Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation

Item on CNN.com today:

While most parents no longer use drugs -- 11 percent reported marijuana use in
the last year -- they still carry attitudes fostered during their teen years,
researchers found. This is particularly true about parents who were teenagers in
the late '70s and early '80s, when teen drug use was at a high point.

"While the vast majority of parents have left old habits behind, they're carrying old attitudes and beliefs forward," said Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership. "If old habits die hard, the data suggests lax attitudes about drugs die even harder."

I think I would substitute the work realistic for lax in that last paragraph. Also, I suspect that by “drug use” they are mostly talking about pot. I was a in my late teens and early 20s during the above time period when teen drug use was at a high point. The vast majority of casual drug users at that time rarely did anything more then pot and alcohol. I think most of these parents have an understanding of these drugs and can deal with issues surrounding them on a realistic rather than emotional level.

This is not to say parents shouldn't be communicating with kids about drugs, especially harder ones, but beating them over the head with false propaganda is no good. That's what today's parents learned yesterday.