In the last month, I have given the "don't-do-drugs" talk to precisely three young men. I would have stopped at one if not for a brief conversation I was privy to over the holidays between two people I love very much. It went like this:
Person A: You know, I was talking with my buddy just this week, and we were saying, pot isn't dangerous right away. It's insidious. I look back on my life so far, and I've missed whole years because of pot.
Person B (a generation older) : I've missed decades.
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I know a lot of people use pot responsibly, despite obtaining it illegally. But I will keep giving the "don't-do-drugs" talk even after pot is legalized. I have trouble teaching the glazed, red eyes in class, sedated, for the moment, occasionally asking questions that I've already answered, writing papers that they think are brilliant, but are nonsense.
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Of course all the states will legalize pot, eventually. If we accept alcohol, which is insidious, indeed, then we are sure to accept pot, too. And neither marijuana nor alcohol are to blame if people become dependent upon them. But let's not. Let's not even break the law to get pot, because it doesn't control us. And while we're at it, let's not allow a host of slowly detrimental behaviors to control us, especially not short-lived pleasure.
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The three guys I talked to, by the way, all share commonalities: they feel incredible pressure to become something important. They are representing their families in the U.S.; they have this one chance to make good, and they are so afraid of failing.
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