Parents Accused Of Rewarding Sons With Pot

[The Straight Story]

Parents Accused Of Rewarding Sons With Pot

POSTED: 4:05 pm EDT June 11, 2006
UPDATED: 4:08 pm EDT June 11, 2006

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- Police have arrested two Chandler parents accused of giving marijuana to their young sons as a reward for good behavior.

Toni Lynn Carlson, 31, and Aaron Virgil Carlson, 23, were booked on suspicion of possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia, possessing marijuana for sale, contributing to the delinquency of minors and endangerment, police said.

The couple were taken into custody last week after detectives served a search warrant at their home and found a quarter-pound of marijuana.

Police said the boys -- ages 12 and 11, and a 4-year-old girl -- were in the care and custody of a family member.

The investigation began after authorities received tips from a neighbor about the possible usage and sale of drugs at the home, police said.

http://www.local6.com/news/9353089/detail.html

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Yep, can't have that there terrible Maryjewanna corrupting the kiddies

better that they be drugged up with ritalin and stuff like that-after all, studies have shown that ritalin has negative side effects, whereas little pot studies have been done because the government won't allow it......


that being said, I do think 11 and 12 is a bit young to start smoking anything.....

[Redstone]

7. Gimme a fucking break. Would you have been supportive of

the parents giving the kids shots of tequila?

Redstone

[ProgressivePatriot]

11. Apples and oranges....

There is no comparison to pot and booze.

[Redstone]

14. Balls. See #8 downthread. Smoking dope makes you every bit as stupid

as drinking does.

Redstone

[ProgressivePatriot]

18. Show me the science.....

that the two are even remotely connected.

[Redstone]

22. Talk to the average 25-year-old man who still lives with

his parents, playing video games in the basement for six hours a day.

I see that you're a Marijuana As An Answer To Everything acolyte, so I'll not waste any more time arguing with you. It would be like arguing with a Gun Nut or a Fundamentalist Christian, so it's not worth my time.

(PS: I do think that people should be able to smoke some grass if they want to, especially if they have a medical condition that it can help. Or if they just want to; that should be legal, too. But there have to be boundaries; I don't want to be on the highway next to a stoned driver any more than I want to be next to a drunk driver. But you don't seem to be able to make that leap of logic, so we'll part ways now.)

Redstone

[ProgressivePatriot]

31. Don't run off....

prove your point.

By the way....I never drive while smoking or drinking OR shooting any of my firearms.

[Occulus]

70. And would you belittle that same guy

if he's studying animation and modeling to get into the game industry?

Holy fucking Christ, you're full of broad brushes.

[Nabia2004]

87. sure, if he's stoned 24/7

if he's studying animation and modeling to get into the game industry?

wow, how often have I heard that lame ass excuse!

[Nabia2004]

86. you nailed it...

and just describe one of my employees. Fortunately, good cognitive skills are not a requirement for the job.

[Asgaya Dihi]

29. Not true actually

I'm not one of those "pot is harmless" people, it's not. But it's not that big a deal to most people either, when used appropriately. While driving isn't appropriate.

Two links on the subject you might be interested in. One is a collection of sourced and generally peer reviewed conclusions on what pot actually does and doesn't do. The second is a similar collection of info on pot and driving.

http://drugwarfacts.org/marijuan.htm
http://www.drugwardistortions.org/distortion12.htm

I wouldn't suggest that anyone drive impaired in any way, and that includes eating or doing make-up while driving as well as high. But that doesn't make one just like the other, they aren't.

[Occulus]

69. Horseshit.

My best piano compositions- as well as being among the few I've actually completed- were written after smoking up.

I submit you don't know WTF you're talking about.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

25. Did you read the second line of my post?

That was the important one-that 11 and 12 years is way too young to expose them to any kind of smoking. The first part was a satire on how "horrible" most MSM portray pot to be. Of course the parents were stupid for doing it. They would be equally stupid to give them liquor or, imho, some of the drugs doctors prescribe that have been proven to be unsafe.

[Mythsaje]

2. Well, those two boys will hate the authorities for the rest of their lives

A small price to pay for eliminating such great menaces to society.

