Guest Opinion: Cultural shift supporting marijuana is misguided
By Will Wooton
In recent years attitudes toward the use of cannabis have shifted. This is mostly due to a massive legal and public policy effort to de-criminalize its use. While de-criminalization was the goal, the pro-pot movement went about it by claiming it as medicine. In some cases it can have medicinal benefits, though these are extremely limited.
All of this was done at the risk of damage to our developing teens. The perception among teens now is that marijuana is natural, and medicinal, even though there are multiple studies showing real danger to the developing brain from its use. The cultural shift toward accepting marijuana as “harmless” is misguided and, informed by science, more warped than that used by big tobacco in the late ‘80s.
The initial movement to de-criminalize in San Francisco was to keep AIDS and cancer patients from having formal charges brought against them. In the case of these terminal illnesses, medications used to control symptoms cause extreme nausea that most medications cannot control, and serious weight loss is exacerbated due to loss of appetite. Marijuana in these cases is helpful and is usually consumed orally, not smoked, for obvious risks to the immune system.
The California Medical Marijuana Program lists AIDS, cancer, wasting syndrome, seizure disorders, anorexia, glaucoma, and then a more general inclusion of anything protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This general inclusion has grown into “prescribing” medical marijuana for just about anything, even disorders that are exacerbated by marijuana use. This all contributes to the teen perception of marijuana being “harmless,” “natural,” and “medicinal.” I am even told that it “cures cancer.” All false statements.
As a drug, marijuana is as natural as cocaine or heroin. The usual debate starts out with, “Weed isn’t a drug, and it comes from the earth.” Teens that we see in treatment are brainwashed into thinking marijuana is the only plant that gets you high, neglecting to think about most other drugs of abuse or the fact that many lethal poisons are “natural.” Many also fail to realize that marijuana has been genetically engineered to increase potency levels.
At any local high school, you can easily find out from teens what doctors will write a medical marijuana prescription (only $39), and where the local dispensaries are. Recently, because of federal enforcement of drug laws, some dispensaries have converted to “delivery only” services.
Over the past few years more teens are entering our treatment program boasting a medical marijuana card. This is just one more wall to break down in the process of treatment, but that’s easily accomplished by presenting legitimate research and facts.
High-potency marijuana strains are responsible for an increase in habitual use. The mild cannabis plant of earlier generations is gone. We have found many kids that prefer smoking weed to other drugs, and even describe the high as more intense than seemingly harder drugs.
Many studies are showing that not only does marijuana have profound effects on the memory and problem solving, but also these effects are long-term. Regular users do not learn from errors and therefore do not improve memory and problem-solving skills.
More and more evidence is pouring in that high-potency strains contribute to anxiety and depressive disorders and in some cases contribute to full-blown psychotic symptoms. These risks exist regardless of age, but are significantly worse for the developing brains of our teens.
Wooton is program director of Pacific Treatment Services in Escondido and co-author of “Bring Your Teen Back from the Brink: Get Educated, Get Tough and Get Help to Save Your Teen from Drugs.” Reach him at will.pts@me.com.
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What a pile of misinformation. You should do research before writing this biased dribble. If you wish to see first hand that cannabis is medicinal (with pictures), go to the website of Cannabis Science. There you will see proof that medical marijuana can destroy skin cancer tumors. Further investigation will show that cannabis alleviates a plethora of conditions. Pain, PTSD, the list is extensive. Your article, though well written, is misguided!
What a shame to see you put down a very knowledgable, educated friend of mine that has helped us personally and many other young teenagers with drug use and addiction problems. We are talking about the Cannabis that is available to our young children right here right now that is highly addictive and can be so potent that it can cause death even to a first time user!! This is not the same marijuana we smoked back in the 70's this is stonger and much more addicting.
This is what the problem is these kids are getting addicted to it and then they want more of a rush/high and look for more thrills and turn to other drugs to get that so they can ecape to get away from anything they want to run from which turns out to be life in general!!
Sure it may destory skin cancer tumors but it will also destroy the lives of so many that will be our future generation because it will kill all their brain cells too!! I call it the stupid drug!! It just plain makes you stupid and is merely a gateway to drugs like Heroine or Meth!! Ive seen it happen first hand!! I have seen so much addiction with young kids and how its destroyed their lives and anyone close to them. So many people and families have no clue as to how much damage this drug can do to their teen and or family member and to watch first hand the distruction in a young teens life is devastating. I have sat in groups and listened to the kids all share the same story just different faces and the addiction that came about with the use of this drug..their lives became unmanagable they lost interest in school and felt like they had no purpose! With out help and getting educated about why they felt the way they did and why they couldnt go a day with out it!! I beg to differ this is an outstanding and informational article every teen and parent should read and get educated about!! There is nothing misguiding at All!!!
