And this is What Others Believe... but They're Wrong.

Another solution that some people believe will work is making weed and other soft drugs legal. They say, well if Amsterdam has legal marijuana and they have less people using then why wouldn't it work for America. Well, first off, of course Amsterdam has less people using than America... but only because they have a MUCH smaller population than America has. Also, this would not be plausible because even more people would do weed in the US. If it's legal then more people will be persuaded to try it and therefore more people would be hooked on it.

Besides that solution, some people believe that making weed legal at a certain age is a smart idea. I refute this as well because it's just like drinking. Because people can't do it until a certain age, if they hangout with people that are that age, they do it anyways. So then, they're breaking the law. Also, when they actually do turn the right age to be able to smoke weed they go crazy and start smoking every night just as young people start drinking all the time when they turn 21. It's because they can.

As for objections to my ideas, there is probably plenty. I will address two of the major objections I would see people pulling out from solution. The first being that increased classes would not help at all because kids won't pay attention and therefore won't learn anything. This isn't true because I'm not just talking about having normal, boring, health classes. I'm talking about classrooms with interactive environments and engaging activities that include assemblies and other possibly life changing events. We can't make students learn but we can make them want to! Another objection that would be addressed my many people is my idea about the bandwagoning. Many people, especially parents, now-a-days think that peer pressure doesn't affect their child or much of anyone anymore. They're too proud to admit that their child could actually be persuaded to do something stupid and they think their kid is "too smart for that". Well, I hate to break it to you but peer pressure gets to everyone at some point in their life. Whether it be the way a person dresses because of peer pressure or that they start smoking weed, peer pressure IS very prevalent and DOES affect your child. So therefore my positive peer pressure that I'm forecasting will surely do wonders as well.

Hop on the Bandwagon!

Not only does having activities, assemblies, and classes concerning the bad affects of weed help students relate and have experiences they'll never forget, but it also allows non-students to get the message as well. If you think of teenagers you think of gossip, especially amongst teenage girls. So they talk... A LOT, and about everything under the sun. Therefore, if they see a jail or do some type of activity that teaches them about weed and is interesting, they will talk about it with their friends. Then their friends will talk about it with their other friends and so on. And of course we can't forget about the ever-prevalent peer pressure that's always lurking about where kids will go jump off a bridge if all their friends are doing it. However, in this case the peer pressure would be good. If kids are talking about their experience that they learned in class about weed, then other kids will think, "well if she/he's not doing it then I shouldn't either". It's sort of a "Hop on the Bandwagon" kind of thing. Basically kids follow kids because they want to be cool or whatever. But if it keeps them from using then by all means.

Funny... but Sadly True

The crystal meth side of this debate is exactly prevalent to my topic on soft drugs (mainly marijuana), but the marijuana side is obviously veryyyy prevalent.

Impregnated by a Watermelon

"... the relationship between [students'] active involvement and effective learning is so strong that 'the effectiveness of any educational policy or practice is directly related to the capacity of that policy to increase involvement in learning.'

Active involvement includes frequent student-faculty interaction, both in and outside of class." 

-Gardiner

Basically all this  technical mumbo jumbo means that if students are constantly moving around or exploring they learn better, and that school policy should increase involvement in learning. As I was saying previously, students need to relate to someone or something. If they actively learn and are involved in assemblies or activities that help them to understand the bad affects of illicit drug use, then they are less likely to do it. If you don't allow students to get involved then it's just like the watermelon seed myth. You know, where your Mom tells you "your gonna' grow a watermelon in your belly if you eat the seeds!" Yah your kid might be scared for a little bit, but eventually they get curious. It's human nature! And then they eat the watermelon seed...

The same goes for illicit drug use. You could tell  anyone all you want that it's bad for them, but eventually they'll get curious and try it anyways. You gotta' think, were like cats, anything were not suppose to do we do. This is why interactive activities would help educate and keep students from using. Don't just tell them that drug use is bad, show them. Demonstrate the effects, show pictures, and even take them to a jail and show them what will happen if they ever got caught with drugs. That's never a fun place to go but it sure would scare the Hell out of em' and it wouldn't be a trip to forget.

My sources were:
Lion F. Gardiner

Opening their Droopy Eyes

Obviously it's impossible to keep everyone from illicitly using drugs. So the next best thing is limiting the amount of people. Here's how...

Guess what this picture is of...

Yah, that's a teacher and yes they do teach (DUH)... who do they teach? Students! (again DUH) But your probably asking yourself why this matters right now. Well connect the dots! :..:::. The American government should make drug and alcohol awareness classes mandatory. And I don't mean you take one year in a blow-off class. I mean you actually have fun projects in and out of school, and are consistently taught about illicit drug use in multiple classes. Also, schools should spend more money on mandatory assemblies that have guest speakers with REAL LIFE experiences. Not so much "this is what could happen... this is what would happen" and more "this did happen to me". The fact is that most students are so ignorant, they think they're Superman (or Superwoman for us ladies). Basically we think we're invincible when really something as simple as a breakup could leave us crying for days... even weeks (if your that pathetic). Seeing people just like us explaining how badly drugs altered their lives would be much more meaningful than seeing our least favorite teacher go through endless slides of "blahhhh blah blah bad blah blah for you" and more of "I'm just like you and drugs hurt me". Basically, we need to relate to someone to really understand how bad drugs actually are, and then we need classes to reinforce that. Especially those kids with the droopy eyes sitting in the back. If they can't see what they're doing to themselves, then we'll make them.

Stop Trippin'

Think Amsterdam. What do you imagine? Yup, DRUGS. Everywhere you turn there's bound to be a "coffeeshop" lurking close by. Now if you've ever taken a hit of soft drugs and liked it, you would probably LOVE to live here. But here's the problem... you took a hit of drugs... if you're in America, you're breaking the law.  Don't you feel like a badass. Now just take another hit, everybody else is doing it right? Actually you're wrong. A national census in 2010 said that 22.6 million people age 12 and older (yes I said 12) are illicit drug users. So, what's the problem with this? Well, for one, there are approximately 308,745,538 people living in the US which means about 14% of the population uses soft drugs illicitly. Secondly, this doesn't even include people younger than 12! Yah, that's right, your little brother or sister who's in what? Like 5th grade could be rolling up a joint every now and then. But still, 14% is too much. Imagine putting all 22.6 million of those people in jail (imagine the kind of tax we'd get on that :o), it's impossible. This is a problem. But wait, imagine all of the culture that has been inspired by people who've been trippin'. Lil Wayne for instance? If you believe he was completely sober when he made some of the songs he did, then you must be trippin' right now! Here's one video that without a doubt was made specifically for potheads...

Kind of cool to watch in the beginning right? This is more culture caused by the use of soft drugs. However, this video is not the problem. It's the fact that these drugs are being used illegally, sold illegally, and imported into the country illegally. So I ask now... what must be done to get people to STOP TRIPPIN'?


My sources came from:
dictionary.com
National Survey on Drug Use and Health
U.S. Census Bureau