Make informed decisions? Are you crazy? Drugs ARE bad. Alcohol IS bad. The only one that you might make an "informed decision" about is sex. Otherwise that's it. Why would you want to make a desicion to do drugs?

 

Firstly, I don't actually do drugs, or smoke, or drink. There you go. I've made an informed decision not to do any of those things, and I'm quite clearly not crazy.

 

 

 

Secondly, remove the blanket statement. Marijuana has some medicinal properties. Alcohol actually boosts confidence and promotes positive attitudes towards life. All drugs have some positive effect, even if it's only hallucinary - they wouldn't sell otherwise, think about it.

 

 

 

Drugs are not all bad. It's about actually knowing what each drug is, what it does, what risks are involved and how seriously they can affect your health, and knowing that moderation on any substance that enters your body is key.

 

 

 

Alcohol sure as hell isn't bad when you take only one unit a day for five days in a week.

 

 

 

Nice points. I trying to find something to counter it but I can't. Gotta say Ginger, you seem to be the opposite of me on nearly everything I think in, but you do a really nice job presenting.

I think things like this are actually bad to teach kids. Why not give them the truth and let them make informed choices? Imo, kids are bound to make worse choices if they're given false information. I think of it this way:

 

...

 

Make informed decisions? Are you crazy? Drugs ARE bad. Alcohol IS bad. The only one that you might make an "informed decision" about is sex. Otherwise that's it. Why would you want to make a desicion to do drugs?

 

 

 

I don't think I expressed this the way I could've. I hope you get what I mean ..

 

 

 

You're right. Drugs and alcohol are bad. BUT, when used responsibly and in a healthy environment they're not as bad. Why would someone make a decision to do drugs? Well, I did. It opened me up to a whole new world, showed me things I wouldn't have seen, and through it I actually found religion. Maybe it was bad for my body, but my mind seems to have benefitted from it.

 

 

 

Marijuana... is actually not as bad as "the man" claims it to be. In fact the only way to die from it is smoke inhalation. It also creates urges to eat and drink which is two of the 3 physiological needs.

 

 

 

It also makes you sleepy, go figure. Marijuana is made illegal because the government wanted to arrest hippies in the 1970s and 80s but they couldn't arrest them for free speech so they made marijuana (the hippies drug of choice) illegal. The government is just under the "Drugs are bad" phase so they aren't going to legalize it anytime soon, what bothers me is that ciggarettes are worse than marijuana

 

 

 

Yes, the gov't didn't like the hippies protesting against the war so they outlawed marijuana, only to have LSD (acid) become the new drug of choice. But marijuana was already illegal when the hippies were smoking it, the law just wasn't inforced. Marijuana was originally outlawed when Mexicans brought forth the idea of using it recreationally instead of just for medical purposes. That was back in the 30's or 40's I think.

Scare tactics do not work in most situations. I know this firsthand from several friends of mine. Take alcohol for example. In school, we were taught that alcohol will ruin your life, and that it is evil and you should never ever touch it. Of course, any rational person would realise that this is BS when they see adults drinking it with no visible negative side-effects.

 

 

 

Because of these scare tactics and the lack of proper alcohol education, several people I know overly abuse alcohol on a regular basis. If the schools/government would teach how to limit yourself on the amount you drink and how to drink in moderation instead of the whole "If you drink alcohol, you'll burn in hell" speech, the whole sex/alcohol/drug education would be far more effective. Hell, it's worth a try because scare tactics obviously aren't working.

Well, I definitely believe in scare tactics being used with unprotected sex. Of course, my view is probably biased by the fact that my town has one of the highest rates of STDs in the nation. I ain't getting the clam.

 

You're presuming the scare tactics actually work. In my experience with the people I've grown up with, they sure as hell don't.

 

It worked for me and my friends, anyhow. But that's probably because its true in our cases.

 

 

 

And mage, that second link you posted showed a high school with an awesome name. El Camino...Hehe.

Parents should never teach kids false information to scare them into not doing things. They should grow a backbone and teach kids what they can and can't do, not what is and is not according to their false "facts".

 

 

 

All false information serves to do is weaken parenting and raise the frustration of everyone else because they have to continually correct misinformation stamped into the heads of children everywhere.

My grandparents smoked for 45 years and they're fine. If tobacco is as bad for you as they want you to think, how can it remain legal? I think it's more gov't propaganda.

 

 

 

It's not propaganda. Federal Governments (in Canada and everywhere else) get millions and millions of dollars in tax money from both alcohol and tobacco sales. They're required to say tell you the negative effects by law. It IS bad for you. My dad has been smoking for over 25 years now and every morning before any breakfast/coffee hits his mouth he has a cigarette. He sits for about 5 minutes coughing up all the crap in his lungs. Everyone's body is different. Just because your grandparents haven't been negatively effected (which I'm highly skeptical about) by tobacco doesn't mean no one else is.

 

 

 

I understand what you're saying about fear tactics being used and I agree with your opinion but you need to get your facts right about what certain drugs do to you body (you are clearly misinformed and hence the point of the topic). I agree with you that teens/children should be given all the information about drugs (not just the negative statistics but what exactly a drug when it enters your body and why it's bad. Essentially, give everyone the science of the drugs which can be simplified so that it's easier to understand).

 

 

 

Scare tactics are used all the time with young children because they're so impressionable (e.g. religion - heaven & hell). I don't remember who said but there's a quote that goes something like this "Give me a child at 10 and I'll give you the man."

