Why are so many on drugs today???

[CrazyinVA]

Well, if my 30 year high school reunion is any indication, I'd say there are plenty of people from my generation (I'm 50) who were heavy pot-smokers back in the day, that turned out to be very successful adults. I think for some, pot is a gateway drug, but in my opinion those are the people that are genetically pre-disposed to addiction anyway. I do think one can be a "casual" pot smoker just as one can be a "casual/social" drinker. But as has been said, many of our difficult children don't fall into that category.

I agree that it's not that drugs are more prominent, it's that we hear about them more because of the incredible "instant news" society we're in now. We also are all coming from a skewed perspective, because so many of our difficult children are involved in drugs or have friends that are involved in drugs. My daughters are 4 years apart, but only one got involved with the "drug crowd" in high school. I've thought often about how much my perception of their high school changed in those 4 years; when Oldest was there I never heard of any drugs, because she didn't hang out with that crowd. When Youngest was there, all I heard about was this person and that person being arrested or overdosing or being suspended. It seemed like it was the drug haven of our area. I don't think the school atually changed in those 4 years, I think I just saw it from a different perspective when Youngest was there.

 

[susiestar]

I do think the US War on Drugs was terribly misguided. Clearly there are those who can lead productive lives and use pot. There are lots who cannot. A staggering number of crimes are related to sub abuse - I think it is around ninety five percent in some areas. This is a HUGE deal.

But not all alcohol, pot or anything else is bad. Alcohol is still the most effective cough suppressant we know of. In areas where water is contaminated it can often be made potable by adding a cup of red wine to it. Many cancer docs recommend that patients use pot to help with the awful side effects of chemo and radiation. There are a LOT of medical uses for pot that actually would benefit some people.

People seem to like to get high. We can get addicted to almost anything. I wish there was a solution, but we have been trying to find one for as long as we have had civilizations.

 

[Nancy]

CrazyinVa, I'm a little older than you are but many of the people we went to college with were heavy pot smokers. I mean we really were the original Hippie generation, you know flower children, long dresses, long hair in braids, flowers in our hair, sit-in protests in the college, Kent State May 4, 1970 happened just a few miles from my college during my sophomore year. But it was very different back then, we (let me be perfectly clear I did not smoke pot, but probably only because I had very little money and had to work full time while attending college and commuted so there was no opportunity) smoked pot but continued going to school, getting good grades, and becoming productive members of society. We were going to change the world, it was all about peace. We were weekend hippies and weekday professionals.

And besides that pot was very different back then. Today it is so much more powerful and laced with many other drugs. I agree there are many people who can smoke pot and turn out find, but drugs are so much easier to get now and almost everyone I know who smokes pot also does other drugs. Back then we smoked pot and that was it.

Nancy

 

[InsaneCdn]

I agree with Nomad's take on self-medication being a factor.

When I got my ADHD diagnosis as an adult, the psychiatrist told me that the five most common "drugs" used by non-diagnosed or non-medicated ADHD adults... in effect self-medicating... are:
- caffeine
- nicoteine
- alcohol
- marajuana
- cocaine

And all of them have been around in some form (not necessarily current street form) since the beginning of time.
So no, I don't think its a new problem, or even necessarily a bigger problem in terms of the number of people affected - when I was in highschool, 10% of the student body came to school drunk daily, and half did so some of the time...

The bigger problem is... street drugs are not pure. They can be impure by poor handling, or on purpose. You don't know what you're getting. The rapid addictiveness of some of the new stuff is astounding. To me, THAT is the bigger problem. And of course... there are no easy answers.