Pubdate: Thu, 01 Nov 2001
Source: Coquitlam Now, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001Lower Mainland Publishing Group, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.thenownews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1340
Author: Michael Cook
Note: Cook is a My Generation Columnist and a Grade 12 student at Port Moody Secondary

OUR DRUG AND ALCOHOL LAWS A DISTURBING HYPOCRACY

I am not sure whether My Generation's parents would or would not be surprised to know that, for the average high school student, assuming his or her parents do not supply him or her with alcohol, it is far easier to obtain illegal drugs than alcohol.

I do recognize, from the popular "It's gotten into our school," refrain, that most people realize the ease attached to walking up to any one of many fellow students and asking for weed, shrooms, ecstasy, LSD, coke, heroin, etc. And adults certainly must recognize the rigidly followed guidelines in bars and liquor stores concerning identification.

However, I think it is frequently overlooked that one result of these tendencies is the attitude that getting drunk isn't necessarily worth the hassle when one could just get high with less money and less effort. This is particularly ironic when one considers that most parents think of underage drinking as a lesser evil than drug use.

The negative side effects, particularly on youths, of these drugs, including alcohol, are well documented. The main cause of the disparity between the ease of obtaining alcohol or obtaining illegal drugs is not that those in control find one preferable to the other. The cause is regulation versus demonization.

By regulating the liquor industry through taxation and distribution, the government gets its fingers into the honey pot, and is therefore obliged to regulate the sale of alcohol to vulnerable minors. This does not prevent youths from wanting to taste the forbidden fruit, but it controls their access to the tree.

On the contrary, supposedly more dangerous (the line between illegal and legal narcotics seems to have been drawn somewhat arbitrarily where danger and addiction are concerned) drugs can be freely distributed by anyone with access, so the government has no ability to regulate sales to minors.

This all demonstrates a disturbing hypocrisy to we, the impressionable youths. We are not allowed to participate in the indulgences of our parents because alcohol is dangerous for all, but the friendly neighborhood drug dealer has something better, cheaper, and the government has neither the will nor the ability to truly control it.

I am not, for a moment, suggesting that I have the wisdom to solve the problem.

The legal drinking age could be lowered. This would have obvious unfortunate ramifications concerning the driving, health and physical development of teenagers, but it should be noted that Europe's lax liquor regulations have not resulted in anarchy in the schools.

We could legalize marijuana. But if it's only for adults, then there is a risk of creating a similar dilemma with the ease of obtaining still illegal narcotics and the difficulty of obtaining marijuana.

We could legalize everything and have it all regulated by the government. But this solution seems unwise at best.

And, of course, the current method of control - law enforcement - does not have the mandate to effectively control anything.

Maybe we should just wait until we turn 19 and the government will be our dealer as we drink ourselves into a stupor.
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MAP posted-by: Beth