Now that we’re about to legalize marijuana for adults, of course there will be discussion about whether we should legalize it for teens as well. I have always been a supporter of legalization, but a few thoughts occur to me, mostly brought on by my advanced age and worldly experience. Ahem.
- Developing Minds.
The first point I would like to make is that this question is not the same as what age a teenager should be allowed to vote, or request euthanasia, or any other human right. Those choices are based on whether a person of a given age has the capability of making a reasonable decision.
With a chemical that affects the brain, the ability to choose takes a back seat to the effects that the substance might have on the developing brain. The main function of the long maturing process in the human race is to protect our children from the dangers of the world (and sometimes the dangers of themselves) until they are able to make their own choices. The decision as to when they are able to choose rationally has been the source of intergenerational warfare from time immemorial.
But when I hear some poor twit being interviewed on television and she says she smokes pot on a daily basis and doesn’t think it will do her any harm, I’d say the damage has already been done. What kind of mind thinks that using any kind of drug on a daily basis is a good idea? Especially one that renders you incapable of driving or operating machinery. I have chronic arthritis pain, but so far it hasn’t become bad enough that I will use even aspirin on a daily basis. The known side affects are just not worth it.
I think that this is part of the problem. There are no proven side effects of heavy marijuana use. People tend to believe what they want to believe in spite of the facts; teenagers even moreso because of a lack of experience in the failures this behaviour produces. So it’s simple for our young friend above to say, “There’s no scientific evidence to prove any harm.”
Take it from an Old Hand
Here is some highly anecdotal evidence from someone who’s been there. It’s been a long time since I used marijuana, but I remember the effects pretty well. And they bear an uncomfortable resemblance to the feelings I experience when I’m having a “senior’s moment,” and can’t make my brain function the way it used to. Of course when I was young, the fuzziness and lack of focus was sort of fun. Now it’s just damned frustrating. The fact that the two experiences are so similar makes it too possible that there is a connection. I will never know for sure how much my small amount of recreational use forty years ago had on how my brain functions today. I wish teens would ask themselves, “Is it worth the risk?”
Depression and Clinical Depression.
Okay, marijuana is not addictive. We all agree. Well, sort of. It isn’t physically addictive for a person in a normal state of mind.
But let’s take a glance at a depressed state of mind. According to my research, regular depression is actually a natural way for the mind to deal with overwhelming stress. Depression removes the brain from the everyday whirl and allows it to take a step back, get a new perspective, and then return to normal life refreshed. Sort of the way a few shots of alcohol or a few hits of pot allow us to forget our troubles for a moment.
Clinical depression happens when the mind does not return to normal from the depressed state, often because the depression was not caused by normal stresses of life. In that case, the mind is caught in a depressive cycle that does not let up.
So, the mind in its normal state can deal with, and often enjoy, the relaxing and freeing experience of a depressive drug like alcohol or marijuana. But if the person is in a depressive state, it is quite possible that the chemical could tip the brain from a normal to a clinical state of depression. Then continued use of the drug becomes the solution to the problem, and whether the person is physically addicted or not, this produces an addictive cycle that is hard to break out of.
So once again, occasional recreational use while in a normal mental state may not be a problem, but when you see people using the drug on a daily basis, I think those people need to take a closer look at their belief set.
The Reasonable Solution
When the government legalizes marijuana, the regulations put in place will be probably be similar to those on the drug we have the most experience with: alcohol. Which will mean restricted to adults and to children only in their own homes under the supervision of their parents.
Is that the perfect solution? Of course not. Society would be better off without the stuff, but we have to allow people the freedom to make their own choices. At least when they’re old enough to make reasonable choices, and have enough information to allow a choice.
After all, when you consider the damage that alcohol causes in our society, we would be better off without it, as well, but that horse has been gone from the barn for too many thousand years to think about closing doors.
Legalizing the drug is the first, best step, because once it’s legal it can be researched properly. It took many years of research before we realized how dangerous cigarette smoking was, and during that time we heard all the same arguments we’re hearing today. We need a similar amount of work on the marijuana problem before anybody can point to the body of research with any confidence in the answers.
Until then, proponents and opponents will continue to fall prey to human nature, only hearing what they want to hear. And until children have enough information upon which to make a reasoned choice, I think we have to protect them.