5th Grader Turns in Pot-Smoking Parents

Parents Arrested After Fifth Grader Turns Them In For Having Marijuana Joints; Kid Inspired By L.A.-Founded D.A.R.E. Program

D.A.R.E. ensares parents who smoke — gasp — joints.

​ You gotta love D.A.R.E., the anti-drug program created by late Los Angeles police Chief Daryl Gates in 1983. It’s done a great job of eradicating drugs in schools. More importantly, it’s made snitches out of children who have been taught by cops to turn in their parents.

That’s what happened last week in Matthews, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte, where an 11-year-old elementary school kid brought a few joints to campus and turned them in, saying they belonged to mom and dad.

This, of course, was after the good officers at D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) came to school to give their anti-drug lecture.

Matthews police Officer Stason Tyrrell told WBTV the 5th grader did the right thing:

“Even if it’s happening in their own home with their own parents, they understand that’s a dangerous situation because of what we’re teaching them. That’s what they’re told to do, to make us aware.”

The dad, age 40, and the mom, age 38, were arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia — misdemeanors.

The dad, who’s name was withheld by the TV station, told WBTV it’s “no one’s business” how the 11-year-old got a hold the joints, and that “I don’t give drugs to my kids.”

D.A.R.E. has been widely criticized as ineffective, a product of the Just-Say-No ’80s. But its L.A.-based proselytizers carry on as if Nancy Reagan is still the first lady.

What’s ironic is that, had this case happened in D.A.R.E.’s hometown, the parents very well could have had a prescription for their weed, and the cops might have had to lay off.

D.A.R.E. For Our Kids To Think For Themselves

Raising kids is not an easy or light subject. There is no manual, no set way to discipline or instruct, no guidelines and no test. You don’t have to wait in line for hours for a permit, it just takes five minutes to make one or two. They start off innocent and pure than learn the rest from you.

In the beginning they are tiny delicate porcelain dolls that poop, pee, and cry. Unaware of the world and subjugated to a world not their own – A view from a car seat if you will. We carry them around like pieces of luggage that we show off and everyone goes “Ohh and Ahh” till it makes a stinker, than it’s yours all over again.

As they grow older they become these little sentient asshole beings that are aware of everything. Inquiring and investing because now everything is new and they can walk now. Here is when we start lying to them with things like Santa exists and grownups know what they’re doing.

Last year I wrote a piece where I mentioned my kids asked me about the 420 in my gamertag (Miggy420) and how I worked around the question with the skill and guile of a seasoned politician. One of the comments left by a teacher suggested I should have “that” conversation with them. That conversation being about marijuana, it’s up there with sex – especially if you’re a stoner.

At the time I didn’t agree with the commentor, my little guys were 5 and 8. I protect my kids with ignorance just like the government does to us every day and like the government I watch what they see on TV and the internet. For me there’s no rush for my kids to have grown up concerns, kids should be kids.

When I wrote the piece I was living in Tucson and there was no medical marijuana. All the smoke I acquired was guaranteed to have come from Mexico so I was very careful of when I got it or where I hid it. Now, living in Seattle, Wa., life is good; every once in awhile a guy will show up with a plethora of jars each a different flavor.

When daddy’s special friend shows up we either head to my bedroom, the backroom, or if for some odd reason everything is being used usher the kids to their bedrooms with their Nintendo DS. You can’t miss the bong or pipe in my bedroom but some things kids shouldn’t see, like sex. When they’re a little older or get curious and ask we’ll talk but I doubt if they wanna see dad fucking or rubbing one out.

After living here a month I decided to talk to my oldest after I saw a D.A.R.E coloring book which said one can’t chew gum and ride a bike after smoking marijuana. Before he became a product of D.A.R.E I had to intervene. I don’t want my kids thinking I’m some sort of drug crazed maniac or that daddy is going to knock over a liquor store for a fix or worse they bring my bong in for show and tell.

 

I thought long and hard at when is a good age to have serious discussions with my kids and 9 is it. By 9 they don’t believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or even Tooth Fairies and know adults are full of shit. I still won’t bring up the sex thing but leave any and all doors open for them to ask me questions because at that age I’m not their only source of information. Kids talk and then my kids become curious, I rather they learn life from me.

I dreaded having any talk with my little man but the conversation was actually quicker and less painful than I thought it was going to be, it went down something like this;

Me:  “Mijo, I want to talk to you about something. You know dad smokes marijuana?”

Mijo: “Yes Dad, I’m not stupid. It’s medical though right?”

Me: “Baby, it doesn’t matter if it’s medical or not, marijuana isn’t what you think?”

