Posted by garnet71 on February 28, 2009, at 11:58:42
In reply to Re: In Defense of Cannabis, posted by detroitpistons on February 28, 2009, at 11:25:00
"As much as I defend cannabis, I don't think everyone should be using it all the time, especially young people. I think it has a potential to interfere with emotional and social development in some young people, and possibly to exacerbate or even mask psychological disorders."
That is a good point, and I totally agree. I"ve also felt the same way about casually giving psych meds to young people, except those who seriously need it. When my son was diagnosed with ADD a long time ago, I refused to put him on meds--even though the prinicpal of his middle school said he would end up in jail and expelled from school by 18 if i did not get him Ritalin. We didn't have health insurance, and that principal along with his 'team' who surrounded me in a conference room--threatened me and told me I had to apply social security disability for my son and put him on Ritalin- or else. Oh, and that school was awarded the Presidential award one year for being the 'best' school in the country, while this guy was Principal. Schools have the incentive to try to eliminate those with mental health issues, and some seek to seperate those with such issues from the rest. My school district has a special night school where the students learn 3rd grade reading and math throughout high school. Putting an ADDer admist the most boring, elementary work makes things much worse off...They almost banished my son to that 'special' program had I not risked losing my home to hire an attorney. And a great attorney he was-could have sued the whole school district for the illegal ways they handled cases. I was blown away by this attorney, who is also an advocate for students with disabilities. He also told me-no wonder your son is having so much trouble paying attention, being motivated, and sitting still in class--look at his IQ, which was fairly high. I had never thought of that, and the internet wasn't available to learn so much about ADD. THis attorney taught me about it instead.
Well, I didn't follow that principal's advice and my son graduated from high school with a 2.9 - despite missing 50 days per year on average and often forgotting to turn in his homework on time. He's never been in jail and goes to college and maintains steady employment. He watches the Discovery channel, plays sports, does his homework, and hangs out with his friends playing Playstation and watching movies, does chores and fixes things around the house, and tells me he loves me each and every day. Hardly the profile of a criminal.
It was a personal choice for me not to give him potentially brain-altering medications while his brain was still developing; others may conclude the benefits outweigh the risks, but with all the unknowns involved-there was no way for me to make a risk assessment. My only choice was to not take the chance.
Your post somehow brought back these memories. I think I should be getting back to my studies now. lol
poster:garnet71
thread:877445
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090223/msgs/883061.html