I think that the only thing to really say is here are the facts… "insert location of facts here". If marijuana kills, show us autopsy reports indicating such, if marijuana causes brain damage, then place a link to the scientific study.
To paste a link:
1.) open up a new browser tab.
-Its the plus sign next to the tab your currently in
2.) go to source of information by searching google or somewhere (This could be a scientific journal, a research firm or directly from an MD or coroner with technical facts.)
3.) go to address bar and click it.
-the whole address will turn blue when succesful
4.) right click and choose copy
5.) click the tab just to the left of the tab you are currently on in your browswer, (this message thread).
6.) click reply
7.) right click the comment section and click paste.
I think you got the rest since you posted here once already.
thanks
Haha, "so potent that it can cause death even to a first time user!!"… Quite funny…
Ignorance is not a virtue and the real addiction is the golden cash cow that prohibition addict cant keep their snouts out of the trough. Do some independent research and disregard any thing that comes out of the government for they have a history of Lies and misinformation
You're crazy,seek help.
This author's comments are full of errors. Clearly, fact checking is not a priority. This should not be a surprise, given that the author is a director of a treatment center…and his center benefits directly from marijuana prohibition. In fact, marijuana prohibition (and NOT its use) essentially creates the market for such treatment services, as a significant portion of treatment patients are referred by the court system as an alternative to jail.
1). "many lethal poisons are “natural.”…this is true. However, marijuana is not a poison. In fact, it is non-toxic and can not produce death by overdose. (Nobody has ever died from pot.). The DEA's own administrative law judge, Francis Young, said in his report for the DEA that "cannabis is one of the safest therapeutic substances known to man."
2). "High-potency marijuana strains are responsible for an increase in habitual use." Blatantly false. Higher potency requires less usage to achieve the same effect. Just vodka does not increase alcohol consumption, more than beer or vine does. You just need to drink more with later.
Marijuana is objectively safer than most things you consume everyday….especially alcohol. This author's comments deny science and history. The most appropriate approach is an honest one. Ultimately, marijuana will be legalized, regulated, and taxed…and we will look back at this nonsense and wonder what took so long.
The difference between the websites promoting marijuana that some of you have learned so much from and that of the author of this article is that the author learned his information from a life of hard lessons and redemption through education that required actual study and dedication to understanding the science of addiction as well as the human element with all their pain or their perspectives. If you check out the authors website you'll find years of experience and hundreds of clients who have needed help with marijuana, and found it.
It is odd and for me and insult that one would suggest PTSD can be treated with marijuana. As a combat veteran of our Afghanistan war the last thing I want to do is bend over and depend on a substance to help me deal with what I feel. Smoking pot doesn't make a suffering person stronger or better. PTSD kicks my ass and controls my behaviors every day of my life, but to medicate myself ? To pay someone to make me feel emotionally better about war? That's ridiculous.
There is misinformation about many products and the makers of them will show evidence that promotes their interests. Websites promoting scientific research of marijuana will no doubt have a positive view of the substance and provide truths and half truths. Alcohol companies and tobacco companies started the trend years ago. Tell the world the benefits of their product and when someone dies or is hurt, they will explain their product was misused. So, smokers who get lung cancer misused cigarettes and drinkers who get liver cancers and alcohol induced hepatitis misused the product as well. The lessons should already have been learned. Chemicals hurt our blodies when we smoke or drink or inject what isn't meant to be there. All drugs have warning labels because they have ALL killed someone.
The above article is but a glimpse of what a Drug and Alcohol treatment professional see's and knows is going on in one community in North County. Every county has the same problems. Every single one. Drugs! This was a great article. Thank you.
You can actually find negative scientific information, from quotable sources for other things that are like just as much for example, beer, alcohol, god, fossil fuels etc: surely this substance isn't the one exception to a lack of negative review "just because people like it".
You wouldn't even talk to a counselor about your disabling PTSD? Please, for us help yourself get better. There is almost nothing that tears my heart as much as our veterans. You guys kicked butt and helped us. Let us help you now. Not necessarily with the weed. Just talk to someone or a support group, or something.
Jake, I hear you and I'm working on that. Thanks for your support.
The problem is that, if any vet with PTSD admits to marijuana use, then they may be in danger of losing their other VA medical benefits. So vets can't really be honest about it.
You are so right on and THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!
Amen.
1. He didn't say that marijuana was a poison… only that teens rationalize that because marijuana is a natural plant, it must be safe. But there are many natural plants that are poisonous.
2. Just because it may not take as much to get the high you want, people tend to want that high again. Thus, smoke again. Sometimes more than once a day, just to keep it going.
3. Just cause its safer than alcohol, doesn't mean its safe. Weak argument.
Kids shouldnt smoke, but I'm all for adults choosing to smoke what they want and get taxed up the wazoo for it.
some required reading for anyone who wants to offer an opinion.
First, the short history of the marijuana laws at http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/whiteb1.h... This is funny and fascinating.