Parents should never teach kids false information to scare them into not doing things. They should grow a backbone and teach kids what they can and can't do, not what is and is not according to their false "facts".

 

 

 

All false information serves to do is weaken parenting and raise the frustration of everyone else because they have to continually correct misinformation stamped into the heads of children everywhere.

 

 

 

If only more people thought like that.

South Park sex education episode anyone? :lol:

 

but its just wong to scare kids to learn them about drugs,sex,ect.

Whoever came up with that DUI stunt needs to be publicly flogged and hanged. Those who carried it out and later defended it receive floggings and will not be allowed to teach again. The students who willingly helped perpetrate the hoax will receive half the lashes of the adults.

 

 

 

Not only does that sort of experience psychologically scar students, it also undermines legitimate efforts to educate children against irresponsible use of substances, as well as damaging the credibility of teachers in the eyes of the community. The mere fact that people were defending it as a teaching method is nothing short of criminal. It's an offence against both the students and the profession.

 

 

 

Educators should never use such underhanded tactics as this, nor should they exaggerate or lie to students for the sake of curbing substance abuse or sexual activity. Students should be taught concepts of moderation with regard to legal substances, the possible consequences of abusing said substances, as well as the very real consequences of using illegal substances. Sex should not be a taboo subject - children should be taught the dangers of STDs and teen pregnancy, but they should also be taught how to avoid these while still being able to engage in intercourse provided they are above the age of consent. This means teaching them about condoms and contraception in general.

 

 

 

Anyone who objects to teaching children how to proactively defend themselves against STDs and unwanted pregnancy in this day and age should be flogged. Abstinence is an archaic doctrine that should not even be considered to be a primary defence by rational thinkers. Like it or not, teenage children will be having sex, and you cannot stop them short of keeping them at home at all times.

Haven't read through all the replies, but I'm not pro scare tactics.

 

 

 

Should I ever have children (huge if), then I would try to give them the tools to work things out for themselves. I will try to inform them correctly about sex, drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and so on. Parts of what I tell them will scare them, other parts will draw them to these so-called 'evils'. I hope my children will be intelligent enough to then go about it in a wise way. They'll try things out, see what goes and what not, and hopefully learn from the stuff they do wrong along the way. While I fervently hope they'll be all right :.

 

 

 

We all gotta learn for ourselves, and all you can do is to guide children as best as you can. Scaring children is not the best kind of guidance in my mind. And I'm hoping that if I'm not the one to scare them, and if I give them correct information, they will come back to me to talk about their experiences when they need advice. Hahaha. Yeeaah.

I was doing some research into anti-drug ads and I found this:

 

 

 

Sensational ads, which researchers found to be the most effective, show people who seek excitement, possess a certain skill and are experiencing a physical sensation. The study ad illustrating this type showed a teenager performing daring moves on a skateboard and then indicating that if he took drugs, he would be unable to accomplish his skill.

 

 

 

Right there they just lied to all of the youth in America. I know a ton of athletes who use drugs and still doing incredibly well in sports. Hell, some of them even manage scholorships.

 

 

 

Another one:

 

 

 

Nevertheless, a series of federally funded evaluations of the program have consistently shown that the ads fail to discourage viewers from trying pot or other drugs, and in some cases actually foster "pro-drug" beliefs among teens.

 

 

 

So the gov't spends billions of taxpayers dollars in an attempt to scare kids away from drugs. Instead they fail and end up with more kids accepting drugs. I'll admit, when I see those anti-drug ads, they don't make me view drugs poorly. If anyone remembers the anti-marijuana commercial where the girl is melting into the couch, I wanted some of whatever she had. I've never experienced a "melting" feeling. I was reading an article on a gov't funded website earlier and it said LSD could make you "hear colors, and see sounds". They tried to make it sound like a bad thing, but that only makes me want to try it.

 

 

 

Things like this make me think we really should give kids the truth and let them make their own choices instead of forcing lies on them and thinking they're 1) going to stay away from those things forever and 2) not find out the truth on their own.

 

Right there they just lied to all of the youth in America. I know a ton of athletes who use drugs and still doing incredibly well in sports. Hell, some of them even manage scholorships.

 

 

 

Heh, some chinese athletes actually do advertisements for tobacco companies and smoke regularly as well. They still get top results. I wonder how that will fit with Beijing 2008 and anti-smoking sentiments in western countries :lol:

 

 

 

P.S: Scare tactics are a load of rubbish... Read what Zonorhc wrote for more in-depth. Unless a person has absolutely no ability for critical thinking, he wont blindly succumb to these tactics anyways.

It's not a good idea, your point about cocaine was the one I was going to bring up.

I was doing some research into anti-drug ads and I found this:

 

 

 

Sensational ads, which researchers found to be the most effective, show people who seek excitement, possess a certain skill and are experiencing a physical sensation. The study ad illustrating this type showed a teenager performing daring moves on a skateboard and then indicating that if he took drugs, he would be unable to accomplish his skill.

 

 

 

Right there they just lied to all of the youth in America. I know a ton of athletes who use drugs and still doing incredibly well in sports. Hell, some of them even manage scholorships.

 

 

 

That kind of attitude pisses me off. Just because some numbnuts does drugs and is still decent at sports doesn't make doing them OK or good for you. And I know a ton of athletes who did drugs and didn't get caught that got kicked off their respective teams for poor/deteriorating performance. So by that logic it makes drugs incredibly bad for you.