Mijo: “But its medical right?”

Me:  “Yes mijo but medical or not it doesn’t matter. Marijuana is just as bad as mommy and daddy’s drinking or even mommy’s cigarettes. In fact its less dangerous in some cases.”

Mijo: “Oh, okay. Can we get some ice cream?”

So there’s my drug talk. Nothing invasive or scary, I did make it clear though that he can’t tell his friends, that it’s not cool it’s just something daddy does. In return I got “I know, I know” – my kids are awesome. I do recommend though as a responsible adult, as a responsible stoner you get ready to have “that talk” with your kids.

June 17th Marks the 40th Anniversary of Nixon’s “War on Drugs”

Photo: Cannabis Culture

President Nixon sniffs a wrapped brick of marijuana at the outset of his War On Drugs in 1970

​June 17 will mark 40 years since President Richard Nixon, citing drug abuse as “Public Enemy No. 1,” officially declared a “War On Drugs.” A trillion dollars and millions of ruined lives later, a political consensus is emerging that the War On Drugs is a counterproductive failure.

The Drug Policy Alliance is leading advocates all across the country in marking this auspicious date with a day of action to raise awareness about the catastrophic failure of drug prohibition and to call for an exit strategy from the failed War On Drugs.

“Some anniversaries provide an occasion for celebration, others a time for reflection, still others a time for action,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. “Forty years after President Nixon declared his war on drugs, we’re seizing upon this anniversary to prompt both reflection and action. And we’re asking everyone who harbors reservations about the war on drugs to joint us in this enterprise.

Photo: The Narco News Bulletin

Ethan Nadelmann, DPA: “We are enlisting unprecedented numbers of powerful and distinguished individuals to voice their dissent publicly”

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“The objective is to work with legislators who dare to raise the important questions, by organizing public forums and online communities where citizens can take action,” Nadelmann said. “We are enlisted unprecedented numbers of powerful and distinguished individuals to voice their dissent publicly, and organizing in cities and states to investigate new dialogues and directions in local policies.”

Fifty events will be held in 15 states, including major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and New Orleans. The day of action will be highlighted by a high-profile event with elected officials in Washington, D.C.

Prominent elected officials, celebrities and VIPs, along with Nadelmann, will convene for a press conference on Thursday, June 16 at 1 p.m. at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. (555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW) to set the stage for the anniversary and day of action.

The press conference and actions come on the heels of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which released a report on June 2 calling for a major paradigm shift in how or society deals with drugs, including decriminalization and legal regulation. The report sent a jolt around the world, generating thousands of international media stories.

The commission is comprised of international dignitaries including Kofi Anna, former Secretary General of the United Nations; Richard Branson, entrepreneur, founder of the Virgin Group; and the former presidents of Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Switzerland. Representing the United States on the commission are George P. Shultz, Paul Volcker, and John Whitehead.

“What’s really needed is the sort of reckoning that identifies as the problem not just drug addiction but prohibition as well — and that aims to reduce the role of criminalization in drug control to the maximum extent possible while enhancing public safety and health,” Nadelmann said. “What better way to mark the 40th anniversary of the war on drugs than by breaking the taboos that have precluded frank assessment of the costs and failures of drug prohibition as well as its varied alternatives.”

Day of Action events include:

• Washington, D.C.: Leaders from African American and religious communities, including Rev. Jesse Jackson and Dr. Ron Daniels, will hold a forum at the National Press Club on June 17 to denounce current Drug War policies. Leaders will call for a new direction in drug policy that reduces the role of the criminal justice system and that addresses the devastating impact of drug policies on black communities.

• Chicago: Hundreds of Chicagoans will gather at the James R. Thompson Center to rally against the drug policies that have led to injustices such as the extreme racial disparities in Illinois’s prisons and jails.

• Los Angeles: Grassroots organizations and students, including Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Pico Youth and Family Center, Mothers United to End the War on Drugs, All Of Us Or None, Hornies Unidos and other criminal justice organizations, will stage a Day of Action to call for an end to the War On Drugs and mass incarceration. Also, the William C. Velasquez Institute will host a forum in Los Angeles with top Latino leaders to discuss the impact of the Drug War on Latino communities.

• New York City: Advocates, community leaders and elected officials will attend a forum and silent vigil at the Harlem State Office Building to highlight the impacts of the Drug War on New York communities. The event is being organized by Women On the Rise Telling HerStory (WORTH).

• New Orleans: Local criminal justice organizations will commemorate the 40th anniversary of President Nixon’s declaration of War On Drugs with a Second Line March that is a “funeral for the failed War On Drugs.”

To see a compilation of events around the nation, click here.