Licit and Illicit Drugs at http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/c... The best overall review of the subject ever written. If you haven’t read this book, then you simply don’t know the subject.
The Drug Hang-Up at http://druglibrary.org/special/king/dhu/dhumenu.h... This is another excellent history of the subject.
Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy at http://druglibrary.org/schaffer This is a collection of the full text of every major government commission report on the drug laws from around the world over the last 100 years. They all reached similar conclusions.
The drug laws were the product of ignorance and nonsense. In the US – which has driven worldwide drug prohibition for more than fifty years – the laws were the result of racism and lunacy so stupid that it just makes people laugh today.
Just curious, since your name is part of the url for this vast storehouse of misinformation, what is your financial connection to the website? Do you advocate the use of marijuana for your personal financial gain? Makes a rational reader wonder what your true motivations are.
Which exact part did you think was misinformation? I am guessing that you never read any of it and, therefore, couldn't explain your own words.
Go sell crazy somewhere else.
In a world where Alcohol and tobacco are running rampant I personally welcome this attitude shift. As an advocate of legalization I can recognize that it's not a benign drug and it can produce serious consequences in developing minds and can trigger other mental problems in people with the predisposition to yet if compared to Alcohol, Marijuana is still the safest alternative for recreational use. Approx. 80,000 people DIE every year directly due to Alcohol abuse; NONE(that's 0) have died from Marijuana use directly in recorded history, it is impossible to overdose on Marijuana. The elevated potency just means that more strains and available and it'll take you less to smoke to get the same high(btw Marijuana has a high "ceiling unlike cocaine that you need more and more to get the same high as the first time, with Marijuana the same amount of T.H.C will give you the same amount of "High"). So when you have something that can replace a true menace to public health with a less toxic substance then I am ALL for it. Specially when it would also at the same time diminish the financial power of gangs and cartels, provide extra income to a dying economy via taxation and provide hundreds and thousand of jobs to a highly unemployed country. The shift in attitude is a blessing in disguise.
Marijuana was originally outlawed for two major reasons. The first was because “All Mexicans are crazy and marijuana is what makes them crazy.” The second was the fear that heroin addiction would lead to the use of marijuana – exactly the opposite of the modern “gateway” idea.
Only one MD testified before Congress for the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. The representative of the American Medical Association testified that marijuana was not a dangerous drug and there was no reason for the law. See the full transcripts of the hearings for the MTA at http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/taxact/taxac...
The only other “expert” was James Munch. His sole claim to fame was that he had injected marijuana directly into the brains of 300 dogs, and two of them died. He also testified in court, under oath, that marijuana could make your fangs grow six inches long and drip with blood, and that it could turn you into a bat.
Mr. Munch was the only “expert” in the US who thought that marijuana should be illegal so he was appointed US Official Expert on marijuana, where he served for 25 years.
I agree with Michael. I read this entire article. You sound like a federal robot, spewing out the same biased propaganda again, and again. These "treatment centers" are a joke. The kids only go there because they don't want to go to prison. The illegality of cannabis is the only thing making it dangerous. Teens have to resort to underground dealers for cannabis when it should be easily available in a safe, and convenient way. Also cannabis is in no way being genetically engineered. We just have more advanced growing techniques now. Please re write this whole article after you've done a bit of research.
Wow talk abuot misinformation. I love how you just said …."The kids only go there because they don't want to go to prison Have you ever had a child go through an addiction problem? Well until you have you should be very careful with what you say. One of these "treatment centers" have saved not only my own child but many kids I know. They also save families. At least the author of the article didn't offend anyone.
Do you think your child would have been better off if they spent a good stretch in prison, instead?
My child did not need to go to prison because of the amazing help she got with her treatment center..it saved her life. You are a very misguided person. For you to say that treatment centers are ONLY an alternative to prison is so limited. Try seeing some gray…not everything is black and white.
No one ever died from pot use? Really? Tell that to the Lipscomb family. Regardless of who pulled the trigger this event was the result of a psychotic episode related to marijuana. Marijuana impaired drivers create fatal traffic accidents. I heard Mr. Wooten speak at the Poway Townhall meeting. I also heard teens he has worked with speak about him and his program and they were all moving testimonies to the power of his program.
The denial of facts and the absolute refusal to see that they pot is a drug is apparent. Clearly the need to smoke overides reason. Everything Mr. Wooten stated is true. I suppose if he had unlimited space, he could cite each and every study to prove it.
Americans no longer approve of this failed war on marijuana. Whether to smoke it or not is a personal choice – and not that of Washington D.C. Prohibition is failed policy, and is simply a bullheaded relic of our grandparents generation.
