Pot Philosophy

J. Kevin Tumlinson

I was fortunate enough to never get involved with drugs as a teenager. I had plenty of friends who were into pot and some heavier stuff, but they never pushed it on me. They offered, but never tried to force me into it. I never even tried a single joint. Now, though, I look around at the kids I'm exposed to on a daily basis and I wonder if I would have survived high school.

It's not that these kids would force me. Instead, it's the pure availability of the stuff that would make it tough to get by. I like to think that I was blessed with a lot of common sense when I was a kid, and that's why I stayed away from the stuff. But the truth is I think that I was just blessed with an environment where my exposure was limited.

I had a conversation with some kids about pot specifically and all drug use in general. It was an eye opener. I mean, I hear stories from these kids all the time about what they've smoked and what they're into. But I never really imagined the problem was as complex as it has turned out to be.

One of the kids I spoke with said something that made me think. "One thing about marijuana is that it's easier to get than beer." His point? Because beer is legal and regulated it's tougher to get. He doesn't have as many friends that are over 21 who can or will buy the stuff for him. But marijuana, he can get that anywhere, any time. The illegal stuff is much easier to come by. He doesn't have to go through channels, necessarily.

That's the argument that many of them use for the legalization of marijuana. But does it wash? Somewhat. If the government is regulating it, it would be tougher for the underground crime slime-bags to make money off of it. But we'd be adding yet another addictive substance to the list of over-the-counter availability. What would that cost us?

It's interesting to me to look at the way these kids think. "Everyone does it." It's not just a catch phrase, they actually believe it. When asked if they thought adults did it, they vehemently responded "yes." To them, it's inconceivable that anyone would go through their entire lives without at least trying pot.

They called me a liar when I said I had never touched the stuff. It was as if I had told them that I'd never tried breathing oxygen.

They tell me that the reason I never want to get high was because I have never gotten high. Circular reasoning, I know, and how can you argue against it? They've been fed this line for so long that it's the only logic they recognize.

It's sad to talk to some of these kids. There's no hope in them. You can talk with some teenagers and get that sense of the promise that lies before them. These kids, those that are part of this drug culture, have traded hope for a momentary high. And the more they use, the more of it they need just to get that old feeling back. The future is meaningless to them. College, marriage, having kids-none of that means anything to them. They've pawned it all so they can be stoned when they go to the mall. They've tossed their hopes and dreams so they can maintain a buzz for as long as possible.

Too bad they can't see all the wonder for themselves. Too bad they can't look at a kid who doesn't do drugs, who has made plans for his future and looks forward to it hopefully, and say, "I want what he has." Instead, they poke fun. They offer up the pot. They try to get them involved in drugs and refuse to believe they don't already do it. Why? Because the alternative is to admit to themselves that they're stuck, that they've sold themselves out.

It's easier to believe that everyone does it and lies about it than to believe that they've smoked away any chance of a future.

J. Kevin Tumlinson is a writer and a schoolteacher living in Lake Jackson, TX. Your intellectual drug of choice.