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Survey: Teen drug use, smoking up slightly
CNN ^ | Thursday, September 4, 2003 | AP

Posted on 09/04/2003 11:25:57 AM PDT by the_devils_advocate_666

Edited on 04/29/2004 2:03:04 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

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To: MrLeRoy
"The complete argument, which you butchered: "Alcohol is used not quite twice as often as pot among 6th-to-12th graders; among adults the ratio is about 10 to 1. The legal drug is proportionately less used by kids than the illegal drug."

I'm saying your argument is irrelevant. I'm saying who cares what the ratio is among adults.

The point is that a legal, hard-to-get drug is used twice as much by teens than an illegal easy to get drug.

That the ratio jumps in adults is so obvious as to be juvenile.

61 posted on 09/05/2003 7:18:40 AM PDT by robertpaulsen
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To: MrLeRoy
"If so, the ratio climbs even higher for 35+, lending that much more support to my point that the legal drug is proportionately less used by kids than the illegal drug."

You tell me. When you stated an "adult" 10:1 ratio, what age group were you looking at? Was this 21+?

If so, then, yes, over 35 would be greater than 10:1 and under 35 would be less than 10:1.

Tell you what, give me your source and I'll look it up myself.

62 posted on 09/05/2003 7:22:54 AM PDT by robertpaulsen
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To: robertpaulsen
a legal, hard-to-get drug is used twice as much by teens than an illegal easy to get drug.

And why is the illegal drug easy to get? Because its sellers, unlike the sellers of the legal drug, have no incentive to not sell to kids.

63 posted on 09/05/2003 7:27:52 AM PDT by MrLeRoy (The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. - Jefferson)
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To: robertpaulsen
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Serivices Administration's National Survey on Drug Use & Health (http://www.samhsa.gov/oas/nhsda.htm#NHSDAinfo), in 2001 109 million Americans 21 and older were past-month users of alcohol, and 10.1 million were past-month users of marijuana.
64 posted on 09/05/2003 7:50:16 AM PDT by MrLeRoy (The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. - Jefferson)
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To: MrLeRoy
"Because its sellers, unlike the sellers of the legal drug, have no incentive to not sell to kids."

Yet, despite the fact that alcohol is hard to get, despite the incentive not to sell to kids, kids use alcohol twice as much as marijuana.

This tells me that the easy-to-get/hard-to-get argument is a non-starter. It has nothing to do with usage.

As I stated before, existing hard drug dealers would continue to sell marijuana to teens, even if marijuana were legal.

65 posted on 09/05/2003 8:42:28 AM PDT by robertpaulsen
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To: robertpaulsen
This tells me that the easy-to-get/hard-to-get argument is a non-starter. It has nothing to do with usage.

Then why did you bring it up?

As I stated before, existing hard drug dealers would continue to sell marijuana to teens, even if marijuana were legal.

Not clear---they do not now sell legal-for-adults alcohol to teens.

66 posted on 09/05/2003 9:13:39 AM PDT by MrLeRoy (The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. - Jefferson)
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To: MrLeRoy
"Then why did you bring it up?"

bassmaner brought it up, not me. Stop being lazy and do some looking -- cripes, there's only 66 posts.

"Not clear---they do not now sell legal-for-adults alcohol to teens."

Crystal clear. The drugs dealer's wholesale price would plummet. Hell, he could grow his own. He could drive around with bales in the back seat. He could lower his marijuana price, keep and expand his teen customers, and still make a very tidy profit.

Plus, he's right there when they want to gateway to the harder drugs. Consider the (still highly profitable) marijuana business as a loss leader.

67 posted on 09/05/2003 10:15:23 AM PDT by robertpaulsen
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To: robertpaulsen
Then why did you bring it up?

bassmaner brought it up

Why did you bring it up to me? Go talk to bassmaner about it.

they do not now sell legal-for-adults alcohol to teens.

he could grow his own. He could drive around with bales in the back seat.

All also true of alcohol, yet drug dealers don't sell it to teens.

He could lower his marijuana price,

So you're backing off your claim in post #47, "I'm talking about the drug dealer who, in addition to selling every illegal drug, will continue to sell marijuana to kids at the same price he did before legalization"?

keep and expand his teen customers, and still make a very tidy profit.

All also true of alcohol, yet drug dealers don't sell it to teens.

Plus, he's right there when they want to gateway to the harder drugs.

Recent studies by the RAND Corporation, and by economist Steven Pudney of the University of Leicester, have deflated the "gateway theory."

68 posted on 09/05/2003 10:26:38 AM PDT by MrLeRoy (The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. - Jefferson)
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To: MrLeRoy
"So you're backing off your claim in post #47, "I'm talking about the drug dealer who, in addition to selling every illegal drug, will continue to sell marijuana to kids at the same price he did before legalization"?"

Of course not. I'm saying that he could lower his price and still make a tidy profit.

Then again, if legal marijuana will be as "hard to get" as alcohol, he'll be out of the marijuana business in no time flat. And for the same reason that he doesn't sell alcohol.

We'll see teen use of marijuana rise to the level of teen use of alcohol. Hey, like you care.

69 posted on 09/05/2003 10:48:51 AM PDT by robertpaulsen
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To: robertpaulsen
lol.
70 posted on 09/05/2003 10:50:26 AM PDT by toothless
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To: robertpaulsen
if legal marijuana will be as "hard to get" as alcohol

Could happen---if adult marijuana use rises tenfold after relegalization to equal adult alcohol use. I know of no reason to believe that will happen.

71 posted on 09/05/2003 11:13:47 AM PDT by MrLeRoy (The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. - Jefferson)
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To: robertpaulsen
Hey, like you care.

The usual liberal ad hominems.

72 posted on 09/05/2003 11:14:34 AM PDT by MrLeRoy (The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. - Jefferson)
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