This article rightfully focuses on the destruction to teen lives from use of marijuana. Kids as young as 12 or 13 are using marijuana and "graduating" to harder drugs because the marijuana "high" becomes too mundane, all within a few short months. It is ruining their lives, their families and their futures! Big Pharma should distill the chemicals in marijuana that provide pain relief for ailing people, but the chemicals that create the "high" and addiction to marijuana, alcohol and on to other hardcore drugs should not be available. No one wants cancer or AIDS patients to suffer. That is an entirely different issue from the terrible, devastating toll of rampant drug and alcohol use by teens and young adults. Kids DIE from drug and alcohol use. Do NOT confuse the issue by referencing dying cancer patients! These are 2 separate crises and policy issues we must confront! Let's take care of terminally ill patients, BUT NO DRUGS OR ALCOHOL FOR KIDS!
marijuana psychosis for you to argue about: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,21...
Just remember that this is just an opinion piece, and it's not an informed, researched or even correct opinion.
The culture has shifted in the right direction. We know this because we saw a correct culture shift surrounding tobacco. The author even pointed this out, thinking that it somehow helped his argument… so if the culture is wrong about weed… how about the publics opinion on meth? Correct or incorrect?
Alcohol, heroin, cocaine, crack, bath salts etc. Are we right or wrong about those drugs? Should we make booze illegal again?
The author seems to think that because he hates weed, the culture is wrong. Cannabis is much safer than alcohol and less addicting than tobacco.
Everyone knows tobacco kills. The point I took from this was that tobacco was advertising that it was *good* for people. I also didn't see anywhere that he stated he hates weed either. Just because marijuana is 'safer' than the others, doesn't mean its safe for kids.
I love how people just ignore the actual topic of this piece, and throw in things that aren't even there.
Over my dead body will I let the state prescribe what I may eat, drink or smoke.
I alone own my body.
I find it incomprehensible that anyone but orthodox socialists would ever argue for state control over what citizens consume.
Adults do a lot of things that children should not do. That cannot be an argument to prevent adults from doing it. With that logic, one should also prohibit sex, voting, drinking, driving cars and many other things that adults do but children are not allowed to do for whatever reasons (with varying age limits).
I completely agree with DDSD. I feel the people making these negative comments have never had a child in crisis before. And lets mix in a teenager's "rationale" for using any illegal drug. If we make it legal then they are justified in their actions. The author was simply stating that a culture is shifting. Medical marijuana cards are far too easy to get in this State, in my opinion. I agree for terminally ill patients, but for some one suffering from depression it just seems counter productive. Where do you draw the line? As DDSD stated above."NO DRUGS OR ALCOHOL FOR KIDS! "
I have severe depression, always have, always will. I started consuming about 16 years ago, instantly my depression went away. I could smoke, and for like 3-5 days I feel great. Not a loser, not the smallest penis, not this not that, then it comes back. One single puff, and boom, right back here with you guys, not feeling so sorry…and on and on.
BTW, there are water addictions, alcohol addictions, sex addictions. Addiction is addiction and sometimes we just gotta cope as adults in the adult world. BTW, not saying heroin should be legalized, just something that is non-toxic and non of your business to put it simply.
Historically speaking, the biggest single cause of drug epidemics among US children is hysterical, anti-drug campaigns. The first example was the huge teen drinking epidemic during alcohol prohibition. Other examples include speed, LSD, and glue sniffing, among others.
If someone is sick, what business is it of yours what medicines they take? Do you want me to come over and go through your medicine cabinets and tell you which medicines you can take?
I do not believe at all that the writer is saying that trully sick individuals are the problem. But kids using the legallilty issues are. In fact they are the ones ruining it for the individuals that trully need the help.
I think some of the people commenting on this story are taking things personally. The concern here is the effect of marijuana on children/teens and the developing brain. The issue taken up with medicinal marijuana is not the fact that some people receive relief for certain conditions, but that teens are using this as an excuse to be able to purchase marijuana. A lot of teens and 20 somethings I know are card carrying buyers, that do not have cancer, glaucoma, etc. I personally have noticed that they are more anxious or paranoid since starting smoking and in a backwards thinking way, smoke to calm themselves. Multiple times a day. Its this self-diagnosis, or just a plain excuse to get a card, that is a major concern with young people.
Also, just because marijauna does not *directly* kill people does not mean that it is *safe*. Claiming that its "safer than alcohol", also does not mean it is safe.
I also noticed that no where in the article did he say that it should not be legalized, but just that the debate and pro-legalizing movement has affected teenagers and their way of thinking when it comes to marijuana.
Read more carefully people before getting your knickers in a bunch over the debate of losing your pot.
The rates of use of marijuana by teens in California has actually dropped since Prop. 215 was passed. Kinda blows the whole argument in the article.
I don't see that it does. The number may have dropped (supposedly), but what number was it at and where is it now? How were these statistics measured? Fact is – a lot of teens smoke weed, and it's not good for them.
