You Know That Commercial With the Parents Screaming "It was just a Little Pot"

[schmee]

the gateway is breaking the law. the gateway is realising you are being lied to. the gateway theory is totally flawed and puts kids at much greater risk imho.

 

every human being i know who's had to endure the tragedy of drug addiction arrived there by having no idea what they were dealing with.

 

you walk blind through a dark room, you're going to increase your chances of hitting your knee, falling over, and may even hit you hed so hard that you never get back up again.

 

imho, societies of the future are going to look back in awe at our current society and it's desire to remain blind to one of its biggest problems. they're going to see all the people getting rich and winning political favor on the issue and be mesmerized by the sheer stupidity of it all.

 

especially after the experience of prohibition and it's almost identical circumstances.

 

parents have my every sympathy and concern, but like virtually everything else in life - there is no black and white, only gray. and the more we assume black and white, the longer we remain blind to reality.

[Super 8]

Originally posted by Hanshananigan:

The most dangerous thing about anti-pot ads is that they make pot seem worse than it is. Then, when kids try it and find out they aren't slipping into comas, they feel lied to and expect that other drugs are not (very) dangerous as well.

Actually....wasn't that an ad campaign not too long ago? "Pot...it's worse than we thought"

 

What you are saying is quite insightful. It's true. It's like watching Refer Madness. You get high, and then you realize that nobody got shot or raped, and about the only thing that happened was that you thought you might never stop laughing.

 

Of course if they said; "Pot...you might die from chronic laughing", it might not have the same impact.

[Griffinator]

Originally posted by Super 8:

I don't know exactly how we're going to deal with the drug issue, when my kids are starting to hit their teens. Should be interesting.

 

Alcohol has never been an issue for me. I got drunk once or twice as a teen, and did a little drinking in my 20's, but honestly, I never really cared much for alcohol (the taste, or the feeling of being drunk). Also, my dad was an alcoholic, so I'm sure that played a part in my feelings.

 

MaryJ, on the other hand.....

I don't know.

I was my own resistance movement during my teens. I pretty much looked at what peer-pressure was saying, and then did the opposite. I decided to try pot for the first time when I was 20. I loved it. The feeling of being high is far more enjoyable than the feeling of being drunk. I haven't had any in several years, but I'm not opposed to it at all.

 

How do I relate that to my kids?

 

My worst fear isn't that my kids will ever smoke pot. It's the stupid stuff that might do AFTER they've smoked pot. Like riding their bikes across a busy street, or some other thing that they would not do if their judgement wasn't being hampered by the effect of the drug.

 

I used to hang out at a dirt track when I was a teen. It was a popular place to go and hang, and ride the track, and do tricks off the jumps on our BMX bikes. It was also a pretty popular place to light up. I remember one time in specific when a bunch of guys had just smoked a bowl or two, and decided to get radical on their bikes. Nobody was hurt, but they were doing some wild shit off those jumps. I could see a person getting really really hurt doing stuff like that while intoxicated.

 

I'm not sure how to handle it...

I have the same problem, Super. Fortunately, my kid is 5 years old right now, so I've got time to flesh it out before he's old enough.

 

My instinct is to basically break it all down for him - what does what and why. If he wants to try smoking pot, my inclination is to pack a bowl and smoke with him - so at least he'll be in a safe environment when he experiences it for the first time.

 

That's the big thing for me - the environment. I did LSD, LoveBoat, nitrous, shrooms, peyote, all kinds of shit. I never had a single negative experience, and I firmly believe that it was directly attributable to the very stable friends I'd do the stuff with. These were guys that weren't inclined to "wig out" under the influence.

 

The last thing I'd want to see happen is for him to go off and party with some wackos and go out and get killed because neither he nor his friends could handle what they were on.

[Wewus432]

Here's the deal, if kids see adults drinking responsibly, and/or smoking pot or anything else responsibly they'll do the same thing. For instance, if they see their Dad say " Wow I've had four beers I better not drive", they'll do the same thing. Ya know.

 

If they see their Mom say "I'm going to sit here in my garden and enjoy a little pot, and then I'm going to cook dinner" they might figure out the right way to use marijuana.

