It has been proven hundreds of times over that there is no test for a chemical imbalance in the brain. Every once in a while some article will suggest that scientists are on the cusp of discovering one to give some credibility but to date there is no such test.
There is no question that there is a drug epidemic in North America. Whether it be opioids, pharmaceuticals, marijuana or still one of the worst, alcohol.
There is a law in the universe that you tend to get what you put your attention on. Someone reading the newspapers, watching the news on TV and listening to it on the radio will generally only see bad things in the world or see it in a bad way.
Police put their attention on crime and they get more crime.
A project was initiated some years ago in Iceland to counter the alcohol/drug problems they had in that country. Being as isolated as it is and having a smaller population and a central government, a somewhat benevolent government, they were able to successfully implement this program. The resulting statistics are more than impressive.
They had the parents, school boards and the government at high levels all on board and in agreement on what should happen. Very tricky at the best of times. 
There are things that were implemented that would get screamed down in countries like the United States of America. But I would like to think and hope that people would come up with alternative solutions so that a program like this would still come to fruition.
All a statement like, “That wouldn’t work here.” does, is keeping kids on drugs and alcohol. There is always a solution, always a way to sort things.
The best article that I could find outlining how this whole program was initiated and implemented in Iceland is from The Atlantic
One of the key people that was behind the program was Inga Dóra Sigfúsdóttir.
First off they surveyed.The children/teens. When countries ask them for help implementing a similar program the first thing is always a survey. Not all situations are exactly the same.
Here are some of the survey questions that were asked:
“Have you ever tried alcohol? If so, when did you last have a drink? Have you ever been drunk? Have you tried cigarettes? If so, how often do you smoke? How much time to you spend with your parents? Do you have a close relationship with your parents? What kind of activities do you take part in?”
And here are some of the results of these surveys:
“The results of these surveys were alarming. Nationally, almost 25 percent were smoking every day, over 40 percent had got drunk in the past month. But when the team drilled right down into the data, they could identify precisely which schools had the worst problems—and which had the least. Their analysis revealed clear differences between the lives of kids who took up drinking, smoking and other drugs, and those who didn’t. A few factors emerged as strongly protective: participation in organized activities—especially sport—three or four times a week, total time spent with parents during the week, feeling cared about at school, and not being outdoors in the late evenings.”
My observation through life and watching kids in public school, private school or home school, is that the most important thing is parent involvement. There is a stupid idea that one would spend ‘quality time’ with their children. One for one, whichever type of schooling, as above, when the parents spent time with the kids and were involved their lives and schooling, the kids were fine. Rarely would they become involved in drugs or alcohol.
Some of the place where Iceland tried to export this program were unsuccessful because the program directors could not get the parents involved. They just didn’t care enough.
I have run into this doing Drug Education Lectures at public schools. We have students, ten years old, that feel they are 
trapped. They don’t want to do drugs, but their parents and often older siblings smoke pot. It’s pretty sad.
Iceland strengthened tobacco and alcohol laws but the most important thing they did, in my opinion (based on my experience and my own surveys), is this:
“Links between parents and school were strengthened through parental organizations which by law had to be established in every school, along with school councils with parent representatives. Parents were encouraged to attend talks on the importance of spending a quantity of time with their children rather than occasional “quality time”, on talking to their kids about their lives, on knowing who their kids were friends with, and on keeping their children home in the evenings.”
Again, this won’t work in areas where parents are setting an example of using drugs or alcohol. Parents also have to be willing and able to spend time with their children. The sit down family dinner is one of the most important activities for creating a strong growing family.
An acquaintance of mine, a man I’ve known for a few years knows that I work in drug education and fairly recently had some problems with his son. This fellow has been smoking pot since he was 12. He is now around 40 and starting to have some physical issues. He came to me upset as his son was sent home from school earlier that day on some drug (marijuana) related problems. He was asking for help for his son. My heart went out to him, no one wishes this kind of thing for their kids. I didn’t think it was an appropriate moment to suggest that he start setting a different sort of example. When drugs become the ‘go to’ solution for every problem physical or emotional, for you, then your children observing this reaction to the issues of life, and with the fact that they generally will learn by mimicry,… well, not much you can do. The 'do as I say not as I do' sort of thing, just doesn't work.