"THE CHILDREN"
If they really cared for the children they'd legalize and regulate marijuana. If they really wanted to keep any substance out of the hands of "The Children" they first must take control of distribution away from black market dealers. They haven't accomplished that in 40+ years at a taxpayers cost in the hundreds of billions. It's time to treat marijuana as we do alcohol. My 27 year old daughter still gets carded when she buys alcohol, yet your 13 year old can buy anything the black market dealer has for a price whether it be money or "something else".
FACT: Your kids have a better chance dying at the hands of someone enforcing marijuana laws than they do from ingesting it.(ZERO %).
LEAP member, NYPD, ret.
http://www.pitt.edu/~ugr/Hrych2.pdf No Gateway Drug
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57456999-1...
wont-boost-teen-pot-use-study-finds/
Wow! The haters are rampant! I didn't have time to read everyone's comment but I'm pretty sure Will's article was specific to teen substance abuse. How about everyone adjust their panties and concentrate on the focus of the article. It was not an attack on ADULTS using marijuana. I personally found this article interesting because my child started smoking pot 7 years ago and ended up using anything to get high, including smoking oxycontin. Children should not be SMOKING anything. My child went to a recovery home "treatment center" and has 5 years sober. Not all "treatments" are the same and should be tailored to the individual. Some people have a better quality of life using marijuana and that's also very specific to the individual. My experience is that most kids SMOKING pot are not improving the quality of there lives. I hope that none of you commenters are trying to justify your childs drug use and are just responding to something you feel passionate about. Let's focus people! The article was really trying to educate people about teen substance abuse. And really!! If you're that huge of an advocate, this is not the forum to get it done and I'm pretty sure you haven't converted anyone.
Finally, someone who can read.
MerryWanna should be legal for adults to grow and enjoy. It's not MY job to raise YOUR child it'YOURS. Children are restricted from many adult activities.
This opinion is just a anti-MerryWanna screed by a guy who makes his living off of the prohibition of MJ.
If ,in spite of your best efforts to keep your child away from MerryWanna,your child does use it,do you want to add the burden of a police record on top of that if the cops catch him/her?
I couldn’t get past tlhree paragraphs,what a load of horsesh**.
Might want to put the pipe down a minute, I don't think "tlhree" is a number.
I want my two minutes back, this is what passes as an "opinion" in today's world? No wonder we are falling apart. If your "opinion" is the earth is flat, why don't you refrain from wasting our time with it? Marijuana has been used as medicine for thousands of years, it's the only non toxic drug known to man. The states that have legalized medical marijuana have not seen an increase of teen use. They have enjoyed a 9% decrease in fatal car accidents though. The propaganda is getting absurd. The leading medical institute of israel recently came out and said the only problems with medical marijuana were it wasn't getting prescribed often enough or quick enough. I'm a father of two young girls, I'm MUCH more worried about tobacco, alcohol, and prescription drug abuse. Those will actually kill them. No kids should be smoking anything, and no one with a brain should be supporting prohibition. As for the magical "gateway"…LMAO. There is a reason this mythical monster has never been proven when studied, It is a joke of a theory. All rapist began with masturbation, is masturbating a "gateway" to rape? Please read up on the hundreds of scientific studies before posting any more nonsense. You are getting people killed by promoting this stupidity, not only the poor Mexicans to the south, but all the old and unfortunately uneducated who continue to pop deadly addictive pills when a little weed would work just as well.
What I read was the opinion that all the hype and controversy of late, particulary the "pro-legalize" viewpoint, is leading young people to think that marijuana is safe, or "ok" for them to use, when in reality, studies have shown it can negatively affect their brain which is still developing.
So do a plethora of other substances negatively effect a developing brain. Legalization with regulation would still keep possession and sale to minors illegal, EXCEPT that the majority of Legal sales would be made by Law Abiding, honest, taxpaying business people instead of by Black market dealers. It will be one or the other based upon how the Drug War has failed. Using the EXACT model we use for alcohol is all that's needed. To say otherwise is being dishonest.
You have two young girls? Come back when you have something relevant and I seriously hope you never do
Wow, if this is any indication of your skills to discuss an issue no wonder your kid is messed up. "go away and don't come back",that's F'n brilliant.
I have facts, science, and statistics on my side. You have the equivalent of old wives tales, boogieman stories, and rumors on your side. Ill debate you anytime you like Einstein.
I have to agree with this article. So many people fall victim to the imposed idea that pot is not harmful or it doesnt cause further problems, take a walk down to skiid row or ask any homeless person what they started with and there answer speaks louder than any medical marijuana doctor or any pro pot activist. I have known and seen too many people influenced by people rationalizing or justifying there own absurd life style. It is our duty as american adults of this great country to protect thee youth, the innocent, and those corrupted by the posion of the sick. Its really sad that so many people would rather see our country countinue to suffer instead of flurish. But i guess the saying is true " misery loves company"
"Imposed idea" Yeah the truth does have a way of changing peoples beliefs,I guess if you don't want to accept truth,science and over 6 thousand years of accepted use by us humans that's your business,unfortunetly you will not be serving your children well by telling them lies or hysterical rhetoric.
