TWEEN TWELVE AND TWENTY

Defining Psychological and Physical Addictions

DR. WALLACE: You stated in a recent column that marijuana is not a
physically dependent drug and that, in fact, marijuana is a
psychologically dependent drug.

Can you please explain this in more detail? My fiance smokes at least
one or two marijuana cigarettes every evening. Other than being a
little giddy, he appears to have no ill effect. - Phoebe, Hammond, Ind.

PHOEBE: According to Life Skills Education in Weymouth, Mass., a drug
user is psychologically dependent on a drug (marijuana) when the user
feels that the drug is an important and necessary part of his or her
life. The body does not demand the drug, but the mind does because it
remembers that using the drug produces a good feeling. The user
believes that life is much more pleasant when the drug is in his or her system.

A drug user is physically dependent on a drug when the user suffers
withdrawal symptoms if the drug's use is stopped and there is an
overpowering drive to use the drug, regardless of its consequences
(cocaine, LSD, heroin, methamphetamine). The body of a physically
addictive drug user needs the drug so it can function without pain.
Without the drug, the physically dependent user could have
convulsions, severe sweating, and go into a coma resulting in death.
A physically addicted person will go to any lengths to gain the money
to purchase the drug. It's a vicious cycle that can end in death to
the user or to an innocent victim.

DR. WALLACE: There is a girl who attends my church who is a perfect
10. I'd really like to go out with her, but I'm not a perfect 10. I
asked my two sisters to give me a number rating and they agreed that I'm an 8.

Should I ask her out and risk being shot out of the saddle or should
I forget about it? My ego would suffer if I struck out. - Bobby,
Zanesville, Ohio.

BOBBY: Forget about giving girls numerical rankings. Besides, beauty
is only skin deep!

Yes, ask this girl for a date. You will never have the opportunity to
go out with her unless you do. Babe Ruth struck out more than 2,000
times, but he also hit 714 home runs!

TEENS: Inexperience, uncontrolled exuberance, and a lack of good
judgment have caused the deaths of many teens who considered
themselves to be invincible.

And now a deadly new fad is starting on the West Coast. It's called
"ghost riding."

It's a stunt where the driver of an automobile crawls out of the car
and dances on the roof to the beat of loud hip-hop music while the
vehicle is moving slowly.

In early December an 18-year-old ghost rider from Stockton, Calif.,
was killed when his head slammed into a parked car while he was
getting ready to climb onto the car's roof.

"Ghost riding" refers to the absence of a driver. In most cases, the
driver puts the moving car into neutral, crawls out of the window or
an open door and dances on top of the vehicle while the car moves
forward at a slow pace. Sometimes as many as a half dozen or more
crawl out of the car and dance on the hood and roof. The game is
usually played at night in a deserted area, but the more adventurous
try it on main streets.

Stockton, Calif., police said that they have written over 1,500
citations in the past nine months for "ghost riders."

Besides deaths, the stunt has led to numerous injuries. "Ghost
riders" say they enjoy the thrill, but they never comprehend what can
happen when the thrill goes away.

DR. WALLACE: Why in the world is it never made public that if smoking
doesn't kill you, you could live in agony, isolated at home with a
breathing apparatus that must be carried with you whenever you leave the house?

Why don't schools have smokers who have emphysema struggle into the
classroom with their oxygen tanks and deliver the overwhelming
message that cigarettes don't always kill. They cause their victims
to suffer for countless years gasping for each breath? Why isn't this
nightmare told? - Annie, Hardie, Syracuse, Ind.

ANNIE: You just told it! Thanks!

DR. WALLACE: I feel my sister is too old to still be considered by
our family to be a tomboy. My sister is 17 and all she seems to enjoy
is competing athletically with her boyfriend and his buddies.

Her boyfriend is a starter on our high school boys' basketball team
and my sister is the high school girls' basketball team's best
player. Every weekend my sister and her boyfriend play basketball
one-on-one in our driveway. My sister usually wins.

During football season my sister plays flag football, again with her
boyfriend and his friends. She can run, throw and catch the football
better than most of the guys.

Our family would like my sister to dress up and look more like the
beautiful young lady she really is. My mom doesn't like my sister
being a tomboy. She already has been awarded a college scholarship to
play basketball at Butler University.

My mom thinks my sister is not feminine. Help! - Sister, Indianapolis.

SISTER: Your sister might be considered to be a tomboy, but there is
nothing whatsoever that is "unfeminine" about tomboys.

Unfortunately, your parents see being a tomboy as a negative trait.
Tell them not to fear!

Janet Hyde, a psychologist at Bowling Green University in Ohio,
points out that research shows that most tomboys tomboys become
self-assured, well-adjusted women.