ever used marijuana. “No,” I responded. “Drugs have never interested me. I watched my grandfather die of lung cancer. My parents smoked and I’ve always been repulsed by any kind of cigarette. It’s not that I’m an extremely moral person with extraordinary self-control,” I told her. “I’m a common sinner like everyone else. I’m just no more interested in using drugs than I am climbing Mt. Everest. I guess I’m just lucky on that score. But not to worry. I have plenty of other vices.”
I’m not sure all of my students believe me when I say this, but I’m okay with that.
This student then asked me why I’ve never used marijuana. She wanted to know what my justifications were for staying clean. I had to admit, it was a very good question. I paused and began to tick them off. As I stated earlier, my parents cured me of the smoking thing. I had asthma as a kid and teenager, so that might have something to do with it. Since I’ve always been athletic, I see marijuana as extremely counterproductive in this endeavor. I don’t want to turn into an apathetic goofball. I don’t want all that crap in my system for my liver to filter out. I don’t want lung cancer. Finally, believe it or not, I’m afraid I would like it too much.
This last justification always gets raised eyebrows from my students. What do you mean? I tell them that, by and large, I’m a laid-back person. I like smooth and calm seas. And I’m absolutely convinced that my drug of choice would be alcohol, marijuana or most other types of depressants. That scares me a little. I’m not kidding. I also share with them an article written by Joe Kollin, a reporter for the Sun-Sentinel. It appeared in the local section on September 10, 2005 and it deals with Marijuana Court that we now have in Broward County, Florida.
…The court is focusing on marijuana, once considered a recreational drug, because it isn’t any more, according to Doug Hughes, executive director of the safety council and Florida’s former drug czar. “Marijuana today isn’t the marijuana our parents knew,” he said. It is so strong and addictive that Broward hospital emergency rooms now routinely treat pot overdoses…
I have a few additional items to share with my students. First, there is now ample evidence to show that marijuana use increases the risk of psychosis, especially in the vulnerable and developing brains of adolescents. (WebMD, December 1, 2004). Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll—we now know that teens who use drugs will have a much higher chance of engaging in sexual activity. (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, 2004). A 1994 report shows that teens who smoke pot are 17 times more likely to use cocaine as adults. (David H. Farb, Ph.D., Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology, Boston University School of Medicine. Contributing author to It’s Only Pot. Reader’s Digest. January, 1997). Furthermore, today’s pot contains 10 to 20 times more THC than its 60s and early 70s counterpart. Pot has over 400 other chemicals whose effects are still largely unknown. (David H. Farb, Ph.D., Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology, Boston University School of Medicine. Contributing author to It’s Only Pot. Reader’s Digest. January, 1997). Pot creates more of a need for oxygen in the human body, yet decreases the supply. And marijuana can drive up a person’s pulse to over 100 beats per minute. (David H. Farb, Ph.D., Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology, Boston University School of Medicine. Contributing author to It’s Only Pot. Reader’s Digest. January, 1997).
Parental Attitudes and the Cancer of Justifications
A counterpart of mine, from another high school, told me he recently got on the phone with one mother a while back, and told her that he suspected some pretty substantial drug use with her son. Her response was one of utter shock. “You mean drugs other than pot?” Grab a legal pad, he told me, and pull up a chair. Consider her question—…drugs other than pot? How long would it take you to convict her in the Court of Lousy Parenting, an hour? My friend said, “Give me thirty minutes and I’ll have my case ready for the jury.”
In a day and age when parents really need to be looking out for the safety of their children, they should be encouraging their kids to avoid trouble with the law. Parents should be there to provide solid, authoritative parenting, so consider all of the possible meanings of “You mean drugs other than pot?”
· I can’t believe they’re still making such a big deal about weed after all these years.
· I used pot when I was young and I turned out okay.
· As an adult, I still smoke on occasion.
· My kids could be doing a lot worse like robbing banks.
· At least they’re not doing cocaine or heroin.
· I don’t let my kids smoke and drive.
· I tell them it’s okay, just don’t do something stupid like get caught.
· My children and I have an open and honest relationship. At least I know what they’re doing—unlike some parents I know.
· I make sure my kids are using in a safe manner.
· You can’t stop them; they’re going to do what they want anyway.
And there they are— many of the cancerous justifications some parents use to soften the reality of what they’re doing, which is allowing their children to use illegal and dangerous drugs. Here’s another point. We may all be created equally, but we’re sure as hell not raised equally. Some kids are truly handicapped by their parents—parents who make the illogical and misguided assumption that teenage behavior cannot be controlled. Along similar lines, some have absolutely no clue as to how to go about controlling their kids. Others simply cannot be bothered.
I was speaking to a neighbor of mine, who was stunned by the news of her twenty-one-year-old son’s drug test results. He was trying to get a job somewhere or the other, and had tested positive for pot and cocaine. How was this possible, she wanted to know? Her son couldn’t be a regular cocaine user. I tried to keep a straight face. This parent had a reputation for turning a blind eye to her kids’ pot use back when they were in the public school system. I should have called her on this point, but I let it go. So I found another way to get my point across. “Do you know where he gets his marijuana?” I asked. She did not but she assumed it was clean. “How do you know? Did either you or your son watch the person who rolled the joints?” No. “Do you even know where the rolling paper came from?” She did not. “Then don’t you think it’s possible someone could be slipping cocaine into his joints?” She considered the possibility and reluctantly agreed with me. “Maybe there will be heroin in his next cigarette,” I told her. ”In fact, I read where one guy smoked pot laced with embalming fluid.” At this point, I can almost hear what she’s thinking: Dammit, I knew I couldn’t trust him to smoke. I give the okay and he goes ahead and tests positive for cocaine.
5. Cancer Visits Wall Street and the Boardroom
My parents were enthusiastic coffee drinkers all the years I was growing up. I can still see Dad’s old coffee mug resting on the kitchen counter next to the range. The caption on it read I Can Resist Anything but Temptation. When I reflect on that stained mug, I recall some of the modern day financial scandals we’ve been forced to swallow and digest as a nation. Corporate corruption surrounds us, it seems. Of course, for every jackass with his or her hand in the till, there are scores of others doing the right thing. Unfortunately, today’s headlines seem to be reserved exclusively for the crooks, cons and scam artists of our times. Unfortunately, I’m about to contribute to that trend. I have a rather lengthy Power Point presentation dealing with business ethics that I use with my lectures. In it, I discuss several disturbing business scams with which I’m sure you’re familiar.
