Will Drugs and Technology Be the Downfall of Millennials?
With the legalization of marijuana now in twenty states across this country, (some just for medical use and two, Colorado and Washington for recreational), we can anticipate others joining the ranks in the near future. The floodgates are opening and it looks like there is a growing trend toward legalization in all 50 states.
Support for legalization is not just coming from the Democrat and Libertarian side of the aisle. It is being supported by some Republicans and Conservatives as well. The National Review of all places applauded Colorado for being bold in legalizing marijuana for recreational use and not just for medical purposes. It actually praised the state for understanding that most people just smoke marijuana to get high.
In a report released on Wednesday, The Partnership @drugfree.org finds that more teens are smoking dope, with nearly 1 in 10 lighting up at least 20 or more times a month. Prescription drug use among the same group has fallen slightly since 2010, but it is still a concern and remains high. The harder drugs like cocaine and methamphetamines have stabilized but the upward trend is in marijuana use. In 2008 it was 19% among teens and now it has escalated to 27% as of 2013. About 1.5 million teens are toking up at least 20 times a month. One in 10 teens also use prescription drugs like OxyContin and Vicodin the report states.
Along with the alarming rate of drug use among this younger generation, we see a reliance on technology that is becoming addictive in many cases. Millennials have been brought up in a world of advanced technology and in many cases it is an extension of who they are. According to Dr. Keith Ablow, a renowned psychiatrist, 33% of young people are texting at a rate of 100 texts per day if not more. They prefer to text rather than talk on the phone or even interact with each other face to face. This can lead to isolation and reduction of social skills. They live in a world of unreality through the internet with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media.
So where is all of this leading? The facts are that marijuana and other drugs lead people down a dangerous path. Even liberal media editor Tina Brown says that “legal weed contributes to us being a fatter, dumber, sleepier nation”. Whatever the intoxicant, alcohol or drugs, people use it to escape reality. Combine that with a texting and social media addiction and we can see that young people are creating false lives and running away from reality. They will not be able to survive in a real world with real issues to solve and it will be devastating to our nation.
The Millennials are our future and we will not have a future if we become a society of pot-heads and “selfie” addicts. I’m sure many people will say that this is no different than alcohol addiction, but then, look where that has led us. Young people are abusing that as well.
It is difficult for young people today to turn away from drugs and other addictive things. After all, it is being glorified in the media every day by people like Miley Cyrus and Snoop Dogg and in television shows like “Weeds”. Technology is not going away and will advance at a faster pace as time goes on, so we can foresee a future where people will become more and more isolated and find it harder and harder to deal with reality.
Unfortunately if you try and broach the subject with some of the young people out there and try to explain to them that any kind of addictions are counterproductive to their future, they tend to look at you and smile and just say, “Drugs and alcohol sure didn’t stop our last three Presidents from succeeding…did they?”
How do you argue with that?
