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When pot is legal, how do you convince teens to abstain?
The Sacramento Bee ^ | August 2nd, 2016 | By Jeremy B. White

Posted on 08/02/2016 8:46:52 AM PDT by Mariner

Portland, Ore.

For Oregon kids growing up in the age of legal marijuana, the presence of pot can be a matter of perspective.

Pausing during a visit to a mall in Portland, Neema Doti and her friends described the plant as ubiquitous.

They recounted classmates who got it from older friends or even, in one case, a permissive parent. It was, one noted, all over Snapchat. But that didn’t seem to influence Doti and her friends, who uniformly said they had no interest.

“You might not be in control of whatever you’re doing,” said Doti, 18. “It messes up your health as well ... it’ll affect your education.”

But less abstinent teenagers said they saw little difference. Sam S., an 18-year-old who grew up in Portland, described himself as a “relatively avid user,” reflecting an adolescent propensity for experimenting regardless of the law, which took effect in October. He declined to be named since he’s still not allowed to use marijuana legally. Not that it’s ever stopped him.

“From before it was legalized to after didn’t really change anything,” Sam said.

(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: cannabis
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To: henkster
When my son was 12 or 13, I took him on a tour through a very trashy local trailer park.

I told him “all of these people smoke pot.”

Oh, that is a fantastic idea. Love it!
61 posted on 08/02/2016 11:27:40 AM PDT by Scutter
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To: areukiddingme1
He started smoking pot at 14, was doing meth and heroin within a year, selling himself to get high to some pretty nasty drug dealers by the time he was 20, contracted some nasty oral and anal STDs, parents are ashamed to talk about it.

LOL. This kid is such a statistical anomaly that your mentioning him in this way suggests the opposite of what you think you are suggesting. Given how many people, including teenagers, have tried or regularly smoke pot and have not gone down such an extreme road, your anecdote suggests that pot has nothing to do with it, or else we would have had a Mad Max society by the seventies.
62 posted on 08/02/2016 11:36:56 AM PDT by fr_freak
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To: mbarker12474

I think it would be easier to limit your list to one item:

1) the nuclear family is no longer your number one influence (instead, get your values from TV, movies, and your hippie teachers, kids!)

The rest is just details.


63 posted on 08/02/2016 11:39:16 AM PDT by fr_freak
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To: Ethan Clive Osgoode
Well according to FR libertarian drug advocates, smoking weed is good for teenagers. Builds character, determination and problem-solving skills.

Yeah, I'm calling BS - no Freeper has said anything like that, ever. Produce the post.
64 posted on 08/02/2016 11:41:10 AM PDT by fr_freak
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To: GemStateConservative
Alcohol isn't inherently evil.

It is one of the many things God has given for our enjoyment, in moderation of course.

Since marijuana grows in the wild, and alcohol (typically) requires much human intervention and activity, one could make easily make the argument marijuana is much more God-given than booze.

65 posted on 08/02/2016 11:53:38 AM PDT by gdani
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To: Mariner

The same easy you get them to abstain from cigarettes and alcohol. Watch them like a hawk. :-)


66 posted on 08/02/2016 12:24:50 PM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: fr_freak; All

Glad you think what happened to Denny is funny — His Mom and Dad and two sisters are absolutely heartbroken every day, but yeah, that’s funny. Watching someone in your life destroyed is hilarious.

Want some matches and lighter fluid, maybe you can catch a box of puppies on fire, I hear that is a hoot!


67 posted on 08/02/2016 12:26:44 PM PDT by areukiddingme1 (areukiddingme1 is a synonym for a Retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer and tired of liberal BS.))
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To: gunsequalfreedom
You keep a lid on it (good pun heh?)

That's the key

68 posted on 08/02/2016 12:39:39 PM PDT by showme_the_Glory ((ILLEGAL: prohibited by law. ALIEN: Owing political allegiance to another country or government))
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To: areukiddingme1

Don’t be such a drama queen. The funny part is you thinking that the anecdote proves anything about pot. It is, indeed, a tragedy what happened to that kid, but he obviously had much greater problems than pot to begin with. When such a tragedy occurs, people look for something easy and simple to blame. What we can’t do is let public policy be directed by someone’s misguided hysteria. Neither you, nor anyone else, gets to use a personal tragedy to promote a separate agenda.


69 posted on 08/02/2016 12:43:56 PM PDT by fr_freak
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To: showme_the_Glory

You really have to pound it into the kids not to do drugs.


70 posted on 08/03/2016 12:10:28 AM PDT by gunsequalfreedom
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To: Mariner
And they caused nothing but misery and heartache until they took their last breath.

I guess things would have worked out better if they were potheads in addition to being hard-core alcoholics.

71 posted on 08/03/2016 1:24:55 AM PDT by Ethan Clive Osgoode (Nuke Saudi Arabia now)
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To: fr_freak; All

Noted!!! Nice opinion...

Easy to call someone a drama queen behind a key board isn’t it??


72 posted on 08/03/2016 5:14:10 AM PDT by areukiddingme1 (areukiddingme1 is a synonym for a Retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer and tired of liberal BS.))
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To: rfreedom4u

In Texas HS football is a lifestyle. I quit playing after 10th grade and got a job. I preferred to have money to go do things. My parents were old fashioned and said if I wanted “luxury” things I had to earn them.


I think that getting young people involved in athletics and music keeps them engaged so that they are less willing to look around for activities which may be unhealthy for them.

That said, here in Washington state one has to be 21 to purchase legal weed. Of course there has always been the illegal weed and that is where young people would likely obtain it.

Just like somehow there were always teen parties and spring break where the underaged drank alcohol.


73 posted on 08/03/2016 6:38:55 PM PDT by angry elephant (Endangered species in Seattle)
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To: areukiddingme1

Well, if I had known you were going to be so sensitive, I might have used gentler language.


74 posted on 08/04/2016 11:37:28 AM PDT by fr_freak
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