This week literally flew by! That hasn't happened in quite a while- at least not here in the Seattle area in winter time!
Guess that's what happens when you come to the end of an 11 year job with a client that really has become a family relationship for me, that saw us both through some of the roughest times in our lives... We've actually had a blast this past week packing her up and getting her ready for the big send-off. She is moving to Hawaii. Aloha!
And then our city's NFL team goes and kicks butt all over the Super Bowl and honestly, seriously, if any of us are truly being real- WE NEVER SAW THAT COMING! No titles for this city since 1979. We're gonna' have to get used to this sort of thing.
Oh and I am still working hard on that 70's theme birthday party. It's coming together great!
So anyway, here I am. And I've got another 'What If' for you this week.
This time I am inspired by the sad event this week of yet another talented soul being lost to drug addiction. When I read the accounts of Philip Seymour Hoffman being found dead with a needle still in his arm, I couldn't help but be affected by the thought of it all. I'll be honest and say that I'm not really all that familiar with his work and yet, I can't ever justify loss of talent and potential to drugs or any other destructive force.
Drug use and what should be done about it is quite a touchy subject and I must admit this surprises me. So, I'm interested in finding out what others perceptions on this subject might be. My question this time around is: What if all drugs were legalized for adults, say 21 and over, in the same way we treat alcohol?
Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. -Leo Buscaglia
Just sayin...in Alaska you are legally allowed to have and grow your own marihuana...as long as you don't sell it. I don't have it, but I take no issue with those who do.
ReplyDeleteIn theory, this idea should work. However, around here it is quite obvious that people rarely keep their own supply to themselves. Since we have legalized marijuana for medical and then recreational use I have personally been treated to many people smoking it in public and just recently my neighbors teenage daughter was busted for selling it at school. She got it from another family in the neighborhood that grows it and felt that it wasn't a big deal, since people keep saying it's no worse than alcohol. Yet I doubt she would have tried selling alcohol at school or anywhere else.
DeleteI am very concerned about the easy going attitude we have about this. What would we think if our neighbor were producing their own alcohol? I would at least want to see some regulation.
Plus my own bad experiences with family members moving on from marijuana to harder and harder drugs just doesn't seem to be the same as people who drink. I never saw anyone drink a glass of wine and then justify that since they could handle the wine, they thought they'd like to try heroin. And I've never witnessed a person who drinks socially (not talking alcoholics here) totally lose their desire to work or function in society as I have seen on numerous occasions with regular pot smokers.
I do love freedom. I'm just not sure marijuana is a positive overall. If I could be guaranteed that marijuana would truly be kept to the person who wanted to have it, then I suppose that would just be more jobs, productivity, etc. for those who really wanted them and no harm done. But I've seen too much to believe that.
I wish I had the answer.
ReplyDeleteI understand the argument as it relates to marijuana. Then again, I've never heard of anyone dying from a marijuana overdose.
Around here the two biggest drug problems are heroin and prescription drug abuse. People are dying daily. And these people are addicted. I don't know that making it easier for an addict to get their drug of choice is the answer. But I don't know what the answer is either :(
I'm with you on not knowing the answer on this one. But I have a feeling that legalization is not the answer.
DeleteYou can read my feelings on marijuana in my reply above.
I struggle with whether or not it is my business to try to save someone from themselves and yet I don't want to just throw people with addiction issues to the dogs.
This is a tough one for sure. It seems we are enabling when we legalize these things. Our youth who don't have the maturity or the life experience yet will find it easier to take these things up. As long as there is a market for these substances, there will be someone who will fill that market. Our problem is not drugs but the breakdown of the family, lack of personal responsibility and accountability, and the pride of thinking it won't happen to us. Our celebrities and sports figures are the wrong kind of role models and this is what we get. It's kind of a Catch 22 isn't it?
ReplyDeleteYou have hit on the important part quite nicely. It's really not the drug issue. It's the root of what makes people want to put drugs into their bodies. I keep waiting for the societal pendulum to swing back, but it might not happen in my lifetime.
DeleteI would say that "I don't know how I missed this post" but I do know. The IWSG was on Wednesday and that literally takes hours out of my day trying to work through my feed of posts. I am glad that Myra posted something on her blog referring me back.
