ADULTS MAY HAVE SMOKED POT, BUT THEIR KIDS SHOULDN'T

From the time I was about 14 until I graduated from high school, I worked
summers as a junior camp counselor in upstate New York.

I would be assigned to a senior counselor, invariably a college senior or
graduate student, and usually worked the day camp.

But for a few days each year, the kids would stay overnight, and once we
put them down for the evening, we could head to the beach and make a fire.

I can still almost feel the chill breeze coming in off the lake and smell
the burning wood. Without too much more effort, I can also still smell the
burning pot.

As I reflect back on those seemingly carefree days of the mid-to-late
1970s, two things occur to me: one, they seemed a lot more innocent than
today; two, baby boomers sure did smoke a lot of weed.

Those college students I worked with are now deep in their 40s, with
children in their teens or in college who, if they are not experimenting
with drugs, are at least being exposed or tempted.

The drugs of choice seem to be primarily marijuana and alcohol and, to my
mild amusement, these very same people who smoked grass as if it were going
out of style along with their haircuts now seem to be very ambivalent about
how to deal with it.

The psychological gyrations many of them are going through to deal with
this issue and their children seem, well, so unnecessary.

In spite of the perceptions that marijuana is not a harmful drug and in
many circles it is quite fashionable, parents should be firm and
unequivocal with a message of opposition to its use, whatever their own
history.

Although marijuana has the image of a "safe drug," it is far from it.

Here's what Robert Schwebel, Ph.D, says in his helpful book, "Saying No Is
Not Enough; Helping Your Kids Make Wise Decisions About Alcohol, Tobacco,
and Other Drugs":

"Because marijuana reduces the ability to concentrate and affects
short-term memory, it can interfere with learning and academic success. Its
use, in some cases, can contribute to diminished motivation to succeed in
school. Also, the lifestyle of young people using marijuana is often
associated with'ditching'(school truancy)."

Smoking marijuana also impairs driving, is a risk factor for lung cancer,
may result in premature babies and low birth weights, and cause women to
have irregular menstrual cycles. The book says pot also can cause temporary
loss of fertility.

Despite this troubling list, there remains a wide range of views in the
ongoing debate over legalization or decriminalization of marijuana and like
drugs.

On one hand, you have those committed to the "war on drugs," who are
willing to continue spending about $100 million a day - as we are now - in
interdiction and enforcement, because they maintain drugs are a dangerous
threat to society.

Then there are those who wish to legalize controlled substances and modify
our current system of crime and punishment to reflect a more enlightened
strategy for combating use and addiction.

But as Mary Ann Solberg, executive director of the Troy Community
Coalition, a collaboration of Oakland County law enforcement and community
health agencies, said, there is nothing enlightening about drug consumption.

"There has been a real increase in the use of marijuana in Michigan,
especially in the metro Detroit suburban areas," she said.

Solberg's group points out that during the 1996-97 fiscal year, 51.5
percent of people younger than 20 who were admitted to treatment programs
had marijuana problems, while 34.4 percent were being treated for alcohol.

During that same year, 69 percent of the youths who entered programs for
treatment of marijuana abuse were 14-17 years old, said John Larsen, a
division program analyst for the Oakland County Health Division's office of
substance abuse. They made up about 22 percent of those admitted for
alcohol abuse.

"Alcohol admissions have fallen off considerably since 1994, and marijuana
has increased roughly 20 percent," he said.

The fact is baby boomers should not hesitate to be firm in discouraging
drug experimentation - even if they went through the phase themselves.

It is not being hypocritical to say no. It is simply one of the
contradictions of being a parent. Social maturation means you have to be
concerned about your responsibility for providing care and practical
guidance for your child.

Trevor W. Coleman is a Free Press editorial writer. You can write him at
321 W. Lafayette, Room 544, Detroit, Mich. 48226, or via E-mail at:
coleman@det-freepress.com

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski