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COYOTE ARCHIVE
Dick Prosapio aka, Coyote is a member of the TMC Advisory Council, ceremonialist, psycho-
therapist (ret.), author, leader of men's experiential workshops, & Co-founder of The Foundation for Common Sense. He lives with his wife and daughter in Stanley, NM
For more info about Dick Prosapio, visit his web-site:
Spirit/ Earth Path
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by
Dick Prosapio
The confusion many parents seem to have over their kids using pot seems to have two origins. The first is that some parents have used pot in the past. Or maybe they are using it now. And they probably feel, as I do, that the legal response to marijuana use is the wrong way to go. Secondly, there is a fantasy that pot isn't really a drug. It's just this benign "thing" and what's-the-big-deal? It's not a problem; "It's just pot." "It's just an herb." It's God's gift to us." etc., etc.
What we get as a result of this is that a lot of kids are using at younger and younger ages. This can't be a good thing no matter how much research says that pot is not all that harmful. And just what does, "not all that harmful." mean these days?
The November 4th issue of Time did a story on the latest reports. They addressed several issues including, "Is it addictive?", and "Does it make you feel stupid?" The conclusions to at least these two questions were; "..the risk of becoming dependent on marijuana is comparatively low." Only (italics mine) 9% they say as opposed to a 15% addiction potential to alcoholand, they quote a Harvard psychiatrist arguing that, "......we must live with uncertainty" on whether pot causes long term cognitive impairments.
I'm supposed to feel relieved by this? Your chances of being killed in a game of Russian Roulette are just 16%, wanna give it a try?
Here's what I know about pot and one kid, our 18 year old daughter. I know that as a straight "A" student in her last semester of high school her "reinvestment" in the drug scene caused her to, 1. Drop out of school. 2. Get fired from her job because she was too stoned to show up. 3. Move out of our home, and to date, our lives, because she values "using" more than she values her family.
Mind you, she had been through this merry-go-round once before. She used, dropped out of school, ran away from home, lived in squalor for about a year. Then came back to resume school and work and, barely a year later, began again. This sounds like, looks like and feels like addiction to me. It quacks like a very real duck.
And it seems incredibly stupid to me too. It certainly doesn't look like a bright move does it? Like something someone in full charge of their faculties would do?
And how about this "statistic", a friend of ours began smoking at 15. He didn't stop, and his life didn't begin again, till he was 48! In between he ripped off friends, lost jobs, betrayed the trust of parents, relatives, friends and co-workers, dropped out of school and never finished anything he started.....except a drug deal. Does this sound like "not all that harmful"?
This pot issue is all mixed up with our drug enforcement policies and political oppressiveness and the parents who were once pot smoking teens still doing knee-jerk reactions to their unresolved problems with authority. Even their own. They are confused about how to take a stand, or even whether it's right for them to have one. Well, here's my view of it. First of all you are parents now, not teenagers. You are supposed to be the ones in charge. There must be a change in perspective when you have kids that you are responsible for. Secondly, if your kid was taking a half pint of Johnny Walker to school everyday and swigging it down between classes, would that look OK to you? Would you rationalize that somehow saying, "Oh well, they're just experimenting." "Hey, that whiskey is aged naturally."
There is no real difference here. Whether it's a toke or a swig, getting loaded as an on-going behavior is not an appropriate or healthy experience for a child, and no studies will support the idea that it is whether the subject be pot, crack, booze, meth, Ecstasy, or you name it. Experimentation is one thing, beyond 16 say, but using? No way!
The only way the use of pot by teens will stop is by parents, teachers, counselors and cops changing their own attitudes about, "It's just pot." and taking a stand with kids. A strong stand. That means really getting involved if your kid is using. "Involved" means more than "being a pal". It means taking charge and discovering if they are using and then doing something to stop it. Maybe finding out if they are using because they are depressed or just because it seems like a lot of fun. Maybe even getting them into treatment for substance abuse. Into Al-A-Teen, Al-A-Non......... something! And it doesn't have to be voluntary. Government programs are not going to do it. You have to.
Of course first you would have to see their using as a bad idea to begin with. If you don't, your kid may be on the way to becoming, as ours has, one of that mere 9% who are "stupidly addicted". Is that what you want as a potential outcome for your kid?
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