[QUOTE=EddyTeddyFreddy]
Heh. That reminds me of the time, almost a decade ago, when I was driving a friend’s ten-year-old son somewhere and the talk turned to drugs. Knowing I was dealing with a smart, level-headed kid, I opted for honesty and told him how long I’d smoked pot, what it was like, and my reason for quitting: that while mostly harmless and mildly enjoyable, pot was, in the end, a dead-end waste of time. Time much better spent on reading or doing or in some way actually living instead of vegetating.
Turns out the kid, now 18, never forgot our chat. He’s also never done drugs. No, I don’t claim credit for that, or only a small amount; most of the credit goes to his parents and his own intelligence and character. But it’s good to know that in a small way being honest about the topic instead of resorting to scare tactics did some good.
[/QUOTE]
I mostly agree, with the caveat that dead-end time-wasting is okay in my book as long as it is just a minor pastime - the danger lies in making it the pastime. Moderation is the key; the problem, in this as in many other things, is that moderation is hard to come by - people tend to go to extremes, either advocating total abstinance as a moral imperative, or insisting on a right to total stoner degeneracy.
If I had to give advice to a kid (and I will have to at some point), it would be something along the lines of this: look after your health and your own interests; eat healthy and in moderation, and exercise, because good habits in this respect will serve you well as you get older; only drink or drug in moderation, and so that the drinking or drugging is something which makes a time already set aside for recreation and socialization more enjoyable - never, ever slip into the habit of losing other desired activities for drinking or drugging; and give it up if you see any signs of this.
In other words, the drug advice would be in the context of overall health and lifestyle advice - the keys being to develop good habits and the ability to correct bad habits. To my mind, drugging too much is simply a life, happiness and health damaging bad habit, much the same as being overweight or out of shape. My problems with the current way of handling the matter is it makes a false moral issue out of it.
