Posted by MH on April 03, 2002 at 07:36:16:
In Reply to: Re: Are we better/worse than average ??? posted by Steve on April 02, 2002 at 15:29:43:
> MH-agree with your assessment. I am not from the area but used to live
in Pittsbrg. Had some friends who used to "deal" to the hicks (as they
were called) in Arms county. Coke, pot and more recently meth. Not too
much into heroin, as far as I knew. I did alittle pot in hs, like most hs
kids in the 80s, never anything else. never had the $$ or desire for
anything else, stronger. The pot buzz was no big deal for me-probably a
good thing for me. Went to college at PSU & never touched the stuff. The
so-called war on drugs is a joke & was/has been a failure from the very
start. Locking up street dealers is not what I call a war on drugs.
Agre/disagree??
I agree that the drug problem is here to stay. I think our society has a
lot to do with it.
A) "Pot won't hurt you." This is where most drug users start. They get
high and it gives them a fix for awhile. But, some then turn to harder
drugs when they hear it's a "better" high. The cycle would not happen (as
much) IF we looked a little more harshly at the start of the path, not the
end.
B) "Our society is now 'drug dependent'". Take a look around and see what
is happening in 'normal' society. How are many of our 'illnesses' cared
for? By having a doctor write a prescription for - you guessed it -
drugs. Of course, this won't go away because the more the doctors
prescribe drugs, the more drug companies have to lobby government. THIS
is a major hurdle in the war on drugs. I presonally think it's pathetic
that so many of our children are on some 'heavy' drugs just because they
want to be children but the parents want them to be 'civilized'. And
going back to point 1 - if you introduce children to drugs at an early
age, what's to stop them from using 'recreational' drugs?
There are many, many sides to this story most of which are not readily
apparent. The war on drugs has to include a grass roots effort in
teaching our children that they CAN have a future IF and ONLY IF they stay
clear of drugs AS A WHOLE.