If I choose to grow some MerryWanna and enjoy the fruits of my labor how does that affect your little Johhny or Susie? If I get arrested for my use of MJ how does that make your childs life better? What is so difficult about telling your child that MerryWanna is just another thing that they have to be an adult to use/enjoy?
I cant believe people are against weed still.. Just go pop your pills and die. kids get high because they dislike their life. If your kid is getting high, you obviously dont appeal to them as what "life" should be like. Pills, alcohol, and tobacco are the real gateways. Too much use of anything is bad. Stop using cannibis as the scapegoat for crappy.
As someone who reads this newspaper weekly, it's amazing to see so many trying to defend the use of marijuana when the article is directed to teens. Having a son who started his journey into drugs by using this "safe substance", I couldn't be more appalled at how ignorant the defenders are. I have yet to see a teen who starts with pot stay satisfied for long before they are on to the "big boy" drugs – oxy or heroin. My son wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for treatment programs. It's because of those programs that he has a future and a year of sobriety. Until you've raised or watched a teen struggle with this addiction, don't belittle the seriousness of this problem or the impact programs have on saving them. I applaud anyone who supports community awareness and parent education on this continual struggle of teens and drugs.
" I have yet to see a teen who starts with pot stay satisfied for long before they are on to the "big boy" drugs – oxy or heroin."
That's the problem right there, you have absolutely no clue what you're talking about yet you continue to talk. Over a HUNDRED MILLION Americans have tried marijuana, by your rational every third person you see would be using cocaine or heroin. These are the facts, there is a higher correlation with alcohol or tobacco use and hard drugs than marijuana. Only 1% of people who use marijuana ever even try cocaine. The problem is the uneducated who refuse to read, don't keep up with the science, never look at the statistics (that come from the government by the way) are always the same people talking the loudest. You obviously are not prepared to offer any kind of educated opinion on this subject. It sounds like you were a crappy parent, weed didn't turn your kid into a loser, you did. Bill Gates smoked a ton of weed. Steve Jobs smoked weed and did LSD. The last three presidents smoked weed. Over a hundred million Americans have smoked weed. The vast majority of people can have a beer without becoming a drunken bum living in a trash can. Alcohol didn't ruin the drunks life, the drunk did. Weed didn't destroy your child anymore Han the milk you fed him as a baby. Take responsibility for yourself and your kids, stop looking for imaginary scapegoats.
Most people can and do handle MerryWanna, not saying that children should be using it but in my 67 years of experience only two people I knew ended up OD'ng on hard drugs,heroin,the rest are content with MerryWanna.
I raised my three children and all three of them told me that at some point ,before they were 21 they tried MerryWanna, today one of them uses MJ for her medical condition,I encouraged her to get a Drs. recommendation,which she did. The other two do not use MJ. I have been pro MerryWanna since I was 22 my kids seem to have turned out just fine,and all three support the legalization of MJ.
First of all I think it is shameful that people are so passionate about keeping marijuana accessible to teenagers. I think people should put the same passion into encouraging a clean and sober life to our young people . Teaching them how to cope and handle life with clear sober minds . Are those making negative comments regarding this topic parents ? Appearantly they are pot smokers . It is shear ignorance to think that using marijuana may not lead to addiction especially for those that it is hereditary . Why do we want to allow our young people to begin their very precious lives getting high. If the war against drugs isn't fought by someone with passion for sobriety our kids will start out on a negative foot in life . They already can make bad enough choices – anything but encouraging them to be clean is a disservice to them .
Fight for a positive cause such as the writer of this article and not for the right to get high !!
Addiction starts with something … I think this is a well written article that is backed up by facts – and the desire for clean happy young people !!!
Maybe it is something to think about for those who think they know so much about marijuana and the reasons they think it should be legal or it's not harmful .. Do you smoke yourself .. What else have you tried ? And why do you do it .
And then add the pressure of being a teenager . I think all that said we don't need to give teens the access easily ! This fight seems to be about protecting our families and teens not protecting the right to get high ….
Ponder that a while … Why is it so bad to teach sober living . It starts somewhere !
What a bunch of nonsense. How does having access to legal MerryWanna for adults make it easier for your kid to get it? You should be more concerned with them getting alcohol ,drink enough alcohol and you die,but alcohol is legal and well advertised in our society so that's OK. This is the hypocrisy that our children see and they are right to choose the safer alternative MerryWanna.
Legalize MerryWanna for adults,you don't make your kids safer by making adults who choose to use criminals.
By now, guys like this are becoming cultural dinosaurs. This brand of fear mongering and wholly unsubstantiated lies and distortions are seen for what they are more and more these days.