[Kutjara]

3. The mother should also be arrested...

...for statutory rape. Aaron is 23 and his oldest son is 12. Article doesn't say that he's a stepdad. ;)

[karlrschneider]

4. Shit. Born 45 years too late.

:grr:

[Swamp Rat]

5. All this commotion over a quarter-pound of God's Creation?

:eyes: What a waste of time and resources! :eyes:

Meanwhile, American soldiers and innocent civilians die in Iraq.

[Raine]

6. I don't care what it is

children shouldn't be given mind altering crap at that age, including alcohol.

[Redstone]

8. THANK YOU for a voice of sanity in this thread.

It's always amazed me that people who would NEVER think of drinking a shot of whiskey on the way to work in the morning think a doobie during the commute is just peachy.

Redstone

[ecoalex]

10. sugar, cafine, and artificial colors flavors are ok, but a herb

is the devil???

[acmejack]

12. Reefer madness persists.

still

[Redstone]

15. Yes, when you smoke it and then drive.

Redstone

[ProgressivePatriot]

19. Were the couple kids driving?

Driving is not the issue here.

[Redstone]

23. Giving 11-year-old kids a psychoactive drug is the fucking issue.

I give up. You folks who think that smoking dope is like drinking Pepsi are way too much for me.

Redstone

[brazil]

24. Ahh, but Pepsi contains a psychoactive drug...

...or have you not checked the ingredients lately? ;)

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. You can get high on Pepsi?

Wow learn something new every day here on DU.

[brazil]

33. psy·cho·ac·tive

From dictionary.com:

psy·cho·ac·tive
adj.

Affecting the mind or mental processes. Used of a drug.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine:

Beverages containing caffeine — such as coffee, tea, and soda — enjoy popularity great enough to make caffeine the world's most popular psychoactive drug.

[ProgressivePatriot]

37. But that don't count...

cuz it's legal. lol

[Occulus]

73. And then there's this attitude:

"We shouldn't try to make it legal because it's already illegal."

I really want to sock people who think that way, I really do....

[proud2BlibKansan]

40. I repeat my question: can you get high on Pepsi?

[ProgressivePatriot]

42. If your tolerance to caffeine is low, then yes.

Once in awhile I get a cup of coffee that sends me jittering on my way....but caffeine rarely affects me after 30 some years of use.

[proud2BlibKansan]

45. Ah - but pot always gets you high.

[ProgressivePatriot]

49. No it doesn't.....

Back in the day, I would have to take time off from smoking so I could get high...usually a month or two at a time. I built up tolerance to it.

[proud2BlibKansan]

77. I guess I was lucky and never had that problem

[ProgressivePatriot]

79. It was never a problem....

just a fad....Then came the pee tests...so, had to be responsible and put limits on it.

[ProgressivePatriot]

34. Again....Some Merck Index training would help out here.,

You might find Pepsi is more harmful.

[Yollam]

76. I give my kids beer and wine.

And I have done so since they were 5 years old. Now, I don't give them a lot, but I'd rather them grow up with the European notion that alcohol is something to be enjoyed in moderation, not some "forbidden fruit" that they ought to consume like this:




That's what the drug war mentality gets you. Kids die of alcohol poisoning all the time you know.

Now, you're right that 11 is too young to take any amount of marijuana. But I just hate hearing marijuana described as though it were LSD, PCP or some other hardcore drug. Almost everybody has tried it at one time or another, and very, very few people end up using it habitually. It should be legalized.

(I personally haven't touched the stuff in 8 years, BTW)

[LostinVA]

84. I agree, Redstone

And I am very much in the pot should legalized crowd. Kids this young should be given NO mind altering drugs, whether pot, booze, many prescription drugs, etc. They need to finish physically growing, especially their brains.

These are KIDS: their bodies should be given proper nutrition in every way. An, for the poster up thread, I do think this means no artificial colors, no HFCS, and a moderate amount of sugar and little caffeine.

