Thread: my son is smoking pot

Originally Posted by Mike Blue

This survey is of particular interest.

What I got out of it is that the peak in cigarettes smoking coincides with the Lewinsky-gate
Coincidence - may be - the late nineties were one super fast crazy blur for me

On a more serious note it's interesting indeed - to me it seems to be likely tied to the increased commercialization of higher education like you are eluding. Things that are bad for business tend to get special attention from the administration and with time this can grow into a culture shift.

Originally Posted by prodigy

Your belief that by smoking pot makes someone less of a man is quite disturbing.

I think you took what I said wrong, I meant that most of us grow up and start families and careers, and that's a bit easier if your not stoned all the time. IMHO.
P.S. I'm not talking about casual use.

Originally Posted by gugi

What I got out of it is that the peak in cigarettes smoking coincides with the Lewinsky-gate ...

Given that we can each see something in the statistics for ourselves, I suppose that historical events can influence things. Perhaps the Lewinsky episode has a particular value for you Ivan? History is a threat to validity that has to be taken to account.

This set of data drove some of my graduate research. The graph indicates college freshmen who are already using substances. Adding one more question about other drugs, did not significantly change the percentage of kids using substances. Even if you correct for age-legality (common around alcohol/driving etc.) it's a fairly stable number over 40 years. I would consider that about that percentage of the population is likely to try substances and either have a problem or get over it. The rest will experiment and let them drop or remain casual and uncompromised for the most part.

Ha, yes indeed. When I look at a graph I tend to try to notice any notable feature, so a peak, change of slope, inflection points and such normally draw my attention. And then I wonder: is there anything off the top of my head that can relate to this feature in any way. So I was thinking 1998-1999, what did USA look like then and there were two things I could come up with - the balkan wars and the lewinsky story The second had a notable connection with tobacco that the first didn't, so you can see my preference for that
Plus there is my earlier startling discovery that the Democratic and RINO presidents drive people to drinking, while true conservative Republican presidents make them give it up, so I was already in the zone of making wild political theories
And lastly I've had half a bottle of Vermentino tonight, so I am in a less inhibited state...

Forty years covers more than two generations so it's a good representation to evaluate stable societal trends. I assume there is no significant difference in the trends between 'frequently' and 'occasionally' components in the data.

smoked plenty of hoota in the younger days and took a heap of LSD to boot
never had any long lastin.... did you see the size of that unicorn

where was I, oh yeh seriously try and promote open discussions with the boy, find out his reasons & then look at what level of intervention may be required.
agree hoota is better than anything else for sure
due to being a heavy industry town with most employers conducting random drug tests as part of every day work, most youngen's here seam to lean towards heavier synthetic drugs as they are out of their systems quicker in case of a drug test, but far worse for them.
I have a 27, 25, 21 & 18 year old & all have friends who take something regularly
I know mine have all at least tried something, not that they will fully admit it to me or Mum, but we are a close family and i know they talk to each other more about these & many other life choices, but thankfully they all had sporty well socialized childhoods, giving them enough self-confidence to stick to & make educated decisions not based on pier pressures & don't partake anything except the dreaded booze.

so if he cant talk to you directly maybe try a trusted (by him) friend or family member .
hope you can pull it up sooner rather than later with a positive outcome.

Hey mate,

I'm still very young and have my first child on the way. But in truth when I was younger, my drug use was very much associated with a need for acceptance from my dad.

I'm not at all trying to imply that you aren't a good father or lacking in some way at all. All I'm suggesting is that your son may not be feeling accepted by you, which could have stemmed from something seemingly insignificant.

Perhaps, sitting down and having an honest conversation with him and being ready to receive what he tells you and processing that could be a good step to ensure that he doesn't keep down a dark path.

Cheers,

Andrew

Originally Posted by Substance

[...] due to being a heavy industry town with most employers conducting random drug tests as part of every day work, most youngen's here seam to lean towards heavier synthetic drugs as they are out of their systems quicker in case of a drug test, but far worse for them. [...]

Im still baffled by how it is considered to be any of the employers business what you do outside of work and how they are authorized to do randomized testing. How about a weekly interview with parents and three psychologists to test wether or not they mistreat their children, and that there is no severe home stress that could possibly have a negative effect on work?

If drugs or alcohol are of influence in the work space, it will be noticed (absences, severe lack of focus) and a case can be made for testing when there are strong suspicions of substance abuse (which can, obviously, only be noticed when they occur in the workplace). But testing everybody randomly whenever "because safety" (and bottom line, of course) and "if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear" is pushing the limits of privacy, in my opinion.


On a lighter note:

Originally Posted by Grizzley1

I think you took what I said wrong, I meant that most of us grow up and start families and careers, and that's a bit easier if your not stoned all the time. IMHO.
P.S. I'm not talking about casual use.

Families and careers are for dopes.

...




To the OP, Andrew's reply may have something to it. As many up here have said, I too would suggest a good sit down with open communication. The last thing you want to do is push him away over something as silly (compared to a father/son relationship in all its depth and complexity, in my opinion) as smoking pot. Sit him down, and take him seriously.

Originally Posted by Pithor

Im still baffled by how it is considered to be any of the employers business what you do outside of work and how they are authorized to do randomized testing. How about a weekly interview with parents and three psychologists to test wether or not they mistreat their children, and that there is no severe home stress that could possibly have a negative effect on work?

If drugs or alcohol are of influence in the work space, it will be noticed (absences, severe lack of focus) and a case can be made for testing when there are strong suspicions of substance abuse (which can, obviously, only be noticed when they occur in the workplace). But testing everybody randomly whenever "because safety" (and bottom line, of course) and "if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear" is pushing the limits of privacy, in my opinion.


On a lighter note:



Families and careers are for dopes.

...




To the OP, Andrew's reply may have something to it. As many up here have said, I too would suggest a good sit down with open communication. The last thing you want to do is push him away over something as silly (compared to a father/son relationship in all its depth and complexity, in my opinion) as smoking pot. Sit him down, and take him seriously.

I must say you are totally wrong regarding drug testing when people are turning up for work and especially working with heavy plant and machinery and still under the infulence, what would you say to the mother of a son who was killed by one of his co workers while half cut from the night before? drug testing is big in the UK and very random they just arrive unannounced and carry out a mass urine test if you have traces of alchol or any other banned substances you get up to a five year ban.

Originally Posted by celticcrusader

I must say you are totally wrong regarding drug testing when people are turning up for work and especially working with heavy plant and machinery and still under the infulence, what would you say to the mother of a son who was killed by one of his co workers while half cut from the night before? drug testing is big in the UK and very random they just arrive unannounced and carry out a mass urine test if you have traces of alchol or any other banned substances you get up to a five year ban.

It is serious here as well Jamie, personally sent people home that were "Unfit for duty" quite a few times. They are sent home right away and in a cab not their own vehicle and the repercussion from their action is taken very seriously.

I don't care what you do on your own time, but don't come in to work for me under the influence.

Working In surgery for 40 yrs, I cannot count the number of Docs I have worked with that were drunk or stoned.