Drugs

This is true, Hangedman ... but you see my views on drugs are not the norm ... I grew up with parents who wouldn't have known (and still don't know) the difference between heroin and marijuana ... They just told me to avoid drugs as it would ruin my life, and I obeyed them ... until I was 17 ...

After six years of pretty heavy usage (an average of once every 2-3 days, I would have said), I stopped and haven't returned (Sept 30 will mark 9 years of going without) ... I know the positives and negatives of the drug scene (lost two friends who moved from using to dealing) ... and I'm hoping that my experiences will give my children a more balanced view ... I will tell them honestly about the positives too (while emphasing that most of my experiences weren't while I was living in my own country ... which has the death penalty for possession of a minimal amount of marijuana)

But it's a tough job ... and in the end most kids go through phases when they are not interested in listening to their parents, and really need to make their own mistakes to learn from ...

In fact, my biggest problem is that the oldest of my three kids was born with serious heart defects (doing well now after four operations) and I want him to live the "cleanest" life possible ...

this of course, doesn't fit in with the philosophy my wife and I agreed on before the kids came which is ... "We're advising you of the dangers, but if you insist on experimenting, We'd rather you did it at home, so there's less danger of getting caught, etc"

But that does leave drinking the wine bottle by myself we dine out!

Reading The Naked Lunch at 15 didn't make me into a heroin addict, and I managed to read De Quincey without beating a path to my nearest opium den.

I am an alcoholic (dry for over 10 years now), but I wouldn't blame seeing the Lost Weekend, or listening to Tom Waits or the Pogues.

Nobody is going to turn to drugs just because a few people (myself included) discuss them in either a frivolous or serious manner - the worst that could happen to a youngster as a result of reading this site is that they might get the impression that theatre is spelled theater.

Don't quite know what brought this on, although I know hdfisch has brought it up in the past ... my two cents, yes there are kids going through here, and yes PA should not be seen to be promoting drug culture ...

but sometimes discussion of it is unavoidable ... and I don't know where the censorship should begin (or how necessary it is) ... I just did 7 Hawkwind reviews ... and although Reefer Madness and LSD weren't among the songs covered, the topic was never far away ... I just mentioned "stoner jams" a lot ... is that offensive? ... should that be removed?

barbs wrote: If you have a child who is 14 or 15, girl or boy and they are interested in music and using this site to broaden their understanding, or maybe just wanting to comm with someone, is it really Ok that adults, because we are so LIBERATED and FREE to do whatever we want, PROMOTE how good it is to take certain substances that are illegal, toxic and clincially proven to be damaging to the health of young people.

Just a small point on this one barbs, as a parent of three kids aged 8 and below, I understand where you're coming from, but it's our duty to educate our kids as much as we can, way before they learn about it from the internet (or anywhere else for that matter) ...

Trotsky wrote: barbs wrote: If you have a child who is 14 or 15, girl or boy and they are interested in music and using this site to broaden their understanding, or maybe just wanting to comm with someone, is it really Ok that adults, because we are so LIBERATED and FREE to do whatever we want, PROMOTE how good it is to take certain substances that are illegal, toxic and clincially proven to be damaging to the health of young people.  Just a small point on this one barbs, as a parent of three kids aged 8 and below, I understand where you're coming from, but it's our duty to educate our kids as much as we can, way before they learn about it from the internet (or anywhere else for that matter) ...

The thing about that is you need to educate your children about it yourself, there will always be people advocating things you dont want your children participating in. Its up to you to raise your child, and no matter what you do there will always be movies, videogames, songs, heck even idiots wearing a shirt with a pot leaf on it. Its your responsibility to educate your children as best you can (like Trotsky said) before they get any other exposure to it. So when they hit 14-15 go to highschool and are (wether you like it or not) exposed to it, they can make an informed decision.

I smoked Pot for the first time at 13 years old, and though there have been many times where it has become dangerously close to addiction ( at 14 and then again at 17) ive stopped almost entirely now (except occaisonally at social functions where its offered, but ive stopped buying it and doing it alone. Once a month if its a busy month id say). I didnt start because tv or internet said it was fine, but becuase it was something I had never experianced. Its pretty much unavoidable that a person will try it eventually, the most you can do is make sure the child understands what it is.