I don't think most people agree to that at all, to be honest. Most people seem to think that whatever age their society has settled on is the natural, right age and anything else is arbitrary. Haha, you won't smoke illegal drugs with your daughter until she's of legal age. Right. Gotcha. :alienwink: Clearly, RR is saying anything under 18 is arbitrary, but 18 somehow has some kind of authoritative weight behind it. I guess it's because it's the "benchmark". :roffl:
I'm using 18 because I'm in the U.S. and it's already the designated age for legal adulthood here. To arbitrarily choose another, such as 16 or 21, is a battle that would sidetrack from the war to legalize MJ in entirety. As a number it's just as arbitrary as any other. As for my children? I think I stated my views quite clearly and believe they hold true for any immature person and recreational use of a mind altering substance. Until life patterns are set and habits of thoughtful responsibility instilled it is an unnecessary distraction from the more immediate task at hand. Fallacious argument or not.....teens and children are not adults and cannot fully handle, nor should they be given, the same freedoms or responsibilities.
Sounds like you have a working plan. I wish I could say I had done so well. I wish I had had the good sense to NOT smoke dope and drink (boy, did I drink) in front of my son. Too late now, but regrets? Dont get me started! Ive got em...in spades. Dixie
...regrets are for quitters... Listen, I realize this thread is turning out to be a serious discussion as to whether or not youngsters should be allowed to smoke marijuana...however, I am going to throw an angle out there to dangle for a bit... First of all as humans we crave experience, for lack of a better understanding on my behalf I would just simplify to say that we are thrillseekers...all of us...no one is immune...and age is irrelevent in this light... So perhaps our brains are still forming when we are young,...sounds plausible enough to me...however I smoked marijauna for the first time when I was twelve...I survived...ain't it funny sometimes how all the propaganda doesn't match up with the facts!...Personally I feel that the reason marijuana usage is so demonized in the United States in the states that still classify it as an illegal drug is because of the delivery system most think is utilized in the injestion of this drug, (i.e. smoking da' herb)...which obviously gains footing as the bad rap continues to swing about how smoking substances in general is bad, bad, bad. Guess the anti-mj crowd equatesthe evils of smoking cigs to smoking other burnables...which is in theory, not untrue... I often tell my mother who often rags on me about my mj usage that she had better be careful...she might go as far to piss me off with her soap-box preaching and I will go off the deep end and never smoke another marijuana joint in my life, instead I will make butter, and then either make cookies or brownies to start with as my ability to cook with mj blossoms...then what is she gunna do...rag on me for runnin' inside to grab a cookie...whatever...and you know what really chaps her ass...is when she is ranting on about mj, and all the inherent losers that field that territory...and then when she lights her cheap generic cigarette up, I turn the table..."oh, it's alright for you to injest a drug, but to hell with the potsmokers, eh?"..."I see how it works now"..."Do as I say, not as I do"...crew mentality...and trust me...she don't like it...not one bit...kind of hard to argue with the facts...however, she tries...oh, well, it's illegal, and cigs are not...fine then Mom...I'll move to Colorado...then see how far that line of bullshit will carry you...lol...listen, I love my Mother...she is simply put misguided...like oh so many Americans...kettle black... And in regards to regrets...I don't let those pesky pukes into my life...I send them packing...'cuz I'm all about the time we have...and I ain't lookin' back no more...no I ain't...regrets are for quitters...'nuf said, eh?:alienwink: ...DC...:XXsunsmile::new_scatter:
Have to agree with 18 as well for many reason's stated. but I know all too well how teens have loose mouths & you do need to worry if they go bragging to frds "hey my mom or dad fired one up with me" or even if they told only one frd they trusted who turns around to tell someone else. You have to be careful who you trust in general let alone a minor IMO. but I do not want anyone under 18 knowing my bizzness and even if they are 18 or older, I am still picky as to who I let in my inner circle. Safety first yanno? Least if they are 18, haha they too have to worry about being caught or due time. On the flip side I keep the communication line open with both my girls & my oldest did try it before 18 but had the bad reaction where she thought she was having a heart attack. She called me from her g/frds & asked me to pick her up and said she was having an asthma attack. Being it was the fall months & these were girls she played field hockey with, it did not seem unusual for she went to her frds right after a game. She only had the type of asthma induced by illness, allergies or exercise induced. Anywhos, the next morning she woke me up to tell me she had lied to me & then told she had tried smoking pot. Asked me to take her to the doc for she was worried she had did something to her heart...lol I was happy she came to me & then explained to her that it was just because it was her first time, she most likely was paranoid and why her heart felt like that. Needless to say she didn't touch it till long after she graduated & yes we did smoke together. She really does not smoke much & never drinks but I think because she is married now with a 2yr old & was never into it really. I got lucky with my girls so far on the partying age for neither seem to be into it. Maybe due to my being open & not making such a big deal is why it is not so taboo to them? Boys were a whole other topic...haha Gawd once your girl falls in love, you know that boy has their heart & will cloud their judgement far worse then mj....lol I smoked since I was a tad over 16 & was an honors student. Never clouded my judgement or grades & actually kept me focused if anything on studies. Everyone is different yanno? I take breaks from smoking then & now, if I don't have any to smoke it really is not a big deal to me. Yah I love to smoke but all I am saying is I truly do not think it is addictive IMO or at least not for me?? Also agree with a few of you on rather having your teen smoke pot then try hard core drugs or drink for that is one thing I do not condone. If either of my children were to get hooked on something other then mj, I would be getting them help for that would scare the living shit out of me. Never got into anything more then pot and yah did like shrooms but have not did them in a long time. Like a cold beer or two, sometimes shots of tequilla with frds every now and then but not a huge drinker either. Some of you pointed out about whether the child/teen is mature enough to handle it or keep their grades up. Agree with you for every teen and adult is different when it comes to smoking. If anything affects one's judgement to where it affects their work, grades or performance then I would have to say maybe it is time to give the pipe a rest until you can handle it.
Yes, yes. I know it's the legal age of adulthood, but we are talking about an illegal substance at the moment, so what does the legal age of adulthood have to do with anything? That's a blanket statement. Some teens can handle responsibilities and some adults can't. Some adults are very immature and some teens are very mature. If you paint everyone in these groups with the same brush the reasons you base your decision on become weaker, in my opinion. Also, I apologize if I came off as argumentative before. It's just that I'm an argumentative a-hole. :angel4:
Regret doesnt have anything to do with "quitting". Anybody over fifty who hasnt blown his/her brains out, clearly hasnt "quit", regardless of whether or not he/she has regrets. You CAN learn to live with regret, you MAY even learn to forgive yourself. But regret = quitter just doesnt compute. Dixie
I started smoking weed when I was 15. This is the time when your not too young to do crazy stuff and not know about the consequences anymore and the time when you're not too old to decide what's best for you. Well, 15 would be the best age to smoke pot.
I think the question we need to think about is what age is the brain sufficiently developed to not be remodeled or configured by the drug. or if it affects the development could be another question with merit
