Growing up in Brownsville meant exposure to all sorts of discussion about drugs. I remember in elementary, fourth and fifth grade, kids like myself and others would say we’ve smoked before. Of course it was all to look cool when I hadn’t really even touched any form of drugs myself, the same couldn’t have been said for a few others.
However, drugs were present in the household. Especially when I was in middle school and my older brother was in high school. He smoked marijuana pretty much everyday really. I don’t remember when it began exactly but he did it and he eventually ended up dropping out of high school because of it.
Now I never expected someone who I looked up to, to do such a thing. I can’t blame him though. He did always hang around with the wrong crowd and my parents were often at work, and when they were home they were usually drinking and fighting, usually just arguments unless my mom had too much to drink.
Of course, most will assume that growing up in this environment must make the decision of either being for or against marijuana an easy decision. It hasn’t. How can that be you might ask? Sure it wasn’t the best thing around for me growing up but I can’t simply make a wise decision without having all the proper information.
That’s not the end though, because at times I do feel like going against the legalization or use of marijuana. The reason for that is because I saw first hand how my brother got into a few other drugs after marijuana and how it has affected him. Then hearing that my best friend used to smoke made me worry that she might end up like him.
With the two people closest to me being users in the past and hearing information about marijuana other than the negatives that our schools are required to tell us as a form of the war on drugs, picking a side hasn’t been easy. My position has become one of being smart about it. Don’t just do it because everyone else is. Really think about whether or not it’s something you need. Use it when necessary if you have to. Being in control because it is possible to slip into other drugs and from there it can get worse.
I can somewhat relate to what you are saying because I have known people who went from smoking weed occasionally to daily. I also agree that the legalization of marijuana is not a simple yes or no answer, it is much more complex because there are so many things to consider.
I can totally relate to how growing up being exposed to marijuana has made it difficult to either disagree or agree with the whole legalization controversy. For example I had a similar experience, growing up around when I was 16 years old I began to hang out with the wrong group of people, that meant that most of my friends would smoke and get into trouble because they thought they were “cool” . I lost many of my friends because I was more concerned in school then skipping or being in the streets, if you ask me where are those friends know I would tell you that most of my friends who smoked either dropped out of school or just disappeared from my life. I am not saying every single person can become a drop out if they smoke, but that based on my experience I disagree with the legalizing of marijuana.
I think that your decision to not just based marijuana on just personal experience is such a good one. Many people may consider that marijuana is good or bad just because of something like. One person could feel “oh well X person does it and they are perfectly fine” and another could be “well Y person did it and they ended up escalating to stronger drugs.” If you really feel that way then sure everyone is entitled to their own opinion but when it comes legalization it should really just be based on facts.
Like you said drug and alcohol doesn’t cause one to drop out, but the crowd or environment they grew up with. I feel bad for your brother and you for not having enough of your parent attention. I to have the same problem with lack of parent attention, but I can’t say that I hang with the wrong crowd as well, as I grew up with a grandma who was afraid of the influence of the outside world and what trouble I could get into. Therefore I would understand why you would be against legalizing marijuana.
I agree with what Juan says about the different ways people can turn out from using marijuana. I think the paths you go down all depend on your self control. Whether you choose to use marijuana or not its your self control that makes you stop at just weed and nothing more or nothing at all.
I believe that marijuana dependence differentiates between people. I have known some that took over the drug as a lifestyle and then dropped out/turned to other drugs. However, on the other hand I have seen people do it all the time and turn out to be very successful and very regarded at school and in the community. I believe just because a substance can make one person react one way and another person react another, doesn’t mean we should be against marijuana. Because we could say the same about alcohol, tobacco, prescription pills, etc.
I too have had this experience in my family, not my immediate family, but my aunt used marijuana and worked her way up to some pretty heavy stuff. However, I wouldn’t blame marijuana for her addiction to other drugs. There were so many other factors that contributed to her addiction and like your brother, it is usually the environment where addicts hang out and the decisions that they make that lead to their fall.