[Occulus]

72. What about turkey? n/t

[CanSocDem]

89. You're wrong about driving while stoned.

Obviously, we don't want to encourage 'impaired driving'......but those of us who have been smoking for 40 years, know from experience, the effects of cannabis. If we have been driving for the same amount of time, we know something about that as well.

Cannabis was the drug of choice for long haul truck drivers for years during the 70's. When truck drivers were forced to quit smoking pot, there was no notable drop in truck-related accidents.

Truck drivers had a legitimate justification.....Meeting another truck on some narrow two lane highway, all you really wanted was that the driver was wide-awake and calm. How they got to that mental state was up to them.

[ProgressivePatriot]

20. More folks need to know how to use

The Merck Manual. Comparing LD50 data on some of the 'safe' stuff may open some eyes.

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. It's illegal

Sugar, caffeine and artificial colors are not.

[ProgressivePatriot]

35. It is illegal in some states....

for a wife to walk in front of her husband, too.

[proud2BlibKansan]

39. It's also illegal to spit on the sidewalk in some states

So let's just stop enforcing ALL laws, since some are silly!!

:sarcasm:

[ProgressivePatriot]

43. My point about pot is just that. Controlled by silly laws. eom

[proud2BlibKansan]

46. But they are laws none the less

I agree with you and I have favored legalization of marijuana for a couple three decades now. But it is still illegal and giving it to kids this young is both very wrong and very stupid. Even if it was legal, I would not think that what these parents did is okay. No way.

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. I agree Redstone

and I completely support the legalization of marijuana. But for ADULT consumption, not 11 and 12 year olds.

[brazil]

36. For the record...

...I do not condone promoting marijuana use for those under 18. But then again, I don't think it serves anyone well for kids to be introduced to the criminal justice system for such a minor issue. Do you have a good solution?

[proud2BlibKansan]

38. The kids weren't arrested, their parents were

From the article:
"Police said the boys -- ages 12 and 11, and a 4-year-old girl -- were in the care and custody of a family member."

So how is this introducing these kids to the justice system?

[brazil]

55. In this case, no.

I was referring more to this statement: "I completely support the legalization of marijuana. But for ADULT consumption, not 11 and 12 year olds."

Perhaps it's adults who provide pot to minors that should suffer severe consequences? But what about an 18-year-old who provides it to a 16-year-old friend, or (as mentioned below) a parent who provides it to a 16-year-old who is bound, determined, and capable of getting it himself from a dealer who's also trying to push crack.

There's no easy answer, really. I asked the question honestly, not as an argumentative tactic.

[proud2BlibKansan]

64. As a parent, if I found myself in the situation you describe with a 16 yr

old kid, I don't think I would give him pot. I think my money would be more wisely spent on a counselor for my kid.

The bottom line in this situation is that pot is illegal. It might not be a reasonable law and it might not be fair, but it is the current law. Yes, I think it should be legal, but it's not. A pot bust can destroy an adult's career and give a kid a criminal record. So no, I can honestly say that I would not give pot to my 16 yr old kid.

[Occulus]

71. You suffered a loss because of drugs or alcohol, didn't you? n/t

[theHandpuppet]

81. Thank you

You would think that would be a no-brainer but some folks around here are so besotted with marijuana they'd probably find a way to stuff it into their baby's bottle.

[niallmac]

9. Did it work? nt

[brazil]

13. I don't know which is worse...

...giving a twelve-year-old pot, or giving a two-year-old Diet Coke.

Now, I don't condone giving pot to twelve-year-olds, but I'm appalled at the kinds of things parents give their kids as "rewards" for good behavior - aspartame, sucralose, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.

I'd give my twelve-year-old a shot of tequila before I'd give him any of those frankenfoods...

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

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[brazil]

21. In Western Europe...

...it's perfectly normal for a twelve-year-old to have a glass of wine with a meal at home. And the Europeans are in better shape, have longer lifespans, and have much lower health care costs. No obesity epidemic or outbreak of Type II Diabetes over there.

A lot of this is because their food is fresher and less adulterated with chemicals, although this is unfortunately starting to change.

