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Similarly, in the wake of the passage, in California and Arizona, of laws authorizing the medicinal use of previously banned drugs, the CEBBTO class has been frantically ramping up the doomed War on Drugs, once again invoking a need to save the young as the primary motivant. Statistics showing marginal increases in the use of drugs, particularly marijuana, among teenagers is the "concrete evidence" used to bolster this renewed assault. Recently Prime Time, an ABC magazine show, resurrected a whole bunch of patent nonsense from the seventies "proving" how this drug is leading yet another mass of gullible youth down the path to ruination and disaster(see Guest Columnist: "Doc" Carney for a better overview of this TV propaganda piece). The main argument, that pot is a "gateway drug" leading inevitably to the use of harder substances like cocaine and heroin was thoroughly discredited over two decades ago...incidentally, when research that didn't necessarily agree with the prevailing prejudices of the CEBBTO's was still permitted (read: funded) by the government. Experts with even a shred of integrity realized a long time ago that marijuana is associated with these other substances primarily because they are all illegal...and, with roughly the same penalties in most places, especially for sales. This is a well known effect. It even has a name, the "Rap Brown Effect," named after a political radical who was apprehended for robbing a crap game while a fugitive for other, shall we say, more socially acceptable crimes. It seems that, when one is wanted for a crime with say maximum penalty of so-and-so many years, any crime carrying a lesser penalty is viewed as a trivial infraction, by both the perpetrator and law enforcement officials. I can verify the truth of this from my own experience as a fugitive. While on the run, I committed a whole raft of petty crimes which I would never have considered for a moment committing had I not been a wan ted fugitive with 10 or more years in prison hanging over my head. When I finally surrendered, part of the plea bargain I entered into forgave me of all those other misdeeds. So it is with pot smokers. Since they can get punished as severely for toking up as they can for shooting up, they are much more likely to try the latter if they have already tried the former.

There is an additional problem with dope smoking as well. Over the years, in overarching efforts to dissuade young people from smoking pot, "authorities" have invented all sorts of presumed bad effects, most of which are extensions of the standard problems of teenagedom. One I recall in particular was called "Teen Age Amotivational Syndrome" wherein the standard tendency of teen agers to fuck off was blamed on marijuana use! Since, in fact, marijuana has fewer known negative side effects than aspirin, the net effect of all this was to make teen agers profoundly distrustful of anything claimed about drugs...ANY drugs...by authority figures. The only effect they noted about pot was that it made them high. No "instant" addiction, no terrible hangover (as most have probably experienced trying out that other teen age drug of choice, booze), no collapse of their lifestyle into degradation and depravity. The Man has cried "Wolf!" so very many times...and, the stupid bastards are STILL doing it!

However, my point is; exactly WHAT are we trying to protect our youngsters from? What is the ideal effect? That they reach adulthood knowing absolutely nothing about sex, drugs and other sin? That does not sound like a good strategy to me. How can anyone, child or adult, beware of things of which they know absolutely nothing at all?

It strikes me as much saner to actually ENCOURAGE youngsters to experience these seedier sides of life. If this is done in the presence of and with the approval of adults whom they trust (which is usually parents, at least until the teenage fog descends), then when those same adults point out the negative effects of sin (presuming the "positive" effects, the kicks, are obvious) they WILL BE BELIEVED instead of scorned, as they are now. The last thing we need, I think most people will agree, is some government agency telling our children about the what to believe and what not to believe about sin and evil. I don't know about you, but I would rather have my children learn about sex (at least the physical aspects) from watching pornographic films than by discovering it in the hotel room of some politician seeking after hours perks. Image an instructive sex film starring Al Gore. Now, THAT would be something to get upset about!

Talk to you later...

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