ReplyDeleteWhat if all drugs were legalized for adults, say 21 and over, in the same way we treat alcohol?
Boy, I have a lot of thoughts on this issue and can't seem to grab hold of any of them.
Let's take a look at the people who are using drugs NOW. What is the thing that they have in common? I think it is largely despair. Legality doesn't seem to be holding anyone back. Rich people, like PSH, have no trouble getting drugs, despite the fact that they are illegal. But... the poor and, even homeless, people can also acquire them. And then there are people who live right in the middle class who are also hooked. Maybe their job sucks, family sucks, or both. The common denominator here is that they are all seeking to escape their life. It is ironic (to us) that people who seem to have it all (celebs) are so damn miserable. I guess that they just didn't see that coming. It would be interesting to get the take on this from someone who has beaten it. Say Robert Downey, Jr. I suspect that he would tell you that the legality isn't going to make one bit of difference. As Myra says, the way people feel about drugs needs to change. Or maybe the way that they feel about their lives.
For many, Rx drugs are a bigger problem than things like heroin, meth, etc. The doctor wrote the Rx, so it must be okay. Not so. Too many doctors over-medicate people. And when you deal with addictive substances, the patient may abuse it, too. Even though their need comes from a desire to escape PAIN... it is still about escape.
I have had more than one (non-medical) person suggest that I try pot for migraines. I have not done that, but I am not convinced that it was all wrong. What makes my migraines worse is stress and anxiety. Pot is non-addictive and a natural substance. I think I might have actually seen some benefit from using it when the migraines were ungodly terrible. Doctors prescribe pot to cancer patients when they are going through chemo because it helps with the nausea. One of the worst things about migraines is the nausea.
So, here's the thing... had my doctor prescribed marijuana to help me through my migraines... I would have taken it. I wasn't willing to get it through other means. Even if I had smoked pot (medicinally) I have never had a desire to "upgrade" to any other drugs. I remember what I learned in health class in seventh grade about heroin, meth, etc. and I have NO DESIRE to try them even once. Why? Once is all it takes. I am educated enough to know that is a place I don't want to go. Even when my migraines had me so sick that I rarely left my bed I would never have tried heroin to escape. And I prayed for death daily, so it is safe to say that I wasn't operating at my best.
What makes one person open to the idea of heroin and another not... even under the worst of circumstances? I don't know.
With all of that said... I don't think making drugs legal will make this problem better. We have to heal the mindset first. There needs to be more information out there from people who have traveled that dark road about WHY they did it... especially if they knew it was addicting. If they knew it would destroy their life. We have to treat THAT so that people don't want to do it. Making drugs legal for a population already in despair... well, that is an invitation for everyone just to check out and escape from their lives. Given that our government (seems) to want everyone living at the lowest possible level (the govt dole), it won't surprise me at all if they legalize drugs. That is a quick way to help everyone get there. An addicted population is easier to control... no?
That wasn't your question, but I told you I had LOTS of thoughts.
You managed to hit on yet another aspect of the subject here. What motivates people? And more importantly, what keeps people from being motivated to do anything at all- or care about anything? I am certainly concerned about where we are headed with so many people seemingly so willing to just give up and let the government babysit them.
DeleteAlthough I must admit that I disagree with you about people being able to be addicted to pot- think about the fact that people-like me-have managed to be emotionally addicted to food. Anything can be addictive... (Man you should have seen my mother smoke a bong for up to about 4 hours a day sometimes. That's a site to see!) I must say I am most curious about the why some and not others when it comes to addiction issues? Or even why some-like me- have managed to figure out that being addicted to anything is merely a biproduct of having a hole in our soul, some type of missing piece that we were wrong about what would actually fulfill us?
Ugh, this is a tough one. But I LOVE that you weigh in and really think about what you have to say. That's definitely one of the reasons I got in on this whole blogging thing in the first place!
I landed here via Myra's post, and just wanted to say...YeeHaw! Seahawks RULE! :-)
ReplyDelete(and I agree with your conservative philosophy...after the last election, I asked my husband if we could move to Texas)
Welcome Grace. Good to meet you! Myra is awesome and people who read her are usually straight shooters!
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