I'll take my chances with the tried-and-true foods that we've eaten (and survived) for hundreds of years. Chemically engineered foods are far worse on the body than either alcohol or pot (edit: in moderation), and I'll stand by that statement when it comes to both children and adults.

[The Straight Story]

30. Well Redstone

Have to agree with you mostly.

I think the point some are trying to make though is - as a society we are outraged at things like this (they make news afterall, and are criminal offenses) yet some see other items nearly as bad, as bad, or worse - items which are socially accepted, pushed, and often expected.

In that sense, I can agree with other posters on this. I think it is a case of both you and they are right to varying degrees.

Other things being wrong does not mean this is not wrong (and, to me, it is). But it seems society as a whole can be quite hypocritical on things.

Ask em why they don't want kids to have pot and you will get several valid and good reasons. Among such good reasons were the ones you cited.

Ask the same society if those same value judgements they use to prevent pot smoking applies to other items which also have a varying degree of bad affects, and they get a little perturbed.

Only tried it once in my 40 years of life. Didn't do jack to me. Have no interest in doing it again. Beer on the other hand I like and does affect me in ways which I enjoy :) And while beer is bad for me in several ways, it is only a little more so (or less) that other things in society we push and advertise. And those things kids are welcome to.

So let's get on the bandwagon against kids and pot, and booze, and smoking. I am with that all the way. I think most here would like that bandwagon expanded - and that is why they are upset.

edited for my poor grammar.

[brazil]

32. Well-reasoned post...

...you did get my main point.

I never said that these parents were role models - quite the opposite. But a lot of those who are quick to judge them are doing equally bad things to their children. One of these behaviors is classified by a certain segment of society as so bad that it justifies breaking up a family, while another is viewed as perfectly acceptable by the same segment of society.

I don't promote giving kids pot. There are too many unknowns regarding its effects on the brain development in early adolescents. Just like many of the frankenfoods I mentioned, along with most modern pharmaceuticals. I won't be giving my kids any of it unless the benefits greatly outweigh the risks.

[sweetheart]

48. So you'd rather they got their pot from friends at school?

Its not a question of whether, but where. At least the parents by controlling
the situation can make sure the kids get safe dosages that do not harm them.

Man people who don't know how the real drugs world works make up some silly stuff.

[The Straight Story]

51. Sounds like the parents aren't controlling much

if their kids are getting pot from their friends.


But I guess I lived in a different world back in the day. The parents actually had control - some abused it, but many used it and kept their kids in line. Those that didn't - well we all knew those families.

My parents used a form of control I call guilt. We had a ton of freedom, the worst thing in the world to do was disappoint them. No spanking, hitting, etc. We just saw how much things hurt them and it killed us. They did their best for us, and asked a few small things in return. When we failed them, it sucked.

To me - the point where you no longer have any control over your kid is the day they are an adult and should move the hell out. Some might be 14, some 16, some later. But one thing I make clear - if you don't want my rules, then you don't want my roof over your head or the food I buy you.

But let's say you do catch your kid doing something like buying pot, etc - what do you DO? Ok, talk to them, and if that fails??

[Asgaya Dihi]

54. Teach them

My kids have never used it as far as I know, but if they did I'd deal with it and do anything I could to keep them out of trouble. So far education has worked fine, they've seen the smokers cough heavy users get and both are smart kids so the short term memory loss still means something to them in school. Legal risk matters too. There's enough real reasons to stay careful especially while young, we can be honest with them.

If they were a different type of kid I'd still rather see them at home than on the streets or in jail. I can still reach them at home maybe, and they'd still be my kid.

[brazil]

52. Maybe for a 16-year-old...

...when older, the child will have a degree of independence and autonomy and if motivated, will get pot on his or her own, whether you like it or not, and likely from a dealer who might also have meth, crack, etc. on offer. In this type of situation, it's the lesser of two evils to provide a limited quantity for personal use in the home, assuming you know exactly where it's coming from. Of course, in this time and place, there are severe legal and social repercussions for doing so, even though it is probably the best solution from a pragmatic perspective.

But this article is talking about a 12-year-old and an 11-year-old. Ground the kid. It's not a case for the criminal justice system, but it is a case for parental discipline.

