All posts by editor

Addiction, Suicide, Testimonies

Backed into a corner and he couldn’t escape

This week we got some bad news. A friend’s son ended his battle with drugs by committing suicide. He was 28 and had battled hard drugs for several years. But, it all began with marijuana. He may have still been smoking it, but I’m not sure.

He lost his dad 7 years ago and his brother last winter (to drugs as well). The only job he ever knew was working with his dad at their pizza shop. After his dad died, and the pizza shop was sold, he just couldn’t cope. Drugs are the only way he knew to cope with life.

By legalizing marijuana, we are giving our kids a crutch, an excuse, a way to “cope” with life. Only, it’s not a way to cope, it’s a way to escape….until they can’t escape anymore. They’re backed into a corner, and don’t know what to do. So sad. So, so sad.

By an anonymous supporter of Parents Opposed to Pot.   If you have a testimony to share, please write [email protected].

Drug Policy

We urge congress to vote against States Act

Parents Opposed to Pot urges Congress to reject the STATES Act, which would allow states to break federal law in order to become drug dealers. Senators Gardner and Warren and Representatives Blumenauer and Joyce introduced bills into their respective houses of Congress.  Some states like California and Colorado feed illicit drug markets throughout the country.  We should not sanction this rampant lawlessness, because it leads to terrible public health and safety consequences. Continue reading We urge congress to vote against States Act →

Editorial

Alex Berenson editorial suggests parents step up to the plate

This was supposed to be the year full cannabis legalization in the U.S. moved much closer to being a reality.  Instead it has been a disaster for advocates.  Although Illinois legalized recreational use on the final day of its legislative schedule, a half-dozen other deep-blue states that were expected to legalize failed to follow — including New York.

Advocates want to believe legalization on their terms, with few restrictions on marketing and limits potentially as low as 18, remains inevitable.  Polls show that between 62% and 66%of Americans support legalization.  But cannabis supporters are wrong, and the pushback against marijuana has only begun.

Why?  Because teen use is on the rise.  And the experience of the 1970s — the last time cannabis advocates believed they might win full national acceptance — shows that the strongest voices against cannabis use aren’t police officers or even physicians.  They’re parents. …As teenage use of cannabis exploded during the 1970s, many parents became deeply concerned. The drug seemed to damage their children’s motivation, memory and grades. …

Not coincidentally, in states where legalization failed this year, wealthier suburban lawmakers proved a crucial political stumbling block.  Because of the cost of vaping, the habit seems to be more attractive to upper-middle class kids, and their parents are nw seeing marijuana’s real risks up close.  As that knowledge spreads, the media is likely to take a more skeptical stance, and national support for legalization will shrink.  

Alex Berenson, The Wall Street Journal   

As published in the Chicago Tribune, July 3, 2019  

Alex Berenson is the author of Tell Your Children the Truth about Marijuana, Mental Health and Violence and 12 other books.

Drug Policy, Featured, News Articles

Big Surprise: Illinois legalizes weed in state legislature

On May 31, Illinois became the first and only state to commercialize marijuana through state legislature.  Governor Pritzker hopes the state can raise money this way.  The legalization bill passed on the very last day of the legislative session. The law goes into effect January 1.

Other state legislators looked at facts and figures, and rejected legalization this year.  Continue reading Big Surprise: Illinois legalizes weed in state legislature →