Pubdate: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 Source: Savannah Morning News (GA) Copyright: 2007 Savannah Morning News Contact: http://www.savannahnow.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/401 Author: Anne Hart Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion) BONG HITS MADE MOMMY BORING Columnist Anne Hart writes April 20, the unofficial holiday among pot smokers, is a time to talk to your kids about drugs. But how do you answer the question, "Mommy, did you ever smoke grass?" Friday is a big day for bong hits. April 20 - "4/20" in stoner code - has long been considered an unofficial holiday among marijuana users. It's a day to gather and chant "Free the weed" and write representatives calling for the decriminalization of pot. The phrase "420 friendly" is slang for marijuana use. Lots of theories exist as to the origin of 420. The most legitimate is it's a reference to 4:20 p.m., a time when a group of high school students in Marin County, Calif., met to smoke pot after school. Now 4:20 is considered somewhat of a pot-smoker's tea time. Say-no-to-drugs advocates urge parents to turn the tradition upside down and use April 20 as a time to talk to your kids about the dangers of drug use. (For all you squeaky-clean parents, if you decide to do this, be sure to pronounce it "four-twenty," not "four hundred and twenty.") These conversations are supposed to take place much earlier than high school, as anyone who has been on MySpace knows: Children experiment younger and younger with drugs. If we converse with our kids about the dangers of drugs, that's supposed to decrease the likelihood they will ever use them. My son can't even talk yet, but the idea of this distant parent-child dialogue makes me as nervous as a patchouli-scented stoner at a DARE rally. No doubt such a conversation will prompt the question: "Mommy, did you smoke pot?" I predict several different scenarios could follow such an inquiry. A) "Bless me Father for I have sinned ... I lied to my son about my past drug use." B) Telling him it doesn't matter what Mommy did, while distracting him with a scared-straight tour of a jail, complete with a lecture about the often very unfair, yet very real, mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenses. ("Did you know, honey, that mandatory minimum sentencing promotes racial disparities in the prison population because of the differences in sentencing for crack and cocaine? We can blame Ronald Reagan for that.") C) Leveling with the kid. "Yes, and I inhaled" while giving him the old "Do as I say, not as I did" song and dance. Then frightening him with facts about pot lowering sperm count, putting his future fertility at risk. Let's face it. Many adults who kicked back to Bob Marley and passed the toke a few times in their 20s certainly don't want to find Zig-Zag rolling papers tucked inside a copy of High Times in our kid's room. Not because we think teens doing pot is more dangerous than them raiding Grandma's stash of prescription painkillers. Nor do we believe that trying grass is necessarily a gateway drug that automatically turns kids into little Pablo Escobars. There are valid arguments for decriminalizing marijuana, and plenty of patients, doctors and nurses can vouch for the medical benefits of pot. But I still hate the idea of my son befriending Mary Jane. The reason is simple: I don't want his youth wasted away on the couch, giggling like Goldie Hawn, extolling the hidden genius and beauty behind Cheech and Chong and munching on Fruity Pebbles. I want him to use his imagination, not a joint, to escape. I want his personality and interests to define him and win him friends, not an extensive pipe collection. The cliche "high on life, not on drugs" comes to mind, as hopelessly square as that sounds. Who knows what parents should say when their kids ask us if we ever were 420-friendly. One possible approach: Bong hits are fun at first but put you at risk of being just another boring stoner with a low sperm count. If that doesn't work, point out that someday your kid's kid will ask the very same question. It's much easier if the answer is an honest "Hell, no." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake