Why don't they tell kids what makes drugs really bad?

Rather than telling kids in middle school false information about what drugs do to people... wouldn't it make more sense for the government to tell schools to tell students the real truth about drugs? Like how they can affect your judgment and make you really aggressive and not just saying that they do but to go a little beyond that? I think that kids would be ready for the truth and not for some flat out lie like if you take drugs you will hallucinate. If that's the only reason why kids shouldn't take drugs-- because they will hallucinate-- then the government is better off telling kids not to dream, or sleep at night then.

I think that the government should bring up more factual information when they teach kids about the risks about taking drugs. Yes they may damage your throat, and they may cause an addiction, but, they should really explain why they cause an addiction, and what makes people addicted to the drugs. If people could just easily quit drugs I bet they would. So when the government says that these people aren't quitting drugs because they don't want to they're lying. That's what an addiction is. It's something you can't stop.

Rather than lying to kids they should tell about how much money people who are addicted to drugs spend on them, and rather than telling kids ways they can get high, the government should explain why getting high on anything is bad, and that your brain should be more or less normalized, and that the state of being high isn't always good for everyone. The government should also explain to kids that they once used drugs to finance wars, but, that was in the past, when everyone was doing drugs. I think that the government should also explain when people started doing drugs and why people felt like they wanted to do drugs.

I think that the government needs to get out better information to the schools and give the schools facts rather than disinformation and then less people would be doing drugs if they only knew how drugs really affected them. Rather than just telling kids about chemicals they should tell them how drugs affects people's perception and exactly what parts of their brain would be affected the most by.

Huh?

If they are not telling them all that you say they should, what ARE they telling them? "Drugs are bad. Have a nice day" .... ?

Are you a student to know none of this is told?
Do you have a student that tells you what they are being told?

reply to post by Misfit

When I was back in middle-school and in high-school and in health-class I saw some videos about people giving each other, the teacher talked about chemicals in the drugs, but, I don't think they went into any great length of detail of how drugs can affect one's perception. When I was in health-class I learned people create fields of these drugs... okay... yeah and they sell drugs to make money... okay... and that these drugs can be given at parties... but I never really learned how the drugs affected you. I don't take drugs, but, I did not learn in the way specifically that drugs affected your judgment or your perception. I just learned that people became addicted to drugs. I don't think I learned them saying anything about why drugs were bad.

I also don't think you really understood what I said. I'm saying that they aren't teaching kids enough facts about drugs. If people knew more truthful information about drugs they would be less likely to do them.

[edit on 12-7-2008 by Frankidealist35]

uh, personally, i don't want the gov't telling my kids anything. teach your own kids what you think they should know.... you ARE, after all, the parent

edited to add: " If people knew more truthful information about drugs they would be less likely to do them."

well, if ppl want to get their lazy arses up to turn off the t.v and do their research, then they will do it. to put that on the shoulders of anyone but the individual is

[edit on 12-7-2008 by justamomma]

reply to post by justamomma

I'm not a parent yet... I'm only 19 here o_o. I'm just letting out my frustration about how I wasn't informed enough about drugs and why they were bad when I was in high-school. And I don't do drugs, it's just, that I think that school teaches us that drugs are bad for all the wrong reasons.

And yeah, I will agree with you that there are a lot of people that are too lazy to do research on why drugs are bad since they're so glued to their television sets. I also agree that parents should do more in telling their kids why drugs are bad.

[edit on 12-7-2008 by Frankidealist35]

reply to post by Frankidealist35


aaww! i remember getting out of school into the real world and becoming more and more aware that i had been taught little next to nothing of relevence.

best advice i have for you: run w/ it. educate yourself from this point forward. don't just accept what you are told anymore...... then, pass on what you have learned.

the problem IS that parents have taken the "hands off" approach opting for letting the schools do the "hands on" work.

bad move on the parents' part..

BUT there is hope around every corner. HEY!! you're now 19 yrs old and hereby from this time forward have no to blame but yourself for what you are not getting. welcome to adulthood where the control of your life is in your hand. cherish it and protect it and never hand it over to anyone else

I wonder if the OP has ever taken drugs himself. The info that's being given about them is the best they could do. They DO make you see things, and NOT all nicey nicey!! I know some people who have seen Demons and ET's whilst under their influence and it changed them. Some became religious because they were so terrified that they were going to HELL because they were SHOWN their SINS. If someone said to me that if i took drugs, i would see things that would show me that my very SOUL was at stake because of my actions, it would scare me alot more than someone saying that there are bad chemicals in them, or that i might become aggressive. Cigarettes have bad chemicals, but how many kids refuse to smoke because of it? alcohol can make you aggesive, but how many kids refuse to get drunk because of THAT ? i say tell it like it is 'DRUGS CAN SCREW YOUR BRAIN UP SO BAD, YOU'LL PROBABLY WANT TO KILL YOURSELF'!!

IMO as a parent, I dont want the government telling my children zip about drugs. That is my responsibility, and I tell my kids the truth about them.

Maybe if parents quit relying on the government to raise their children, we would have more informed youth. I believe youth are our future.

reply to post by sayzaar


lol not all drugs are equal ya know. not advocating, but sounds kind of like the OP isn't the only one in the dark.

plus, his point was an overall lack of information i think. for instance, he could have meant the specific effects drugs have on your brain.. the workings behind the effects you "experience".

i know that understanding the nature of addiction specifically regarding cigarettes was helpful to many in being able to quit once and for all.

when you understand WHY and HOW you are addicted, then, if you really want to quit, you can beat the addiction. i am proof of this myself. I have a very addictive personality and yet, here I am 31 w/ few addictions other than this site and one other child~like addiction (not drug related and quite harmless) lol.

because i now have a grasp on the workings of the brain (when dealing w/ addiction that is) i have even been able to emotionally detach myself from almost anything or anyone on will.... which is good and something i will teach my kids to do after i am sure they have a firm grasp on the concept of compassion. quite a problem among young ones these days (addiction to others through emotional attachment) which generally is what leads to the drug addictions.





[edit on 12-7-2008 by justamomma]

[edit on 12-7-2008 by justamomma]

[edit on 12-7-2008 by justamomma]

Actually they need to tell kids what makes drugs so good. There's a reason people use them and they need to focus more on that, and give kids reasons not to use them other than "they're bad for you." Everything's bad for you. Life's bad for you, it kills you one second at a time.

Drugs are baaaaaad, mmkay?

That was pretty much my drugs ed in school. Oh, and if you take drugs you'll get nasty diseases like HIV/AIDS, and you'll turn into a hardened criminal to fund your habit.

Obviously not all drugs are like that, but I think if the British Government told the truth to schoolkids then there would be hardly anyone taking drugs in this country.
Had they told me the REAL truth about drugs, I'd probably wouldn't have lost my driving license and job, put it that way.

Originally posted by Frankidealist35
Rather than telling kids in middle school false information about what drugs do to people... wouldn't it make more sense for the government to tell schools to tell students the real truth about drugs? Like how they can affect your judgment and make you really aggressive and not just saying that they do but to go a little beyond that?

There is one thing you are missing about children and teenagers. They are not mature enough to care about what happens to their body or future. So these explanation to them are meaningless. They have to go the rout of scare tactics, but then that has to be changed do you parent suing because of their kids wimpy fragile minds being terrorized.

This is kinda the same thing as the old "Blood Alley videos drivers education teacher would show the kids so they could realize how dangerous driving a car could be. They don't show those videos anymore do to lawsuits.

Originally posted by sayzaar
....'DRUGS CAN SCREW YOUR BRAIN UP SO BAD, YOU'LL PROBABLY WANT TO KILL YOURSELF'!!

This is part of why the govn't doesn't want to tell your children about what drugs can do to you. They want people to see drugs as a good thing so everyone will take the mind controlling medications of the big drug companies.

A dead mind-less sheep has less bite than the intelliegent breathing wolf anyday.

Edited to spell better.





[edit on 12-7-2008 by Sanity Lost]

The frightening issue is OP and the majority have no problem with the public school system dealing with these issues.The bulk of the students at risk reject it as propaganda ,because of the us and them mentality in the public school. It is my opinion that these messages need to taught in childrens formative years. I know many will disagree (my own father disagrees with me). I have 4 children of my own and have practised what I preach. Free thinking people should be the goal of every parent. It dos'nt always make for the most successful little workers in our tick tock society granted. I do beleive the ability to think for yourself is by far the best education you can receive. In my opinion it comes from your family.
It is with this kind leaning that kids can rise above mediocrity IMHO.

This is not directly related to this issue but interesting and signficant. I happened to be in the school guidance counselor's office putting away stereo equipment several months back. On the wall was a poster from the red cross that read,"You must be 14 years old to have consensual sex with an adult". Is this the kind of place young people should be coming for help?


con
[edit on 12-7-2008 by Swingarm]

[edit on 12-7-2008 by Swingarm]

[edit on 12-7-2008 by Swingarm]

reply to post by Frankidealist35

I think that the government needs to get out better information to the schools and give the schools facts rather than disinformation and then less people would be doing drugs if they only knew how drugs really affected them.