[Tsiyu]

17. True

i wish people stood up as strongly for the "purity" of kids' bodies when it comes to the crap they put in food.

[Name removed]

41. Deleted message

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[Swamp Rat]

44. I agree

Btw, do you know of a town named "Keith" somewhere near Aberdeen?

[sweetheart]

47. Aberdeen?

Keith is more towards Elgin:
http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&X=340000.490266016&Y=850000.336889043&width=500&height=300&gride=343141.490266016&gridn=850720.336889043&srec=0&coordsys=gb&db=freegaz&addr1=&addr2=&addr3=&pc=&advanced=&local=&localinfosel=&kw=&inmap=&table=&ovtype=&keepicon=true&zm=0&out.x=7&out.y=9&scale=200000

"Aberlour" is the nearest whiskey if you're planning to "drink" keith, "Glenfiddich"? as well.

[Swamp Rat]

50. Those are drinks?

I haven't a clue about whiskey, except that I once drank half a shot of 12 yr old scotch. Even though I normally don't like hard alcoholic beverages I thought it was delicious. :9

I asked because we have traced my mother's side of the family back to the 17th century, in Keith. The more I know the better I will be prepared if I ever have a chance to visit - I want to be in the right plaid and have the dirk, etc. :D

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

56. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Ikonoklast]

78. Who mentioned anything about racism?

If you are accusing me of racism, I hope that you take one step back before you do so. I tolerate that from no man.


Your post is not coherent. I am not trying to be confrontational, but this discussion is not a referendum on drug laws, but about child endangerment.


I can't go back to the television, as I don't own one. Sorry.

[sweetheart]

82. No

You are repeating the harsh judgement of the cannabis invective, and that approach
is derived from racism, yes, fact. It does not make you a racist, but it does
ask why you repeat it as if it were "your" judgement.

A quarter pound of pot means the parents were poor and trying to earn some extra
money to get by... it means the family is poor in an economy where minimum wage
jobs don't pay the rent, so people do something extra on the side, so many people..
32,000,000 US cannabis smokers.

The real issue is that the kids get raised by their family that loves them, and
for all the misjudgements, you are using a black and white moral scale, where the
reality is far less palitable. You presume that the kids, when taken away by social
services in our sick, uncivil society, will find a better home than they came from.
This is highly unlikely, and then its a moral conundrum, as by doing what you
say is the "right" thing, and taking the kids away, you curse them to a worse
life, to losing their parents and their family, and all in the name of protecting them.
So whilst your argument may sound like their protector, it is nothing of the sort.

What it turns out to be in practice, is criminalizing poverty, and using the drugs laws
as an excuse to break up families who are poor. Then the argument you're making
belongs in Dikensian England, and not in a civil society.

[Asgaya Dihi]

57. Lots of things are crimes

In principle I agree with sweetheart here, it's not good to give or allow kids pot but if they do use it's not the worst thing that could happen to them. Being taken from their parents might be though. Kids have grown up using pot for ages, Carl Sagan was a pot smoker and his ex-wife an official at NORML. It's not going to end their chances in itself, might not really impair them.

No, it's not a good idea, but in perspective it's not worth what happened as a first option. Better to see if something could be fixed rather than just destroy the family over pot.

[Swamp Rat]

58. "Don't Tread On Me"

... with immoral, draconian laws based on fear and misinformation that cause more harm to humanity than the actual object of prohibition.

"I would not like you anywhere near my children if you cannot see that giving pot to children endangers them. Your arguments not only don't make sense, they would be laughed at by any sane person." - Where did sweatheart condone giving pot to children? Who says we want to be near your children in the first place? :shrug:

[Ikonoklast]

61. Read Post #41

Giving pot to kids is no big deal, at least it is safer than breaking up the family.


I have NO problem with what adults do to themselves, but if you give pot to a minor child you are a criminal.

Try telling anything different to a child advocate, social worker, gaurdian ad litem, anyone working with children in the legal arena. They will laugh at you for being absurd. It is child endangerment.

