I've always wondered why that drug, alcohol, was seen as acceptable while others were viewed as much more taboo. I think alcohol can do and has done far more damage. I also think it's been pretty common for teens to think of pot as not such a big deal. It was even like that when I was a kid (and that's been a while).
@Zyni, what I think is that there is a lot of money to be made from alcohol sales. Marijuana is just a plant which anyone could grow for themselves. So I'm pretty sure that it's use is discouraged and usually illegal as there is simply no profit in it.
Even during the late 90's when I was a teen, smoking weed has always been seen lightly, after all, it's effects were not as malevolent as compared to other drugs. So I'd say that yes, teens have always believed that smoking weed is normal even if it's illegal even way back in the day.
This is the attitude my seventeen year old sister has and has had since she was about fourteen. It doesn't help that her mother does absolutely nothing to discourage her from it. From what I've gathered, marijuana is so socially acceptable, that now kids are partaking in it regularly and seeing no consequences for it. I have to agree with a previous post. The media coverage on marijuana is overwhelmingly positive. Rather than straying kids away from marijuana, there are so many articles out there along with other media that refers moreso to the positives.
Well, prohibition didn't work, and people just made their own stills and bootlegged booze. I wonder if it has something to do with drinking being seen as more "glamorous" like the glass of champagne or fancy cocktail party.... rather than someone toking away on some pot. The "social drinker" seems to be a more acceptable lifestyle than the "pothead." I think there would still be plenty of profit in both, even if people do make their own drinks or grow their own marijuana, since not everyone would do it. I think the latter just has more of a stigma. Just my two cents.
I think smoking Marijuana has definitely become a tendency amongst children over the course of the years, but this is something that has been going on for the past decades. It isn't something recent, from what I know kids used to smoke more weed back in the '90s.
There's absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about smoking marijuana in most of the circles of teens I know. The stronger ones stay away from it, but they don't see as an evil or even destructive. It's just...kind of a dumb idea to them.
It's pretty much worked its way into popular culture. The way somebody can open a beer in front of a child and nobody will holler. It's all relative. Nobody is claiming either is better or worse, just a simple comparison. But weed is more commonplace than it's ever been. Maybe this will deter teens from actually using it.
Here where I live weed is illegal but it's fast becoming the norm for so many. Just tonight some youngsters were saying to me that I might as well get used to the idea of weed being around and predicted that in a year 'everyone' will be smoking.
It will be difficult in the future to control our children from smoking marijuana. I was watching TV the other day and there was news that Uruguay has legalised marijuana smoking and cultivation. They claim that they want to control its supply to reduce crime, but what happens when our kids watch such news? They think that the world is slowly realising the benefits of smoking marijuana, which is wrong.
I also think that teenagers nowadays believe smoking pot is just as normal as watching the television. It's actually pretty disturbing that these kids refer to this substance abuse as something cool to do. I guess it's because of the media and how they try to glamorize these substances.
I am a mother of teens, I do think it is common, and I do think it is relatively harmless. I smoked it when I was young, then I stopped. It isn't addictive and it wasn't a 'gateway' drug for me. I never even tried anything else that wasn't prescribed by a doctor.
During alcohol prohibition, there were as many parents and communities worried about alcohol as there are today who are worried about marijuana. It's a phase in our history. How many people are worried about alcohol now that marijuana is legal in some states? What about in a decade when something else is legalized? People are bent out of shape about it or ecstatic about it because it's new. It's a fad. It'll be the same as alcohol in ten years. Get used to it.
Marijuana is too normal nowadays that I actually think the government is smoking some of it. If not, then they are just letting it slide. It is definitely the most popular illegal drug in the world.
I didn't even smoke marijuana until I was 18 but these days kids are smoking younger and younger. My best friend's brother is only 13 and he smokes all the time. I ask him about it a lot anf he just says that everyone does it. Like, his parents don't even care. I'd rather have him smoke weed than crack but I still think 13 is a tiny bit too young.
I think society is more used to using this drug and as it is easy to purchase and people are willing to take the risks which can be harmful, and I noticed a lot of young people smoked marijuana due to influence or broken homes in most cases which can lead them to doing this. I think young people need to see that this can ruin families and also they will spend more money on this and struggle to come out of the addiction, which can be hard to overcome for most of the people. It is shocking to see a lot of people use this as a way to relax and try and escape from the problems they face in their life and, hope they do get the help they need so they don't suffer at a young age.
It's not even just a "these days" type of thing. Pot has always been popular with younger crowds. It's something they can do together that makes them all feel good but doesn't have the negative effects of cigarettes and other substances.
I think that most people look at marijuana like it is not a big deal. I know a lot of people who smoke it, and the general idea seems to be that it is not that bad, especially compared to harder drugs like heroin or meth. Personally I don't have a problem with it. While I do not smoke it, as long as someone is not driving or putting anyone in danger then I don't care.
Unfortunately, many teenagers have the mentality that marijuana use is acceptable. This view is brought on by all of the pro-legalization of marijuana movements in the media, as well as the large number of adults who view recreational marijuana use as acceptable. The media alone has so many pro-marijuana messages, such as on television, online, and even on the radio. Unfortunately, there are not very many anti-marijuana messages running right now. This new attitude towards marijuana is scary for teens, especially when research shows that marijuana use in adolescents may cause long-term cognitive impairments.