Letters to the Editor
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Have to agree with wrong premise
at least to an extent. So lets see here, a 15 year old with parents one of whom is laid up from foot surgery and the other of whom smokes pot because of chronic back pain. He finds a pipe while sorting laundry? rrrright. Sounds to me like the kid is resenting his parents (maybe he is "forced" to take on extra responsibility) and is testing his ability to control those around him-if you don't stop I'll leave!!! Do not give in to this kid. A 15 year old is NOT a child and should have the critical reasoning abilities to understand his mother has pain and few alternatives, but in the current situation the kid is getting the spotlight and lots of sympathy (just what he wants). Personally I'd open the door and say "walk junior" bet he doesn't go for long, it does not sound like a state where she would go to prison for pot, but be prepared the kid may well try to turn her in. Auntie should stay out of it, she is acting as juniors "enabler" the kid needs to learn he can not run the world or those around him by threats and demands, because that is exactly what he is learning.
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Whoa!
Wait a sec! Isn't this all a bit turned around? This 15 year old has bigger problems than the pot toking mother. Am I spaz, or is this kid one of the most striking examples of a victim of the education system? Having just completed 20 years of public education (including a rather eye opening jaunt at the University of Amsterdam) I reckon this young guy is more paranoid than his pothead mom. I've been picked up by the cops for this kind of thing, and no, you do not get drug (wink) off to jail for such petty crimes, nor is there really any way (save the jerk kid narc-ing on his poor mum) that she will be arrested using in her own home.
Damn, at 15 I was way way more worried about getting laid and perhaps a catching a buzz than I was about being a killjoy towards my mother. I recall driving into Amsterdam with my parents in the car, catching the first whiff of a coffeeshop, waltzing into one with father and mother and watching the trams go by as one of the most liberating and fascinating experiences I've ever had. NEWSFLASH: Pot is better medicine than anything at the pharmacy, it's fun, reasonably safe, and the biggest cash crop in the USA.
A moral compass is one thing and the law is another, I would grant anyone that - but really, IMHO, I think that in this country if someone is willing to pay the consequences then they should be allowed to commit the crime (i.e. cash, dealing with courts, etc).
Sheesh Salonites, I know the grass is a little stronger than it used to be, but you guys are a bunch of WIMPS. If you can't keep up, fine, but please, moralizers of the letters crowd, STFU.
My advice: send the jerk kid to boarding school...mom, take a quick trip to A'dam, you deserve it after raising that turd.
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LW, Son and Cary don't have Chronic Back pain
Or they'd know just how damn bad and debilitating it can be, and marijuana is very effective in treating it and a lot less harmful then a pain killer addiction.
The son is being a pompous self-righteous ass - but he's 15 years old, thats part of the age group - what's Cary's excuse?
I doubt neither Cary or the son is ready to do everything for the Mother while she's laid up and unable to move.
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Harmless drug?
Pot is a pretty harmless drug in and of itself. But it's clearly harming this family. That's all the reason I would need to quit. Immediately and without regret.
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There's nothing wrong with pot.....
if you're a pothead. I've already seen a couple of letters defending the mother, and I'm sure there will be more.
I understand the argument for the legalization of marijuana. It has medical benefits. It's less harmful than alcohol. That's all well and good. But the fact is, it IS illegal. You can argue about the unfairness of the law until the cows come home (and most potheads will) but the fact remains - it is an *illegal* drug. I don't think it's unreasonable that a 15-year-old boy has a problem with his mother using an illegal drug on a regular basis. It sounds like he's the responsible one in the family. (Yes, I know all you stoners think he's uptight. You always think the people who don't embrace your pot use are uptight.)
Cary's right, it comes down to the fact that the mother is choosing pot over her son.
He didn't mention how annoying people are when they're stoned, which is a whole other issue. Let me tell you, you potheads are incredibly annoying when you're stoned. You can't follow a simple conversation. You forget to lock the door, or turn off the gas on the stove. You say "dude" a lot. You move slowly. You think you're making brilliant observations and analogies, when, to the non-stoned, you're making little sense. You make excuses for your pot use (it's not addictive, it's safer than alcohol, it's for medicinal use), never realizing how similar these excuses are to the ones the alcoholics and the crackheads and the junkies make. You're think you're better than the other addicts but you're just the same. Maybe pot's easier to kick but it's funny, I've rarely seen potheads stop smoking. I know more people who've stopped drinking.
Oh, that's right. You don't stop because pot's not addictive.
Anyway, I feel sorry for this son. It must suck growing up with a mom who's a pothead, and it's really a shame that she continues to choose the pot over him.
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Lay off the kid
Oh how predictable that the potheads would come out of the woodwork to bash the 15 year old on this one. You know, even predating the evil propagandizing of DARE (that's sarcasm if you couldn't tell), I resented the hell out of my mother, purely for her alcoholism, around that age. Her drinking almost never interfered with her parental responsibilities, yet I still feel the pain of my teenage years when I think back. As an adult I have come to see it with greater perspective, and she has many wonderful qualities. But at 15, it very much felt like she was choosing this substance over me. Children, even teenagers, need their parents to be strong. The mom in this saga needs to grow the F up and put him first. I have two children, and I would saw off my legs for them if necessary. And by the way, marijuama cheerleaders, if the drug is really as harmless as you say, I'm sure stopping will be a piece of cake for her.
Lastly, it also sounds like the father needs to step up to the plate here.