 

Kids learn from their parents, and if you treat drugs, or sex, or anything, like they're some big secret, that's what they'll become.

 

Talk to your kids, about anything you would talk to any other person about. They're people too ya know, not just your kids.

[Wewus432]

Originally posted by Doug Osborne:

How about major campaigns against drugs that can and do kill millions, like alcohol and tobacco?

As I've said many times before, this is the MAJOR Fallacy of any War On Drugs. We have REALLY bad drugs that you can walk down the street and buy everyday, and we also have all the drugs that you can go to your doctor and get. I've gotten high as hell off of stuff my doctor gave me for bronchitis. And yet.......we have this whole War on OTHER DRUGS, and that's what they should call it, The War On Other Drugs. Or perhaps we could call it The War On Drugs that no Big Company Can Make Money Off Of.

 

DRUGS are a health problem, plain and simple, and should be treated as such

 

The fucking War On Drugs was lost a long, long, long, long, long time ago. We should stop throwing our money away on a lost cause, and use that money for REAL prevention programs.

 

Let's be honest, DRUGS ARE FUN! That's why people like them, but there are consequences of THAT FUN, are there not? Let's be honest about this shit. Drugs are fun as hell, or people wouldn't keep doing them, and yet the fact is the majority of people who take drugs of any kind, legal or not DON'T have a problem with them. It's a small percentage of the people who use alcohol, marijuana, narcotics, whatever... who become addicted to them and become a problem for society, and yet we have to create this FASCIST NETWORK to wipe out drugs. Guess what? It's not working. All the people who want drugs are still getting them.

[TeleCarlos]

Here's a funny one!! or ironic!

 

I used really enjoy the long conversations, wine tasting and just plain philosophising while smoking pot with my dad in the back of our sailboat. I miss him. Haven't had the urge to smoke since.

 

We enjoyed each other's company and he always told us how proud he was of the way his children became such nice persons; not many parents can say that nowadays. His friends and my friends always complemented how great a relationship we had.

 

Make of this what you will. I don't expect it to be same for everyone. I was just lucky I guess.

 

Anyway, I don't smoke now (pot that is), but I sure wish things were better in this side of the Atlantic.

 

My vote is to be responsible. Now there's an idea that we can all get behind!!!

[Mr.WOW]

Legalize and TAX weed.

[Flemtone]

Good points brought up by all parties so far, especially Dylan, Doug, Scott, Bassix, Tinder, Super8, etc.

 

My daughters are 23 and 15, respectively. We have discussed drugs, sex, angst, peer-pressure, popularity, alcohol, smoking, school, marriage, gay rights, religion, choices...all from the time they were quite young.

 

My oldest has tried weed, didn't like it, doesn't do it. I don't condemn her for trying it, as that would be hypocritical on my part. She does drink occasionally, but she drinks responsibly.

 

The first time she ever got drunk, she was 17. I picked her up at a party - she called and told me her car wouldn't start. I kinda figured what was up at that point, but I was glad she thought ahead and didn't try to drive home.

 

Got her home, she went to bed, as did both The Lovely Robin and I. About 10 minutes later, I heard her door swing open, and she bolted for the bathroom. Apparently, she had 'spins'. Punishment #1.

 

The next morning (a bright, sunny, warm Father's Day, ironically enough), we were having breakfast on the back patio, in the bright morning sunshine. She appeared, pasty and unwell, about 9:00. I set her up in a chair in the sun, where she would have to squint in near total sunshine. We talked about how she felt, both the night before and that morning, we told her that she had done absolutely the right thing in calling us and asking me to pick her up. I then took pity on her and, after moving her chair into the shade, made her a Big Greasy Breakfast, heavy on the protein and lots of OJ and water. She looked decidedly green when I set her plate in front of her, but I told her to trust me...and she did. She was feeling better by several orders of magnitude after about 20 minutes, but was a little 'delicate' for the rest of the day.

 

My youngest has no desire to smoke, drink or try weed, at least not at this time, though she was right there when her sister had her 'Morning After'. Since we discussed how this all happened, she understands what at least some of the consequences of drinking are and, after hearing us tell Sara that she did the right thing in calling for a ride, she also knows we won't sit in judgement over her, as we did the same things when we were Sara's age.

