Teachers, adults, and parents have all at one point said, “Drugs are bad. They will kill you. People that use them are criminals and will end up ruining their lives. Do not do drugs.” From a very early age I, and I imagine all of us, have heard words like these constantly. But bring from from The Rio Grande Valley, which is a major drug trafficking area, made me realize that there is some truth to these statements, yet that’s only one side to a broader and more complex situation.
What has really shaped my views on drugs, and marijuana especially, is the media and pop culture. Media, such as my local news, always had something to say about x amount pounds of marijuana seized on the border, which I live about 15 minutes away from. And of course the weekly mug shot of a disgruntled looking man with messy hair and bloodshot eyes being reported as arrested for possession of marijuana. Watching the news when I was younger, I always thought “They should be getting arrested and the drugs should be taken away because drugs are very very bad!”
As I got older, I was exposed to more “adult content” I would say and the first instance of pop culture in which I observed marijuana being used on tv was in That 70s Show. At first, I hated the show because I was stuck in the elementary school mindset of “Drugs are bad. People that use them are criminals.” But then my friends started talking more about the show and I decided to give it another chance. I saw an episode completely and realized they were basically normal teenagers, they just liked to use marijuana. They weren’t murderers, robbers, or rapists. And I was completely mind blown. All my life I had thought that people who use drugs belonged in the same category as evil law breakers but That 70s Show taught me this was not the case.
Ultimately what really made me a proponent of the legalization of marijuana was a video I saw a while ago on Youtube. A guy performs tasks once while being high on marijuana and again while being drunk. While I had originally watched the video for the laughs, it really got me thinking. By the end of the video, to me it was obvious that the guy performed better at tasks while high and also did not experience any consequences the day after, as opposed to being drunk. So my logic over the marijuana debate is this: Why is the use of marijuana illegal when it has less negative effects than alcohol?
I love That 70’s Show! Oh, and of course I can also relate to being told nonstop how bad drugs were but also I believe that people can benefit from marijuana ONLY if used responsibly. Yes! The RGV is notorious for drugs being on every corner especially in Brownsville. I know people would smoke it everyday in our school bathrooms that the nurses just acted like it was a normal thing around campus.
I totally remember being as a child that drugs are bad. In elementary we would D.A.R.E. teachers come tour school and preach about the negative effects of marijuana and how they are so bad. What you said is true. Everyone who smokes is not a criminal but that is the perception everyone wants you to see as a child. I still don’t think it should be legalized for recreational use. Marijuana can be used for much better purposes besides getting people high.