Marijuana compared to other substances, legal and illegal! http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/c23.0.40...
lol, 1-5 "more serious" to "less serious"… really intelligent study there buddy.
Obviously you didn't take the time to see who did the study, Buddy! Hint, it's on the lower right!! You probably won't find it so here; Dr Jack E Henningfield, of the National Institute on Drug Abuse collaborated on it!!!
Let me start off saying to these readers that are not understanding Will's article. Until you have gone through the consequences marijuana causes to a teen and their family then you are not as educated in this as you claim to be. It is quite apparent that you have never been through what many of these families are going through as we speak! So please stop and open your minds to this as to one day it may be you going to Will Wooten knowing he is all you have left to mend the broken family you have from drugs and begging to seek out treatment for your son!
My 22 yr old son is a drug addict . He had a very happy childhood, both mom and dad, stay at home mom, he was a popular Poway High Athletes and life was all he could ask for and to this day he would be the first to agree that life was "perfect". So to that ridiculous readers reply, NO..kids don't use just because they dislike their lives!
The first drug my son "experimented" with was marijuana, as it is with most all other drug addicts . He didn't start with Xanax and Heroin his initial use. He had told himself that marijuana was all he would do and ONLY EVER do. He would never be like the other kids who pop pills and smoke heroin. Eventually it wasn't enough for him . Being the addict he is, marijuana fueled his addiction and he felt invincible and quickly was taking high doses of pain killers and any other drug that came his way. Herion, cocaine, oxy, upper and downers! Anything! Nothing else began to matter except the drugs he wanted and needed and the destructive lifestyle he began to live.
At 20 yrs old he went into a residential treatment and now has been sober for 22 months. He would be the first to tell you that smoking marijuana lit a flame in him that had his addiction blazing for 7 yrs!
Will clearly said that marijuana is very helpful for the very sick people with incurable or debilitating diseases, but being a healthy young teenager seeking out that medicinal marijuana card that is as easy as just paying $39.00 to get is where this article stems from.
I agree with every single sentence and word that this experienced intelligent man has stated in this article!!
My family has been to hell and back from drugs. I can't imagine how some of these readers have the insensitivity to say marijuana isn't a problem because if they have felt or gone through the pain drugs cause to their family , their responses would be completely opposite! Every recovering addict will tell you that marijuana is the problem and that is where it all began!!
Stop just believing what you want to believe and look at the obvious facts that we are living everyday with these teens!!
And how has the current laws protected them?
I am a successful man by most standards. I make a good income help with my church and give back to the community. By all outward apperences my life is wonderful. The catch is that I've lost my family due to pot. As a smoker for 30 years ive been to clinics or programs many times. In the 80s I stopped cocaine through a great program. What I've found is pot is much harder for me to stop. I'm not speaking for anyone but myself. I've been on the front line of the medical marijuana movement for years now push, protesting and gathering signatures. I've attended group meetings where we've ranted and raved about how harmless our plant was. All and I even knew this at the time because I wanted to get high. I've read articles and specifically found ones that leaned towards what I wanted to find. The best is obscure articles based out of Europe from colleges no ones ever heard of.
My wife took my kids and left me because our 12 year old wouldn't stop getting high. Even after this I continue to smoke. I've been to I believe 8 programs in my life to "stop the addiction" I will say this it's my experience that pot while maybe not everyone can ruin a life. I I'll also say that programs are not alike. I've been to some great places that help and have great success and some that are a waist. Sadly the places that are great cost bunch of money and free or county services I've found to be a waist. I don't know what the gentleman who wrote this article program is.
As a mother I've seen first hand what marijuana can do to a family and a teenager. Adults can do whatever they chose to do but as a communtity we need to band together and help KIDS. While I'm not an expert on what pot does medically I would say professionals would be my best source of information. You can read up articles on the Internet and pretty much justify any thinking you so choose.
I do know that most kids don't go to juvenile hall for just smoking pot. Many outpatient programs the judges rule for are designed to help give kids a better idea of what drugs really do to the brain. Their current source of info is always from other kids and the Internet.
How many parents dream of a life for their child of sitting on the couch with their bong "relaxing" the day away. How many of us raise our kids hoping they start with just a little but of pot smoking and then bore of it and go on to use more drugs? For me, I would stand in front of a freight train to keep my kid healthy and motivated that he learns to live his life and be happy without self medicating. Drugs take hold of kids and take away the desire to find their potential. Their brains are still developing all up through their 20's! Why legally allow drugs to be smoked to retard that growth?
If you have a teen in high school right now ask him how easy it is to obtain a medical card. Mine knows tons of kids and they all know it's a joke. The system now is a joke.
It seems to me that something needs to change and allowing teenagers to freely and legally smoke pot that is 10X stronger than the pot they smoked at Woodstock, is not the way to go.
Baccardi 151 Rum is Fifteen Times more potent than Beer. People just use less.
