To smoke or not to smoke


 

“What works for you may not work for me, so let me find my own way to figure it out.” Dr. BLR

 

One of the pleasures I get from teaching students is talking to them and providing them with the best advice I can, based on my six-plus decades of living. Over the years, I’ve noticed a trend happening as more students come through the doors of my classroom. A lot of my current and former students have admitted to smoking weed, even after I have apprised them of their Fifth Amendment right to self-incrimination. Of course, I am joking, as I have been retired from law enforcement for the past 15 years. Yet, they feel comfortable sharing this fact with me.

I then ask them why. I didn’t know what to expect from their individual responses, but they all seem to think that smoking weed helps with their anxiety. Not to seem insensitive, given my generation’s experiences growing up, I find that many young people today have poor coping skills and find solace in lighting up. I don’t blame them because they’ve had to deal with a lot of distractions, i.e., technology, social media, COVID, and online schooling. While some might see these as excuses and say they have to get tough, I don’t. 

As a Baby Boomer, I didn’t grow up with much outside noise. Life was simple: go outside, play, and make sure you’re home before the streetlights came on. Nowadays, many young people don’t venture outside because they’re locked into their smartphones, iPads, and video consoles. They aren’t experts at dealing with people and problems. Like past generations, this one is expected to experiment with drugs, but for whatever reason, this generation loves to smoke weed and has no qualms about telling you. Life became a bit simpler for them once marijuana was legalized at the state level. Parents now have no excuse to question their university-aged young adults about weed consumption, because they’ll be told, “Duh, it’s legal!” 

With the advent of social media, young people have made it easy to share their struggles online in an attempt to garner support from others experiencing similar mental health challenges. Several high-profile individuals in the sports and entertainment industries have publicly shared their battles. To some, knowing that influencers are open to sharing leads many of my students to come to me for advice.

Over the years, I’ve talked about my issues with my former employer, the New Jersey State Police, and how I had to deal with my own mental health problems. Although I thought my issues were more severe, I had to keep them in perspective because everything is relative. I was prescribed an antidepressant to address my internal problems, which I gladly took to get some much-needed sleep and quiet the ruminations in my mind. No doubt, my students suffered from similar issues, so their outlet was smoking weed. 

Teaching and holding a conversation with a young person under the influence in class requires patience and an understanding of what they may be dealing with. At times, I don’t blame them; I'm just glad they found their way into my class.  

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