Kids believe what we tell them, but they're not stupid. As a society we tell kids many things about living healthy lives and following laws. And then, God help us, they see what we do.
Every kid since the beginning of the Drug War has grown up with strong warnings against all drugs, including marijuana, listed under the federal government's most dangerous tier of controlled substances. But this being Alaska, where per capita use rates have been among the highest in the U.S. for years, it doesn't take long to learn growing up here, as I did, that responsible, upstanding people from all walks of life use cannabis recreationally, even regularly. It's no secret that soft attitudes toward marijuana have existed in Alaska for a long time. They've softened so much recently that Alaska could become the third state to correct the messages we already send kids about marijuana while relatively more harmful substances remain legal and common.
Legalizing marijuana, it's said, would send the “wrong message” to kids. But we already tell kids things that go against what they see around them.
