cannabisnews.com: Just Say Drugs Aren't Cool





Just Say Drugs Aren't Cool
Posted by FoM on November 28, 1999 at 22:17:19 PT
Editorial
Source: Christian Science Monitor
So many parents, teachers, and community leaders are eager for some sign of a decline in drug use among teenagers that it's worth citing a recent survey by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. This group's polls show drugs are gradually losing their aura of "coolness" and acceptability. 
The statistical declines are hardly startling - 40 percent of teens surveyed saying that really cool kids don't use drugs, compared with 35 percent a year ago; experimentation with marijuana is down to 41 percent, from 44 percent in 1997. A few more kids are trying to talk friends out of using drugs. More are saying they couldn't be talked into it. Considerably more say they're aware of antidrug messages in the media. Skeptics are prone to sneer at such findings. They point to continued high drug use generally. But changes in attitudes toward drugs shouldn't be discounted. Altered attitudes lead to altered behavior, as shown by dropping cigarette use among youths in states making a consistent effort to discourage smoking. Perhaps most importantly, anti-addiction drives - whether against drugs, tobacco, or alcohol - have to credit the people they want to sway with intelligence and common sense. Those faculties may need to be awakened. Kids, and adults for that matter, have to be moved to the questions, "Do I really want to do this to myself?" and, "Do I want to set this example for others?" Helping young people toward the right answers early is at the heart of the country's offensive against drugs. The ads being aired as part of the government's National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign have their part to play. So, critically, do parents and other influential adults. It's encouraging that an increased proportion of teens surveyed (30 percent versus 27 percent last year) said their parents had informed them of the dangers of drugs. The glimpses of hope seen in this survey and other recent ones demand diligent follow-up. Reducing demand is the most critical front in the drug "war." Among youths, whether urban, suburban, or rural, that means education, with an emphasis on moral reasoning - making decisions that help oneself and others. Published: November 29, 1999(c) Copyright 1999 The Christian Science Publishing SocietyRelated Articles:What Should You Tell Your Kids About Your Drug Use-11/17/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3704.shtmlSo, What Did You Smoke, Mom? - 11/11/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3637.shtmlThe Parenting Problems Of Pot - 8/12/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2452.shtmlParental Waffling May Boost Teens' Marijuana Usage-7/27/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2232.shtml 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #6 posted by Jenny on November 30, 1999 at 16:29:10 PT:
RE: drugs arent cool
Okay, just like everything else marajuana needs to be regulated.Lets face it, the people who dont want to use it dont, and the people who do, do. So why not make it legal but make it regulated?? Think about it :)
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #5 posted by FoM on November 29, 1999 at 17:46:23 PT
That's Right
Once again you explained the details so well kaptinemo. We must look at the big picture to understand the obstacles that are in front of us. It is a scary thought to imagine where we are headed if common sense doesn't return to our country. We are an expendable product. That's all! I've seen it happen one to many times.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on November 29, 1999 at 16:09:47 PT
You-are-an-industrial-unit!
Sorry, friends, but it is much more involved than that. The temperence movement in this country wouldn't have been able to ram alcohol prohibition down the throats of Americans by sheer persuasiveness. Not when their chief spokesmen were ranting and raving preachers who got so worked up that sitting in the front row would have gotten you as wet as being in a Gallegher show.Nope, as always, right beind the fulminating religious clowns were the deadly serious people, the industrialists. The ones who thought they had the God-given right to tell everyone else how to live because they had made it to the top of the economic pyramid by God's grace and their clean living ways. (No kidding, they really meant that. The concept behind this is called Social Darwinism.) These people saw the average Joe as being by nature shiftless, unreliable goof-offs who would just as soon spend their entire paychecks in drunken binges than save their money...and, of course, but their products.A clean and sober workforce was needed by American industrialists. Hence, their backing of Prohibition. And what a farce that was.Well, the same thinking, much less publicized but no less active, is behind the WoSD, urine testing, locker searches, etc. It's the same kind of march-in-lockstep-don't-question-authority mindset that is the hallmark of fascism.Sinclair Lewis, in his great novel "It Can't Happen Here" writes of a time when Corporate America takes over and becomes the *de facto* government. Well, friends, it looks like it already has. 
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #3 posted by FoM on November 29, 1999 at 16:00:22 PT
My Thoughts
I do understand how you feel about the article. The CSM has been very fair on drug policy issues though. What the problem is is no one wants a minor to do drugs. I can't imagine anyone that would or why they would, but if they do they shouldn't be possibly jailed but the parents need to step in and pay more attention and help their child. If a parent won't keep a young person busy they will find a way to entertain themselves, I think. It boils down to parents trying to have a good relationship with their kids. It should be a parents responsibility not the governments.Peace, FoM!
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #2 posted by DontArrestMe on November 29, 1999 at 15:24:09 PT
Right on...
I have to agree with Scott. If we are going to enfore drug laws, we should also exercise separation of church and state. Is that why drugs are illegal? Is it a religious matter? If so, shouldn't the decision to use drugs be made by the individual? I can't help but notice the theme of this article: follow the crowd (just say no), even if they are wrong. I am just going to have to rebel.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #1 posted by Scott on November 29, 1999 at 07:49:13 PT:
Drug's Aren't Cool
This coming from a group who will probably tell you you will burn in hell if you touch your genitals improperly. Why are they so against everything fun?
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: