One in five parents back cannabis use

[F420]

One in five parents back cannabis use

 

Almost one in five parents approves of their children experimenting with cannabis, according to a review of the Federal Government's $25 million anti-drugs campaign last year.

 

The review also found that adults without school-age children were more prepared to condone youth cannabis use, provided it did not prompt experimentation with harder drugs. It also suggested that parents tended to overestimate the accessibility of illicit drugs to school-age children but underestimate their willingness to try them if available.

 

A national survey of 604 children aged between 15 and 17 in May and June last year showed 39 per cent had been offered cannabis and 15 per cent offered ecstasy in the past year.

 

A minority were tempted with amphetamine (10 per cent) and LSD (9 per cent).

 

In comparison, parents believed illicit drugs were much more widely available.

 

They estimated 60 per cent of children aged between 12 and 17 would have been offered cannabis and 32 per cent offered so-called designer drugs amphetamine or ecstasy.

 

But they believed only 10 per cent would accept offers of cannabis and 2 per cent offers of amphetamine or ecstasy. In fact, children were significantly more open to drug experimentation

 

Asked if they would accept drugs offered by friends, 20 per cent said they would say yes to cannabis and 10 per cent were prepared to sample amphetamine or ecstasy.

 

None would accept an offer of heroin.

 

The Federal Health and Ageing Department report was commissioned to assess the effectiveness of the Federal Government's pre-election advertising blitz, stressing the primary role parents can play in dissuading their children from taking drugs.

 

It included three graphic television advertisements, one of which showed an overdose victim in a body bag, and a parent information booklet delivered to all Australian homes.

 

At the time, Prime Minister John Howard said parents had potentially the strongest influence over their children's lives.

 

He made no apology for the advertisements, saying he believed confronting images were appropriate when addressing a life-and-death issue.

 

Although the report found the campaign had been successful, it revealed slightly less than half (48 per cent) of parents who noticed the campaign were spurred into action.

 

Of those who did act, however, 77 per cent spoke to their children about drugs.

 

"Parents felt that the campaign made it easier for them to talk to their child about drugs by acting as a trigger for conversation and that these conversations with their children have been effective, resulting in less use of illegal drugs," the survey found.

 

About half of teenagers said they found it easier to raise drug use with their parents.

[Pure]

What idiot printed this thing ha ha

 

 

I love how the media or just journalists in general like to just throw out random numbers like

 

" Of those who did act, however, 77 per cent spoke to their children about drugs."

and

 

" About half of teenagers said they found it easier to raise drug use with their parents. "

 

I do think it is great that parents are more aware of what their kids are doing as it's important to know but I just laugh when I see figures just randomly thrown around

 

" 86.96 % of statistics are made up on the spot " wow I just did a government survey

[Warped]

Yer, I'm open with my mum about cannabis use, and she's cool with it. She even surprised me with a little transportable bong the other day for me and my mate .

 

She knows, and I know, I'll never do anything [completely] irresponsible. If I do, well that's my failure, as an individual - not something that needs to be acted upon by the State.

 

Anyway, I think the whole drug war is immoral, and that parental/youth responsibility should be the main deciding factor, not coercive moral standards :thumbdown

 

:smoke -

[risingsun]

Yer, I'm open with my mum about cannabis use, and she's cool with it. She even surprised me with a little transportable bong the other day for me and my mate .

 

She knows, and I know, I'll never do anything [completely] irresponsible. If I do, well that's my failure, as an individual - not something that needs to be acted upon by the State.

 

Anyway, I think the whole drug war is immoral, and that parental/youth responsibility should be the main deciding factor, not coercive moral standards  :thumbdown

 

  :smoke  - 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Im suprised so many parents are accepting of their childrens use of cannabis. Personally I think they are many arguments against the use of cannabis by children. I dont think people under the age of 18 should be allowed/encouraged to use any substances inluding alcohol and tobacco. Let them get a few year sunder thier belt before they start making life decision like to inhale or not. Let their brains develop fully before they start altering their chemical balances with substances.

 

But I am very happy to know that at least so many parents are at least thinking about drugs and their children and making their own rules about what is acceptable or unaccetable behavior.

 

Whats ever better is that so many kids are wise to the dangers of herion!!!

 

I accept that what i think is not necessarily what you are going to think.

Edited October 15, 2004 by risingsun

[Luke Skywalker]

I would like to point out to warped, just in case, that this is an R18+ site.

 

It's only based on leading questions given to a very small sample size, in all likelyhood taken from one school. So it's useless as an indicator of the "sucess" or "failure" of anything.

 

How can you possibly say that the drug war, in particular the most recent vision of it under howard, has been anything but a total disaster!?! I don't understand how spending billions of dollars to try and eradicate something that won't go away, no matter how much money or resources you throw at it, because it's a part of human nature. It's just hypocricy, plain and simple.

 

Heroin doesn't kill people, prohibition kills people. Think about it.

 

And kids aren't as stupid as the government and their parents would seem to think they are. They're more likely to know about the best weed or best eccies out there, which ones are good, which ones are dodgy, etc, than the most hardened modern drugs campaigner. And the longer we keep them in the dark, by throwing this prohibitionist propaganda down their throats, ostracising those who work out the truth of the drugs wars, and treating those who use drugs as second class citizens, we'll be just perpetuating the same shit of the last 50 years. Misery, gaol time for those who obviously don't deserve it, and economically hamstringing the continent to a strange idea that we can eliminate "illegal" drug use. Whatever that's supposed to mean.

 

Goddamn howard, we have to deal with this f@#$@er for another 3 years.... Here's to hoping that costello challenges and the government self implodes in the new year.

[Chev]

Ha! My mum still gets stressy about it, I debate with her quite a bit. My old man is useless, he gives me heaps about smoking, but when he gets pissed he'll share a J with me ::

Goddamn howard, we have to deal with this f@#$@er for another 3 years.... Here's to hoping that costello challenges and the government self implodes in the new year.

Here, here! :smoke

[SoDrysBro]

my oldies are cool with it my mum use to toke a bit back in her day but not nowadays,(idont think), they know i grow a lil for myself and dont mind the old man always hassles me bout smoking reefa as he calls it :pimp but is always saying it in a jokey way, they know i dont do any other stuff besides sink a few beers now and then and i aint out causing ruckes plus i work so all is good knock on wood... just gotta watch out for the people who think its a crime to want to enjoy life that lil bit more...

[WantDaChronic]

Ha! My mum still gets stressy about it, I debate with her quite a bit. My old man is useless, he gives me heaps about smoking, but when he gets pissed he'll share a J with me ::

 

sorta reminds me of my parents lmfao :smoke

 

when i was like 12, my mum was all like if u are going to smoke pot, smoke at the most once a month and dont become a total pothead....damn near shit myself

 

once she found out i had smoked pot, she turned the tables and started being a pot nazi untill i proved to her that smoking pot wouldnt change me for the worse...although she still thinks im a bum

 

Im suprised so many parents are accepting of their childrens use of cannabis. Personally I think they are many arguments against the use of cannabis by children. I dont think people under the age of 18 should be allowed/encouraged to use any substances inluding alcohol and tobacco. Let them get a few year sunder thier belt before they start making life decision like to inhale or not. Let their brains develop fully before they start altering their chemical balances with substances.

 

gotta remember that our parents went through the same shit we are with their parents...i believe they are just cutting us some slack as they would rather keep an eye on what we are doing, know we aint getting into trouble + in the end the parent who says u can toke at my home with ya mates WILL ALWAYS be deemed 1 of the coolest parents alive....

 

one thing that everyone should know is that the USA spends billions upon bilions more than australia on the so called war on drugs...BUT instead of buying every single poppy field in the world and burning them down, they send 1000's of troops to go fight drug cartels and other various drug related people.....why would they risk lives instead of burning the supply right out from under the dealers? because without a war on the drugs, what else is there fight when there isnt a major world conflict?

[FlowerPower]

The first Toke I ever had was from my mothers hand, She's an old Hippy and also one of my best mates, Because of her open mind I never had to hide anything from her which in-turn gave me a much more mature attitude towards drug use. There's nothing better than after a weekend out with ya mates, taking speed,pills or whatever and being able to go home to your Mum, without the stress. Or dropping acid with ya Mum! Anyway what i guess I'm trying to say is that my Mother chose to guide me through experimentation rather than shun it. And I am very grateful.