limits - but those will come as you both better understand the facts and each other’s feelings/opinions.
its not the ’20s? prohibition would be a horrible idea… if you think there would not be a resurgent boom in organized crime i fear you are sadly mistaken. when your child comes home from school with pot where do you think it came from? people can get pot at any time… because there is an insanely complex network of people that get it from the farm to your everyday pothead. if this exists for pot dont you think it would exist for alcohol. not to mention bootleg alcohol is not monitored, which makes it potentially way more dangerous. it makes much more sense to legalize pot, that way it could be monitored, taxed ect, it would also get rid of a huge crime network. there is clearly a capacity for a bootleg alcohol organized crime to exist in present day.
The use of drugs and alcohol amongst young teens is absolutely a problem. But, when you declare drugs and alcohol “dangerous” you lose me. And with me, you lose a significant percentage of youths. “Drugs” (which we so absurdly conflate into a single grouping), are not “dangerous” they are, “Chemicals with the potential for misuse and abuse.” It is foolish to say they are “dangerous.” The implication is one of disdain for their existence. But these same substances are important parts of religious ritual in many ancient faiths, and with good reason. They can be used to help one reach a spiritual trance state and connect with the holy within one’s self. To deny this history is to ignore a large part of the reason that many youths do drugs. It IS spiritual, even for those who think it is not. Many, if not most teens doing drugs are doing them because they feel a hollow space. Teens are in fact on a spirit quest, the same as a Native Americans taking peyote. They are searching for a center and a meaning. If you want to combat the usage, (or simply the misuse and abuse), of the drugs, you should consider why it is that the child/teen feels emotionally empty or withdrawn. Why is THIS the spirit journey they have chosen to take? Start from the sickness, not the symptom.
Now, why intelligent citizens of this country ever voted to repeal the prohibition of something as lethal as alcohol, I’ll never understand. Whiskey drinking does not now nor ever has had any modern medicinal properties that I know of. Maybe the repeal of its prohibition had something to do with the Baldwin sisters inviting John Boy over for a sip the recipe. Who knows? Their Papa was a judge or something.
Alcohol is currently, in this present time, far more accessible by youth than any other drug on the market, and in most circles considered socially acceptable. Alcohol is far more dangerous because it is a legally sanctioned and widely distributed substance of great commercial value. SO, PROHIBITON - YES. Why not? Why should alcohol bear the seal of our approval while mariajuana is looked upon as some dangerously lurking evil substance for which people are imprisoned like the moonshining bootleggers of old. LET’S MAKE ALCOHOL A SERIOUS CRIMINAL OFFENSE TOO!
I’m not telling anybody anything new here, folks. It’s quite plain that the biggest culprits are legally sanctioned for consumption — prescription drugs and a myriad of alcoholic concoctions — check both cabinets, liquor and medicine, for anything that ails you.
It is stupid to try and make an argument either for or against the legalization of marijuana because invariably your opponent has made up his mind and will not cross the line. The sad fact is that the efficient propaganda machine which controls public opinion has been leveled against marijuana since the 1930s. Anyone who really is on the fence about the marijuana question needs to check out this documentary: http://blip.tv/file/1356143/
Otherwise you’re just going to spout off a bunch of lies concerning the dangers of marijuana. The sad fact is that it is a plant which poses no threat. The most important statistic about marijuana when considering the question of its legality is the fact that we have not yet been able to isolate an LD50 (a research measure which determines the dose at which 50% of a test sample experience lethal effects) for marijuana. That is to say, a human cannot physically ingest enough marijuana to kill himself. We have outlawed a substance which can’t kill while we export and protect substances we know to be lethal. So A Drug-Free America does not and should be synonymous with a marijuana free America
I fully expected to read the comments on here and see a lot of anti marijuana info and/or propaganda.. I am very glad to see that this has not been the case. My stance on this issue is that prohibition of anything makes it more dangerous than it inherently is. People abuse drugs and cause themselves to overdose. People also (when you sell drugs) typically will also lace certain drugs with others to either increase volume or to attempt to make a better product but these mixes can be much dangerous than the original drug. When you have something that is legal it has to go through checks… approvals. Not to mention it puts more money into the hands of criminals. The government seems to think that if you throw enough money at a problem it will eventually go away… news flash: the governments war on drugs was lost before it began. Money wasted.