Since somebody in power is directly involved in the illegal drug trade they wouldn't want to say to much and scare the kids away from taking them now would they?


[edit on 12-7-2008 by Malevolent_Aliens]

what kinds of drugs do you all have in the UK? here in the US "drugs" is not nearly such a general term encompassing a whole menu of simlilarly undesirably effects. They are rather specific to what they do, how they make you feel, and what physiological effect they have. after reading this board it would seem that even the most common, pot, heroin, coc aine, '___' all seem to be in the same category? is that what the governement isnt teaching you in the UK? that all those drugs do the same damage and cause the same trips? I am really just curious why "drugs" is used in such a general way here?

Originally posted by Swingarm
It is my opinion that these messages need to taught in childrens formative years. I know many will disagree (my own father disagrees with me). I have 4 children of my own and have practised what I preach. Free thinking people should be the goal of every parent. It dos'nt always make for the most successful little workers in our tick tock society granted. I do beleive the ability to think for yourself is by far the best education you can receive. In my opinion it comes from your family.
It is with this kind leaning that kids can rise above mediocrity IMHO.

you are sooooo right. and children are not "ours" to own, but rather it is our responsibility to help them see and understand concepts rather than brainwashing them into our whatever our personal belief system is (although i respect your right to do so... just don't blame anyone else if they end up feeling lost in your beliefs when they are older).

there is a verse in the bible and i am sure the idea is written elsewhere out there.. train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

i think this is a very important truth. personally, teaching my children while they are so young to be compassionate and understanding, open yet cynical, to never settle bc they are told but also to never impose on others, and most importantly, to stand up for truth and justice rather than a "belief".

teaching them concepts such as these WHILE they are young will lay the ground work for everything else.

I am very open with my sons about a lot of things that parents (not so much around here) would look down on bc they are "too young", but I never give them more than they can handle. They have been in training since the day I brought them home from the hospital for facing the real world and getting through w/ a clear conscience.


in the end, i would rather my kids look back and say "wow, mom may have been nuts, but she always loved us and trusted us enough to be truthful with us" than to have them look back at a childhood filled w/ things like santa claus, toys out the arse, church, school but only wonder why their mom didn't have the sense to teach them what really mattered.

i don't believe it is right to lie about santa claus and the easter bunny and then to get mad at children for lying themselves. i also will, as they get older and show me that my job of fine tuning their conscience is paying off, let them learn certain things through their own experiences, things that i know others don't and won't agree w/ me on. but it has been proven that your child is more likely to be trustworthy if you did your job right, but also TRUSTED THEM to make mistakes and learn from them naturally w/out always having an extra punishment involved. obviously i am a huge advocate of exercising self responsibility and i expect nothing less from my kids. never ever rely on anyone, not even momma, to get you through life. (just had to throw that in while we were on this "off topic")

[edit on 12-7-2008 by justamomma]

reply to post by justamomma

i don't believe it is right to lie about santa claus and the easter bunny and then to get mad at children for lying themselves. i also will, as they get older and show me that my job of fine tuning their conscience is paying off, let them learn certain things through their own experiences. your child is more likely to be trustworthy if you did your job right, but also TRUSTED THEM to make mistakes and learn from them naturally w/out always having an extra punishment involved. (just had to throw that in while we were on this "off topic")

Funny you say that. We too came clean on this along time ago. These are lies weather you minimize it or not. When the day comes for every child there is still a realization that it was a lie. At the same time it seems to suggest "yeah, it was a lie but everybody does it and did'nt you enjoy the fantasy while it lasted?." And to tie back in to the topic is'nt that what drugs really are, a fantasy to enjoy while it lasts until finally you have to deal with the lie

[edit on 12-7-2008 by Swingarm]

Being not too far out of high school, they do tell that. In fact, I was never told that drugs cause hallucinations as an incentive not to do them.

reply to post by avingard

When I took health class when I was in high-school they only had a short unit on drugs in which they shown videos, like, cigarettes, and stuff, and that people become addicted to drugs. And that people give away drugs to party and that you shouldn't take them. I didn't do drugs, but, I wasn't told reasons beyond that as to not do drugs, and, they didn't go into as much detail as they should have in convincing me that drugs were as bad as they actually were, because I feel like I could have easily succumbed to peer pressure.

And no they don't do all that. They don't tell you enough. They only tell you what they want you to know. And they don't tell you why people do drugs. All I remember is them telling me why people shouldn't do drugs. If I knew why people did drugs and what happens to those people and what makes them do it then I would be better off knowing that. But I don't remember being taught that. All I remember them saying is just to not do drugs because if you do you'll become addicted to them.