 

Weed has been discussed also, and both our daughters know that we used to smoke (and I've given enough hints to both of them to suspect that we still do, on occasion), but that any other drug is Right Out, as Monty Python would say. Since they've both seen classmates and/or friends (of theirs or ours) go WAY over the line at times, there's no real impetus for them to do it. Alcohol is the same way. They both went with me/us to bars when I've been gigging from the time they were small, and they've grown up seeing how incredibly stupid alcohol can make an otherwise rational person. They just sigh, and I know they see the error of overconsumption.

 

Basically, what it all boils down to (for those with young pups and future humans):

 

Talk to them. They really DO want to know your thoughts. Don't force them to act in a manner that YOU never would have considered as a teenager. You had certain freedoms, and you were given the opportunity to make some of your own choices. If they play with fire, they may get burned...but that's how they learn. I mean, you did the same thing at their age, didn't you? Be honest, now.

 

I've known the parents who were party animals when they were younger, and who grew to be the most rigid, non-communicative parents. Their kids are the ones who stole cars, got hooked on smack, beat their significant others, etc. Kids need to be talked TO, not be talked AT.

 

Remember the closing lines of Reefer Madness...

 

"It could happen to your children...or yours...or YOURS!"

 

"Faster...play FASTER!!!"

-Tim from Jersey

[Dylan]

I definitely dont think that any drug (including weed) is harmless, but like others have said, these ads are dangerous to youth because once they do try weed and see that it is not as harmful as theyve been told they might assume the same is true for all other illegal drugs. As far as the stepping stone argument goes, I guess my theory is that which ever drug you have tried first whether it is alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, asprin, etc., could potentially be a stepping stone. Meth is a much bigger problem in this country than weed, yet it gets very little attention in comparison. Obviously, there is huge money opposing legalization from the tobacco, timber, and pharmaceutical companies, which is the real reason why it will never be legal in this country.

[schmee]

great post flem.

 

you know, you read through a thread like this, and you absorb so many people's feelings, beliefs and experiences... and you just have to wonder, how it is that we have become so stupid as a society.

 

what was that post recently about "Money" being bleeped?

 

[jcskid]

Originally posted by Nawledge:

alls I'm sayin jcskid is that I don't know any people who talk to their parents like that. I know

alot of people who smoke pot, relatives and friends included, but none of them talk to their parents like that, to me that's not just part of being a teenager.

Hey Nawledge,

as a parent i have been on the receiving end of that comercial.

was it all the pot? or what ever else he was one?

i am sure some of it was his Anger showing.

by this time in his life he was out of control.

 

he even had the guts to try and stand up to me and

get in my face cussing and spitting. not to smart.

i am a pretty big guy, 225lb, 52" chest, 16' arms!

this happened several times, and let me tel you. it was one of the hardest times i had controlling my temper, and not flattening him.

 

he was so bad i was ready to put him in a home.

 

so yeah it happens.

 

Flemtone,

and yes i talked with him, trust me my kids knew about a large portion of my past! and not just yeah i did this or that, but also the consequences of my stupid actions. be it sex, drugs or run ins with the law.

 

Scott

[jcskid]

Bullshit. It sure is a lot easier to blame marijuana than take responsibility for your own actions, isn't it?

Stranger,

 

a very simple answer or shall i say wisdom.

 

"you lay down with dogs you wake up with fleas"

 

my mistake was being around the wrong crowd.

i would not have been there had i not smoked pot.

 

scott

[the stranger]

Why did you smoke pot?

[felix.]

Originally posted by WOW:

Legalize and TAX weed.

...and I bet it would quickly become much less cool and much more expensive.

[Phait]

I have no opposition to pot. It's natural and there are much worse drugs out there. I've tried it a few times but with each "session" I haven't really tried it enough to get a good buzz off it anyway, so I don't truly know the feeling.

 

But I can say I did it. Not that I'm proud of it, but I dont' regret it either. But I've been there.

[Jode]

Originally posted by Dylan PDX:

Meth is a much bigger problem in this country than weed, yet it gets very little attention in comparison.

And talk about an added level of danger - not only is it highly addictive and physically destructive, but it can blow your house up. Never heard of a pot field just exploding, have you?