slimvictor
Bluelight Crew
(excerpted from http://www.galesburg.com/community/...rug-policies-deny-the-potential-of-every-teen)
First, let me go on the record as saying I’m in favor of the complete legalization of marijuana and all naturally occurring hallucinogens. In other words, I don’t think the state has any business regulating the natural substances — like pot, mushrooms or peyote — an adult chooses to ingest.
Why? Because adults have the right to choose to alter their consciousness. And they have the right to alter their consciousness as long as they obey the laws of the community in which they live. In other words, it should be illegal to get high and drive. Just like it’s illegal to get drunk and drive. Or text and drive.
Second, I believe — just as there is for the consumption of alcohol — there should be an age standard set for allowing the consumption of naturally occurring hallucinogens. Say 21.
Why? Because teenagers should be as equipped as possible before making an informed choice about using substances like alcohol, tobacco, pot, mushrooms and peyote.
Third, the lives of teenagers caught consuming substances like alcohol, pot, mushrooms and peyote should not be flushed down the drain. Tickets, counseling and education should be the answer to problems that involve addiction — not the legal system.
Here’s my thing. A teenager using pot is not using it to raise his or her consciousness. Teenagers use drugs for two reasons: peer pressure and self-medication.
And self-medication should be the biggest red flag for our society. A teenager who turns to pot or alcohol to alleviate emotion pain and distress will — if intervention is not successful — step into other forms of self-medication. For teenagers who self-medicate, pot and alcohol often are gateway drugs and lead to experimentation with prescription drugs and substances like cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.
A just society would treat teen drug abuse in the same way it should treat all mental health issues. Drug use in teens should spark a response rooted in care for the health and well-being of the individual, not legal and moral stigma.
There are those who make the reasoned argument that all drugs have no place in a teen’s life. And that argument is correct. In a perfect world, drugs wouldn’t. But our society is rife with drug consumption. Alcohol. Tobacco. Prescription drugs. “Illegal” drugs.
Incarceration — though, increasingly, big business — shouldn’t be the answer. For a look at the privatization of prisons start here: www.salon.com/2011/12/01/how_private_prisons_game_the_system/. “Just Say No” isn’t the answer. The best we can hope is to tell our children and the children of others about the health risks associated with all consumption. The best we can do is equip teens with a some of the tools necessary for critical thinking. We should make it explicit we expect them to make informed choices.
Above all, we should treat our teens as smart, vibrant members of community who have intrinsic worth and limitless potential — not as fuel for the justice system or a prison industry bent on profiting from stacking human beings in cages.
First, let me go on the record as saying I’m in favor of the complete legalization of marijuana and all naturally occurring hallucinogens. In other words, I don’t think the state has any business regulating the natural substances — like pot, mushrooms or peyote — an adult chooses to ingest.
Why? Because adults have the right to choose to alter their consciousness. And they have the right to alter their consciousness as long as they obey the laws of the community in which they live. In other words, it should be illegal to get high and drive. Just like it’s illegal to get drunk and drive. Or text and drive.
Second, I believe — just as there is for the consumption of alcohol — there should be an age standard set for allowing the consumption of naturally occurring hallucinogens. Say 21.
Why? Because teenagers should be as equipped as possible before making an informed choice about using substances like alcohol, tobacco, pot, mushrooms and peyote.
Third, the lives of teenagers caught consuming substances like alcohol, pot, mushrooms and peyote should not be flushed down the drain. Tickets, counseling and education should be the answer to problems that involve addiction — not the legal system.
Here’s my thing. A teenager using pot is not using it to raise his or her consciousness. Teenagers use drugs for two reasons: peer pressure and self-medication.
And self-medication should be the biggest red flag for our society. A teenager who turns to pot or alcohol to alleviate emotion pain and distress will — if intervention is not successful — step into other forms of self-medication. For teenagers who self-medicate, pot and alcohol often are gateway drugs and lead to experimentation with prescription drugs and substances like cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.
A just society would treat teen drug abuse in the same way it should treat all mental health issues. Drug use in teens should spark a response rooted in care for the health and well-being of the individual, not legal and moral stigma.
There are those who make the reasoned argument that all drugs have no place in a teen’s life. And that argument is correct. In a perfect world, drugs wouldn’t. But our society is rife with drug consumption. Alcohol. Tobacco. Prescription drugs. “Illegal” drugs.
Incarceration — though, increasingly, big business — shouldn’t be the answer. For a look at the privatization of prisons start here: www.salon.com/2011/12/01/how_private_prisons_game_the_system/. “Just Say No” isn’t the answer. The best we can hope is to tell our children and the children of others about the health risks associated with all consumption. The best we can do is equip teens with a some of the tools necessary for critical thinking. We should make it explicit we expect them to make informed choices.
Above all, we should treat our teens as smart, vibrant members of community who have intrinsic worth and limitless potential — not as fuel for the justice system or a prison industry bent on profiting from stacking human beings in cages.
