Marijuana and Alcohol Use by Children

My own questioning of recent high school graduates indicated about 90% had smoked marijuana and even in religious schools the figure was about 30%.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - I thank the Oregonian newspaper for continuing to supply me with stories for my website: Salem-News.com. It is very helpful to me.

On January 25th, 2009 they published an OP-ED “Millenials like to drink…by Lillian R. Mongeau.” about her own friends experience with “the devils own brew”, alcohol.

She writes “teens will experiment (with drugs) and when the dire consequences predicted in (DARE sponsored) health class don’t match up with personal experience, the teen will often conclude that health teachers and their ilk are overreacting”.

I write this not as an advocate of teenager alcohol or drug use but as a fact of current teen life.

She states from PRIDE surveys that alcohol use was/is about 60% of 12th graders, and that a college survey indicated that 66% of under legal age used alcohol and 73% of those over 21.

I don’t think I have to point out that alcohol use kills about 100 thousand per year.

Almost everybody (who reads) knows that I am a leading advocate for medical marijuana. I decided to check my computer for adolescent marijuana use: surprisingly these figures come from a U.S. Gov’t office, National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA).

First of all despite other government propaganda that marijuana is very dangerous and very addicting they report that 98 million persons over age 12 have used marijuana and 14 million used it last month. [Surprisingly they report NO harm or deaths and the addiction liability is equal mythology.]

NIDA’s first study was in 1979 when they reported that even 12 year olds were smoking, 5.4%, 15 year olds, 26.7% and 18 year olds 40.1%. By 2002, of even 12 year olds, 32% were smoking and by 2005 about 50% of under age youths were using.

My own questioning of recent high school graduates indicated about 90% had smoked and even in religious schools the figure was about 30%.

My reason for writing this article is to educate everybody whether they are for or against the use of alcohol and marijuana that alcohol is in very wide use and very lethally dangerous whereas marijuana, also very widely used, has never killed anybody but is extremely safe and a useful medicine for literally hundreds of medical conditions.

More information on the history of Dr. Leveque can be found in his book, General Patton's Dogface Soldier of WWII about his own experiences "from a foxhole".
Order the book by mail by following this link: Dogface Soldier

Watch for more streaming video question and answer segments about medical marijuana with Bonnie King and Dr. Phil Leveque.

Click on this link for other articles and video segments about PTSD and medical marijuana on Salem-News.com:
Dr. Leveque INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES

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Dorsett Bennett January 30, 2009 3:24 pm (Pacific time)

Snoozer--you are quite simply wrong. I am not saying that to be hateful or condemnatory. It is just the facts do not bear out your perceived antidotal experiences. I have several articles coming out on medical marijuana which deals with the safety issues of marijuana versus 17 FDA approved medications. Marijuana NEVER was shown to be the primary cause of death in the 11,700 deaths attributable to marijuana and the 17 FDA approved drugs during the period studied, and was deemed to be a secondary cause in only 287 of the deaths. There are a lot of myths about marijuana out there, like it being a gateway to harder drugs. The really amusing thing about that myth is that at one time so called hard drugs were considered a gateway to marijuana. Dorsett Bennett

Snoozer January 27, 2009 5:56 pm (Pacific time)

Claims that nobody has ever died from using pot has never known people I know. How one could observe the widespread use of alcohol and pot in schools and continue to think either is good in any way... Is beyond my comprehension.

stephen January 27, 2009 2:38 pm (Pacific time)

Exactly true about the dire circumstances not coming to fruition. 35 years ago, a film was shown in my high school. (federally mandated I am sure).. it showed a guy smoking marijuana, then putting a drill to his head. And yes, it was plugged in and turning. That was the day, that I woke up. Government lies. Working with teens myself, I am finding the same attitude even this day with many teens. They know the educational system is controlled federally, and they know the federal government lies for their own benefit. And it will continue under the current admin. Education is supposed to be the truth in regards to history and current events, not what the federal government wants them to believe to further their own agenda. That is not education at all, that is indoctrination. And, if you havnt noticed, indoctrination is going full speed with many of the new admins ideas. Can you say "compulsary service"? I knew you could. :-)

Greg Flentz January 27, 2009 9:09 am (Pacific time)

Dr. Leveque hits the nail on the head. Cannabis is very beneficial in many applications from medicine to home building, and paper to fuel, you name it, Cannabis/Hemp can make it. Henry Ford once tested making Ford fenders out of Cannabis hemp.

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