AND with marijuana, potency isn't an issue, because regardless of the potency of marijuana, it is IMPOSSIBLE to OD.
Where in the world is anyone advocating teen agers have access to MerryWanna.
Straw man much?
As I can see this topic has created much debate over "legalizing Marijuana" This really was not the purpose of what I wrote. In my opinion what ADULTS choose to do is truly their choice. If you are truly sick and want to use marijuana then I wish you well and hope it helps you. My thoughts were written as a treatment provider that has seen a sharp rise in KIDS obtaining medical cards solely for the purpose of getting high. Im sure that even true medical marijuana proponents will freely state that no one kid should abuse the system to obtain drugs of any kind. We can all go back and fourth about whats more harmful this drug or that drug. This was not my point at all.
I see sources stated and website figures posted as defensive or justifications for why marijuana is ok. Here is some that Ive used…:
//www.usatoday.com/news/health/wellness/teen-ya/story/2011-12-14/Survey-Teen-pot-use-rises-alcohol-use-declines/51907984/1
http://www.theantidrug.com/pdfs/teen-marijuana-de...
http://ns.umich.edu/new/multimedia/9-videos/20124...
http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/topics-in-b...
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57425725/stud...
This article is a troll. A rehashed bundle of debunked nonsense intended to create traffic as media outlets look to cash in on the growing importance of the marijuana legalization battle.
It's clear who are writing their replies while sitting in a cloud of smoke dillusional that they know something. Don't bother replying to this post as some of us are busy trying to save our children and ither teens who have been affected by this drug to read what YOU have to say.
I agree!! The people defending the right to use mj are SO DEFENSIVE, their emotional maturity is obviously stunted because of the drug use (fact) and they just make caustic, immature remarks because that's all they can do!!
I can't say that I agree with what Mr Wooten is saying completly, i would hate to see anyone who needs something to help their last days months of life be improved. The issue seems to me how to regulate it. I do have some of my son friends who have medically prescribed cards to smoke and believe me they don't need it. They actually buy it and sell it for extra cash.
This seems like abusing to me. If I have to go to rite aid and sign a bunch of releases for my medication why don't these kids? Seems like it takes legal drug dealing.
Also I had my son tell me about how there are groups that are stealing or robbing these delivery services. They call for a order place it and someone drives with a bunch of cash and marijuana to meet them somewhere? How long before someone gets shot over this? Seems like a bad situation waiting to happen.
Excellent article Will Wooton!!!!
This is a conversation that we need to be having! Adolescent substance abuse and dependency is a huge problem that impairs our children’s ability to function, complicates their ability to achieve normal developmental milestones, and prevents the development of sophisticated coping strategies that are critical in achieving success in relationships, work, and emotional regulation. Function is impaired, potential is forfeited, family’s are turned inside out, and some kids die. As a Psychiatrist I see the damage every day.
Legal or illicit substances, the problems our children and their families are facing as a result of teen use (Marijauna/Alcohol/Etc..) are real. Often, by the time they get to Mr. Wooton these kids and their families are in a serious state of crisis. Thank you Mr. Wooton for having helped so many of our children and their families and for the lives that many of us know you have saved. I have watched you do just that over the last fifteen years. Thank you for trying to initiate an open and honest, conversation that might result in the prevention of some of the devastation caused by teenage substance abuse and dependence.
It is important that we have this conversation and we need to be honest and thoughtful for the sake of our children and ourselves. Marijauna and Alcohol aren’t evil but they are addictive and both present potential medical, social, and psychological complications to the users. When it comes to our children, the risk of them being adversely impacted by substance use is huge and potentially catastrophic. I am sure that most proponents of Medical MJ and MJ legalization are responsible and thoughtful in their reasoning and share the concern about the risks expressed in this article. Let’s all just get the facts and try to protect and educate our kids. There are a number of medical illness and serious symptoms of some illnesses that are relieved with Medical MJ. The kids being seen in treatment programs have been using the misinformation, exaggeration, and false and/or unsubstantiated claims about the benefits and safety MJ to rationalize and justify their use and to engage their peers in using with them.
Will it’s great to see you writing for Palmerado. What a great forum for the community to examine and discuss issues. Look forward to future articles.
Guest said; "The kids being seen in treatment programs have been using the misinformation, exaggeration, and false and/or unsubstantiated claims about the benefits and safety MJ to rationalize and justify their use and to engage their peers in using with them. "
RED HERRING. If you want to see lies look to any and all of the Prohibitionist Parsite sites. Gateway? NO, here's Scientific Proof. http://www.pitt.edu/~ugr/Hrych2.pdf
Medical Marijuana increase teen use. NO, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/1206...
So "Dr" who are the real liars?
reminds me a David Icke
While marijuana may have some medicinal qualities, are they so important that we as a society would risk exposing more youth and creating more addicts by the thousands? And those who say you can't get addicted to pot are probably high while they're making that false claim.