I have been there. I have seen what giving drugs such as pot and alcohol to minors can do, and have dealt with the legal system because of it.


Have you?

[Swamp Rat]

65. Perhaps you should stop assuming we have less experience than you

Some of us have law degrees, have been in prison, have PhDs in child psychology, are certified substance abuse counselors, are recovering addicts, are chemical engineers, sociologists, anthropologists, etc.

Maybe we have a lot more experience than you, both collectively and individually.

Your confrontational style reminds me of recovering addicts in their first months of sobriety. It might work in group therapy, but you will find it is not always appropriate on a public message board... if, in fact, your intention is to convince others that your point is valid.

[Ikonoklast]

68. And my personal experience is meaningless

Along with my education. And maybe you have no clue as to my personal history, lowly born that I am. I bow before the cognoscenti, and their opinions that you have so gallantly put forth for them in their absence.


May I ask you, if you had minor children, would you give them pot? Straight out answer now.



This discussion is about the safety of the children involved, which all those DU members you have mentioned above, individually and collectively, would see as the paramount concern. You, however, have taken it as a personal referendum on marijuana use. I have previously stated that I see no problem with an adult making the choice to use for themselves; giving pot to minor children is an absolutely different subject.

Your response is a denial of fact, that some substances should never, under any circumstances, be given to a minor child.

I have a family member in the legal profession that spends his life protecting children. He also does foster care for children from homes where drugs are abused. He adopted a son that came from a home where drug use was rampant, and his new son will have years to recuperate from that ordeal in a loving environment. My brother has far, far more patience than I would ever have, but my new nephew has a chance at having a real life outside of the hell he came from.


When it comes to the safety of children, there is no negotiation. Swamp Rat, I enjoy reading your posts, but the concerns of the children and their safety is the ONLY thing that matters. The parents were selling drugs out of their home, would you say that all the customers were persons of good character? What about those that would come with guns for the drugs and money; is that a safe environment for the children?

Any time children are taken from their natural parents, the legal system takes into account their safety as the overriding concern, even above the rights of the parents. Taking children from their natural parents is the last thing that a court wants to do, if you know someone in child advocacy ask them. But, they must be protected from abuse.

[Swamp Rat]

74. I am sorry, I cannot debate with you.

There are too many assumptions and accusations in the post above, but I would like to agree with you on one very important point: we both care deeply about the welfare of children. :)

[RagingInMiami]

63. I'm not sure how I feel about this

I will take a hit and get back to you

[RagingInMiami]

66. OK, I took a couple of hits

And it cleared my mind. It seems that the people who are really upset about this are parents. I know Redstone is a parent.

I wonder if the people who are defending the parents giving weed to their kids are parents. I would bet not.

When I was a teenager, I would have loved to have parents like this because my parents were always pissed off that I was smoking weed. Of course, I was 16 at the time.

Even though I am now 37 and still like to smoke, I don't think the parents should give it to their 12, 11 and 4 year old kids. Especially the 4-year-old.

In this case, I doubt the 23-year-old man is father to the 11 and 12 year old, and he may not even be father to the 4-year-old.

And the problem I have with this article is that they didn't really give examples or evidence that the adults were actually rewarding the kids with pot. It looks like they were dealers, but they should have been more specific about the reward part. At least a quote from a cop.

For all we know, the 12-year-old kid stole pot from his/her parents and then told cops it was a reward for being good.

[Asgaya Dihi]

67. That's what bothers me about this whole thing

We don't remember Tulia, we don't remember the Dallas Sheetrock scandal, or going back farther the McMartin preschool trials. We're just so quick to condemn on accusations.

They may have been dealers, may have grown a crop for personal use. May have shared it with the kids or it may have been a story twisted out of an interview by an ambitious cop. They say they never had a clue before then and we don't know what clue if any they have now. The article says they are looking into the possibility that they shared with others, but based on what we don't know. Some are just pretty sure that people need locked up and kids taken.

That's how we got the prison system we have today. Maybe we should be sure we've got a problem first and if so see what other options we might have as well. And yeah, I have kids, 12 and 18.

