It turns out that the use of marijuana is rising in popularity among some Americans, from 6.1 percent using marijuana in 2008 to 6.6 percent in 2009, according to the latest survey released in September by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
I am left to wonder what it is that keeps Americans clinging to a drug that is both harmful to their minds and bodies, and illegal.
A pamphlet on the SAMHSA website warns:
“Marijuana affects your brain, ... affects the nerve cells in the part of the brain where memories are formed. ... [It] can limit your body’s ability to fight off infection ... [and] has been linked with depression, anxiety, and personality disturbances.”
Yet, I find myself unconvinced. Is marijuana use any worse for you than widely available drugs like alcohol and tobacco?
Alcohol has been solidly linked to liver cirrhosis, various cancers, unintentional injuries, and violence. If you drink too much alcohol it is possible you will die, but death from overdosing on marijuana is nearly impossible.
A real approach to decreasing the use of marijuana and other illegal drugs in modern America needs to take the facts into perspective.
For example, the SAMHSA pamphlet attempts to use peer-pressure by saying: “Most teens aren’t smoking marijuana. According to a 2006 study, about four out of five 12-to-17-year-old youths had never even tried marijuana.”
Okay. But what if you add other similarly harmful drugs in, like alcohol and tobacco, and the age is increased a little. Now you are conceivably near 75 percent.
A new approach to drugs, including marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco, is in order. Simply saying drugs are “bad for you,” doesn’t work. If drugs are bad for you in a really meaningful and immediate way then alcohol would still be banned like it was in the 1920s and 1930s.
No, instead, the true message should be that drugs are incredibly ordinary and pathetically boring. If you want to be like everyone else, then do drugs. And, if you want to be an extraordinary person who rises to the top and really makes a difference in the world, then don’t do drugs.
Of course, changing the message wouldn’t be easy. The best approach is to take a cue from the great kings of centuries past. Encourage everyone to be a king (or queen, if you prefer).
A king is someone who has an inescapable, fate-given role as long as he is on this earth. He is truly responsible for everyone in his domain, which could be family, workplace, community, or region.
When the king is good and doesn’t use drugs, his subjects are good. When the king is bad and does use drugs, his kingdom runs amuck. He’s neglected his chance to be exceptional.
Unlike bureaucratic institutions like SAMHSA, the king has the body of a man and his every move and thought can be an exceptional template for every person around him to follow. No institutional study or “that’s bad” can achieve that.
It’s real spiritual transcendence—minus the munchies.
For comments Evan Mantyk can be reached at [email protected]
I am left to wonder what it is that keeps Americans clinging to a drug that is both harmful to their minds and bodies, and illegal.
A pamphlet on the SAMHSA website warns:
“Marijuana affects your brain, ... affects the nerve cells in the part of the brain where memories are formed. ... [It] can limit your body’s ability to fight off infection ... [and] has been linked with depression, anxiety, and personality disturbances.”
Yet, I find myself unconvinced. Is marijuana use any worse for you than widely available drugs like alcohol and tobacco?
Alcohol has been solidly linked to liver cirrhosis, various cancers, unintentional injuries, and violence. If you drink too much alcohol it is possible you will die, but death from overdosing on marijuana is nearly impossible.
A real approach to decreasing the use of marijuana and other illegal drugs in modern America needs to take the facts into perspective.
For example, the SAMHSA pamphlet attempts to use peer-pressure by saying: “Most teens aren’t smoking marijuana. According to a 2006 study, about four out of five 12-to-17-year-old youths had never even tried marijuana.”
Okay. But what if you add other similarly harmful drugs in, like alcohol and tobacco, and the age is increased a little. Now you are conceivably near 75 percent.
A new approach to drugs, including marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco, is in order. Simply saying drugs are “bad for you,” doesn’t work. If drugs are bad for you in a really meaningful and immediate way then alcohol would still be banned like it was in the 1920s and 1930s.
No, instead, the true message should be that drugs are incredibly ordinary and pathetically boring. If you want to be like everyone else, then do drugs. And, if you want to be an extraordinary person who rises to the top and really makes a difference in the world, then don’t do drugs.
Of course, changing the message wouldn’t be easy. The best approach is to take a cue from the great kings of centuries past. Encourage everyone to be a king (or queen, if you prefer).
A king is someone who has an inescapable, fate-given role as long as he is on this earth. He is truly responsible for everyone in his domain, which could be family, workplace, community, or region.
When the king is good and doesn’t use drugs, his subjects are good. When the king is bad and does use drugs, his kingdom runs amuck. He’s neglected his chance to be exceptional.
Unlike bureaucratic institutions like SAMHSA, the king has the body of a man and his every move and thought can be an exceptional template for every person around him to follow. No institutional study or “that’s bad” can achieve that.
It’s real spiritual transcendence—minus the munchies.
For comments Evan Mantyk can be reached at [email protected]
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