Prohibiting alcohol would be a very big mistake. The number one reason why? Right now, the making and selling of alcohol is monitored. We know where it came from and what’s in it. Make it illegal, and I guarantee people will bootleg. The bootleggers can put anything they want into it then, can’t they? Then not only will there still be “accidental deaths, discretionary income squandered, violence, abuse, and accompanying medical problems”, it’ll be much more. Accidental deaths will happen most likely with more frequency, because things may get mixed in with alcohol or it may be made in an unclean or incorrect way. Alcohol would probably get more expensive (don’t you think methamphetamines would probably be cheaper if it was mass-manufactured, instead of in someone’s basement?), therefore more income would be squandered. Continuing with my theory, you can also assume that the violence, abuse, and medical problems would get worse also. If those reasons aren’t enough to change your mind, think of the extra money that will undoubtedly be used by the government to control this situation, and of the money that would definitely be lost by the government when they’re no longer taxing alcohol sales. Think of the rise in crime when people begin to manufacture alcohol along with all of the other illegal substances that already exist. So what exactly are we risking all of the positive negative effects for? So that it’s supposedly harder for children to get alcohol, so that they’re more likely to understand the negative effects it has and not drink? That simply will not work. I challenge you to go find 10 teenagers on the street, and ask each one of them if they know where they could attain (or “score”, to them) some illegal substance. I bet that at least 8 of those 10 will know. So then, does prohibiting marijuana, for example, make it any less abundant or attainable? No….
Is this for real – do people really think like this.
First off – if you want your children to NOT do drugs or lessen the availability of drugs in school, or the violence in schools because of drug trade, then the number one thing you can do is end the prohibition on cannabis. The FACTS are out there about Marijuana, unfortunately this site is not the place to look for them. Parents today have to be well informed. So inform yourself – read and re-read, and for God’s sake pay attention to where you’re getting information from.
I certainly do NOT want my children doing drugs – and I certainly do NOT want your children doing drugs – That’s why I am dumbfounded by some of the things I read on this site that are Total fabricated lies about drugs – we cannot have an honest open discussion about drugs with our children when we lie to them …big NO-NO because our children are smarter than us …just as we are smatter than our parents, they know we are lying when we present information coming from “partnership for a drug free America” – they are smarter than that, give them credit – present TRUE facts about drugs and their effects, short and long term.
The worst thing you can do for your child is Lie to them about it – that will certainly accomplish the opposite of what your intentions were. So please do not use information in this article or this Web-Site to Talk to your children – seek out the Truth – you owe it to yourself as a parent and your children – because they will find out the truth – so it’s best to hear it from you.
No. 1 tip I give to parents about talking to their kids about drugs – Ignore Anything your hear or read coming from “Partnership for a Drug Free America” – because their information and intentions are counter to their title.
Prohibition works when the vast majority wants to prohibit use. The original prohibition laws were passed by a rural dominated Congress at a time when the country became fully urbanized. The city people didn’t want prohibition. Today the vast majority is still opposed to the legalization of Marijuana inspite of efforts to do so. Marijuana is an insidious drug slowly destroying one’s ability to make decisions. It is addictive in a similar pattern as cigarettes (1 joint won’t but 20 joints will). It is 6 times more unhealthy than cigarettes and comes with all the health hazards cigarettes have except for nicotine addiction. Alcohol has a most unique standing of all the drugs. It is a very essential chemical. It is used to make roughly 25% of all consumer products. It is used in the medical field as a cleaning and disinfecting agent. In the energy it is an alternative fuel.