Wow. I just saw this power point on the illegal drug trade, and I recommend it to you if your kids are at that point where they have to start making these tough decisions.
The presentation was written and put together by a teenager - and it's just a reminder that when anyone buys or uses illegal drugs, the ramifications go far beyond that individual decision.
Not only the user is hurt (to which he or she can say, "It's my body"); people all over who get caught up in the violence.
Click here:
PS: if that doesn't work, paste in the following link.
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B29NZYct1MouM2Y4MDJiYmMtYjZkOC00ZDA2LWIwZjctNjQ1MDM4YTI2YWZh&hl=en
What is the lesson we are supposed to take away from these images, from the reality of the enormous multi-national drug trade? That, as Hillary Clinton states, it is our fault? Does the responsibility for the violence of the drug trade fall to the hands of teenagers making bad choices? Well, while it’s true that any and all users are to some degree supporting the trade, attempts to blame the end user for the violence that surrounds the global drug trade are simplistic at best, and at worst an attempt to absolve the multi-national “drug war” from its part in the violence.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is that a demand exists. A decades-long campaign to squelch it has yielded no results. So instead of trying to pretend we have the power to stop the demand (a tactic that reminds me of the arguments behind abstinence-only education) we should try to confront the reality of the trade in such a way as to curb its violent underbelly and reduce its harm on third world nations. The question of why the drug trade is so violent when most industries are able to lead prosperous international trade without the need for bloodshed leads us inevitably to the answer that the violence exists because of the illegality of the product. After all, alcohol distribution does not lead to a lot of violence today, but during prohibition in the 1920s it was a fiercely fought gang war. Prohibition was one of the greatest policy failures in our history; it did not curb drinking while at the same time it created a violent underground war that disappeared almost instantly when the law was repealed.
None of this is to say that we should jump to make drugs legal. But perhaps our leaders should refrain from trying to blame our teenagers for an international war that our own government is deeply complicit in. The worst part of this is that teenagers will look at such an obviously specious argument and easily say “Colombia, that’s got nothing to do with me,” and convince themselves it’s ok; when the simple question they should be asking themselves is “Is this good for me?”
No - absolutely not. I don't think the message is that it is the fault of "teenagers making bad choices." This very short presentation also doesn't get into the issue of legalizing any drug... It certainly leaves open the possibility that ending the "illegal" nature of this market would be a positive step.
ReplyDeleteI think that the power point just means to force one to think about this beyond the purely personal impact.
"Is this good for me?" is a personal question, one that hasn't worked to stop drug abuse, maybe because young people don't really believe what they're told (Reefer Madness, ha ha).
Thanks for the comment - I agree that it's a complex debate. We just need to get people to think on every level, period. If that leads young people to a movement to demand the end of the black or white, all or nothing, laws regarding drugs - more power to them.