[Yollam]

75. As a parent of 2 boys...

... i would not give them pot, especially at such a young age. I used to rarely enjoy a joint (like maybe once in 2 years after my heyday, which was around age 21) I thought it was a nice pastime, and harmless enough, but I quit entirely when I had kids, because I didn't want them to see me giving the example of escaping one's problems through drugs. I drink very little alcohol and don't smoke for the same reason. That being said, I still think pot should be legal, and if my kids were mature enough, I wouldn't freak out over their experimenting a bit. I just hope they would outgrow it like most other people I know. (Since we are living in Japan, it's highly unlikely - people here equate MJ with crack - enforcement is much more strict here) Blows my mind that people in their 30's and 40's still sit around and get baked all the time. I think I did all I could do with MJ. I don't need it anymore.

But any parent that would give pot to a kid that young is extremely irresponsible. The US justice system's punishment will probably be too harsh due to drug-war puritanism, but they do deserve punishment of some sort. Maybe cleaning up a mile of highway embankment wearing those orange vests...

[RagingInMiami]

80. Believe it or not

There are people in their 60s and 70s that sit around and get baked.

[LostinVA]

83. Kids that young shouldn't be smoking pot

Or drinking alcohol. They need to let their brain finish developing first.

THis is irresponsible behavior by the parents -- the children are too young.

[MadHound]

85. As a long time supporter of legalizing all drugs

I find the notion of giving dope to children to be a crime. While I think that we should legalize dope(along with other drugs), I also believe that we should control it as we do alcohol, including setting a minimum age at which it is legal to consume.

[Tsiyu]

88. One of the networks had a show on once

about a young boy who was extremely hyperactive. The only thing that worked was pot brownies to calm him down.

The mother was in a catch22 situation. If she didn't "control" her child, the state was going to take him away. If she used pot to control her child, the state was going to take him away.

It was sad and telling. I wonder what happenned to her and her son.

Marijuana is an herb, smoked or heated and consumed in its pure, unadulterated form. It is not synthesized, or developed in a lab, but it has been in use for thousands of years. That's because it has a calming affect on some people, as well as stimulating appetite and helping with sleep disorders, nightmares, nausea etc. Compared to Ritalin, or the myriad drugs they're shoving down our kids throats to "calm them," it is benign and non- addictive and the side-effects are minimal and not life-threatening.

As an RT working with neonates, i had to study the effects of maternal drugs on the neonate. Pot has no known deleterious effect on newborns.
Alcohol does some of the worst damage to the unborn, yet it is perfectly legal.

Now, i do not know this family, and I agree that 11 and 12 are young ages to smoke anything, but in the 70's when I came of age, lots of 11 and 12 year olds were smoking it behind their parents' backs. Do these kids need it for hyperactivity? Maybe. It works for that, even if the pharmaceutical companies have no financial record of its success.

Incarcerating the parents for this is short-sighted and a waste of taxpayer dollars. Unless you want to incarcerate all the parents of morbidly obese kids, whose parents are allowing them to consume substances that have long-term harmful consequences.

I think the hypocrisy evident here is so sad. DO any of you take drugs? If you are in chronic pain and you take a lot of meds for that pain, would you advocate giving those same type meds to kids if they were in chronic pain? Do you drive while on those meds?

I believe there are some kids who should have heavy drugs for their pain. I worked in a childrens hospital for five years, so i speak from seeing 10-year-olds dying of cancer. In the same way, I think MJ should be considered as an option for hyperactive, depressed, or PTSD kids the same as it is currently used by adults. Not saying that these kids in the story needed the pot, just that those who say Horrors! DRUGS! are really being puritanical idiots IMO when it comes to this substance.

i've seen a cousin destroyed at a young age not by the pot she decided to try to help her with her depression and other issues ( bi-racial child with crappy social climbing parents) but by the hundreds of thousands of $$$$$ her parents spent to put her in wilderness camps and mental institutions. All because of the demon weed.

And Straight Story, I was trying figure out your avatar, and it reminded me of the movie The Straight Story and then I saw your screenname and said DUH! That is one of my favorite movies of all times.