Legalisation of cannabis will be bad for New Zealand’s young and impressionable

WhaleOil,co.nz 22 October 2017
Family First Comment: Not often we quote from ‘WhaleOil’ (for good reason!) but this guest post is excellent…
“What does a referendum do? Whatever the outcome, it instantly gives weed legitimacy in the eyes of these young and impressionable people.”
www.saynopetodope.nz
I can only say that this state of affairs makes me incredibly sad. We are going through a monstrous situation with a teenage granddaughter who got introduced to weed at 13 yrs old by a social miscreant. Despite showing texts from her phone to the Police proving that the 45 yr was supplying her, nothing “can be done”. Apparently, she has to be the one to make the complaint!
The effect has been to make an incredibly smart, conscientious young lady into a confused, unreliable, dropout, who also now considers thieving to pay for the drugs as legitimate. Who knows what occupation will come next to feed the habit.
What does a referendum do? Whatever the outcome, it instantly gives weed legitimacy in the eyes of these young and impressionable people.
Our conversations with many professionals working with young people is that weed is incredibly bad. They are ALL dead against any lessening of laws for what is called “recreational use”. It is NOT recreational, it is destructive. Let’s get the language right here.
What I see in the press so often is people addicted to weed trying to explain that it is harmless. In my experience that is just as bad as an alcoholic extolling the virtues of booze.
The fact that it comes from a plant that grows easily is no justification for indiscriminate use. Nature provides us with all our drugs, whether directly from the plants, or via processing, but it is up to us to use them wisely.
READ MORE: https://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2017/10/legalisation-cannabis-will-bad-young-impressionable/