Implications for the War on Drugs

"A report issued Wednesday by the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University finds the top public health problem in the United States is teen drug abuse, including the use of alcohol, tobacco, prescription drugs, marijuana and other controlled substances."

Alcohol? Legal, but not to minors. Tobacco? Legal to adults. Prescription drugs? Readily obtained. Marijuana? Illegal (and by far the safest of the aforementioned). Alcohol and tobacco are both deadly drugs that corporations urge on US citizens. Prescription drugs are powerful concoctions that pharmaceutical companies urge on US citizens. Marijuana.... is not physiologically addictive and can be grown in your backyard. The researchers emphasize the tenderness of the teenage undeveloped brain; however, they fail to mention CAFFEINE, the most widely consumed psychoactive drug of all, and its ubiquitous presence in the American childhood. Or adulthood. Perhaps there is "cleaner" (more moral? sustainable? healthy) money in making marijuana a readily available recreational drug in all 50 states, while subsequently banning all advertising of these deadlier drugs. That's right! No tobacco commercials, no alcohol commercials; Sacred Liberty is rightfully limited if it endangers anothers'. The overwhelming evidence shows that a more nuanced understanding of drugs must accompany our legislation for and against them: "just say NO" is fucking bullshit.

The results of this study are confounded by the researcher's bias that all use is abuse. Smoke the ganj if you can.68.7.64.48 (talk) 18:25, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

The study is concerned with the public health implications, not with legality or illegality. Alcohol is implicated in something like 40% of serious or fatal automobile accident, for example. Also China, the US and other countries are trying to reduce the use of tobacco because of the tremulous strain tobacco-related disease put on the health care system in countries. The heavy use of marijuana (whether legal or illegal) has been shown to retard social and intellectual development when used by pre-teen and teen-ages. Caffeine has not been shown to have noticeable public health effects, although an individual person may experience harmful side effects, such as tachycardia.

Agreed that advertising of drugs and alcohol etc. glamorize and encourage the use of these substances. The study notes that effect and that it is harmful. The study emphasizes the society in general, and many parents and school personnel, normalize the use of drugs, and thereby encourage their use.

Remember, the U.S. tried to outlaw the use of alcohol in the Prohibition and it didn't work. The solution is education as well as proper role-modeling by adults. If adults are using (as the study says 42% of children live in homes where one or more adults are abusing substances), then children will grow up thinking substance abuse is normal.

Thanks Mattisse. I assumed the long-term development effects of caffeine use on youths was comparable to marijuana use. I'd like to see the articles that show the effects of either on a young brain. I'm just looking at the big picture. You find good articles. 68.7.64.48 (talk) 19:47, 10 July 2011 (UTC)