One parent active in the Iceland movement, said that he had a house full of instruments that he was trying to get his kids involved with and they ended up,
both sons, in soccer. Both received scholarships in the USA to play at Universities.
There is always a solution for any problem.
We have great success doing the drug education lectures with the younger kids that have not started doing drugs yet. Most of them get it. But if you want to keep your children from doing drugs or alcohol, then you may need to run a little interference at home.
I think that last point is the key. Put your attention on the positive. It would be great if we could take half the police force and get them helping create activities for
kids. I’d be willing to bet that would do more than them concentrating on criminals.
I recently read a quote by Don Winslow, the author of ‘The Force’:
“Fifty years and a trillion dollars after we declared the war on drugs, drugs are now more prevalent, cheaper, and more potent than ever before. If this is victory, I’d hate to see defeat.”
You get what you put your attention on.
Maybe if the concentration in the USA had been on educating kids and keeping them involved in extra- curricular activities as above, then we might not have
had these problems.
This program worked for Iceland. They have the statistics to prove it. And it is working with varying degrees of success in other countries. So, there is hope.
Wherever you look these days, in the media and other places, we are told that marijuana is a panacea, a cure all. If you see a ‘pot booth’ at a trade show, the dudes there will gladly tell you that pot is completely safe for pregnant women. Pretty irresponsible if you ask me. There is not one iota of evidence to support this. Years ago alcohol was considered completely safe for pregnant women. Have you met any alcohol syndrome children or adults? I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. Do we find out in ten, twenty or thirty years from now that marijuana has similar effects. These dudes at the weed stores are not doctors, have done no research and really don’t have a clue.
All kinds of justifications for smoking weed. It calms you, it is great for anxiety, cures cancer and a million other things. A placebo can do the same thing and likely with a higher success rate than marijuana.
By far the majority of people are not smoking or ingesting marijuana for the health benefits. Most are just trying to get stoned. Very few people that drink will tell you that it is completely good for you. They drink alcohol to ‘get away’ from things or some kind of escape.
I’ve put together a list of words and phrases that people use to refer to the effects of marijuana on one. None of them reflect mental acuity.
|
ripped wasted baked bombed buzzed doped fried totaled spaced out high lit druggie stoner zonked crapulent crapulous hooked whacked out spaced out stinks |
blitzed blotto high as a kite pothead doped up looped cockeyed out comatose out of it junkie hash head wiped out sizzled jewelled muddled befuddled fuddled gone dazed |
narced out of his head numbed senseless catatonic freaked out lush benumbed dopey fried wrecked fucked up blasted blissed out in a trance insensible off one’s head jacked in a stupor out of one’s mind |
... In fact they reflect just the opposite. Marijuana is used to not confront the world around one. Some people will experiment with it because it’s now legal in some areas. Largely, though it is used to escape. Problem, as with any drug, one often needs more and more to get the desired effect. And then other drugs. Some don’t move on to other drugs and these are the ones that get quoted but statistically the majority do.
I’ve heard people assert that it makes one a better driver when stoned. These people are pretty disconnected from reality. It is illegal to drive (DUI) stoned.
That’s because the people looking at you realized that you are impaired when driving NOT more capable.
One of the known side effects of marijuana is that is slows reaction time. That is not going to make you a better driver.
If you are going to be using or trying marijuana, please read through the list and note the effect that it actually has instead of listening to the statements of someone who is going to make money from your slow demise.
And please don’t ever get in a car with a driver who is stoned/high on marijuana or hashish.
This from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (USA)
“Several studies have shown that drivers with THC in their blood were roughly twice as likely to be responsible for a deadly crash or be killed than drivers who hadn't used drugs or alcohol.”
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/drugged-driving
There has been a lot of effort over the last couple of decades to ‘rebrand’ marijuana. In the 1970s and 1980s there were movies such as ‘Dazed and Confused’ and ‘Up in Smoke’. Other scenes and movies of this era showed pot to diminish one’s abilities.
The conglomerates that are trying to market pot to the masses have spent millions trying to change the impression that people have about the drug. (It is still a drug.) Trying to convince people that the (untested) benefits outweigh the harm that marijuana can do.
The plans and money spent on this rebranding are well documented. You can find links other places for these on this website.
Know before you go. The drug dealer doesn’t have your best interests at heart. Whether that drug dealer is in a nice suit and employed by the government or your friend’s brother, he or she is in it for the money.