Parents, Speak to Your Children About Drugs

YOU have no doubt read much about the dangers of drugs. You have noted the spreading use of drugs among younger persons and the menace it poses for them. If you are a parent, the following information will be helpful to you. But it will do little to benefit your family unless you talk seriously to them about it. (Deut. 6:6, 7) Unless you really reach your children, getting them to see clearly the truth about the danger of drugs, you may lose them to the drug peril. How can you approach the subject with your children?

Let us see how this might be done. Consider what a father and mother can say to their teen-age children to equip them to resist temptation to use drugs. The family scene that follows is based on sound methods of instruction employed by God-fearing parents. The father of this family opens the conversation.

Father: “I was reading the paper the other day and noticed that Melvin Smart got picked up by the police for possession of marijuana.”

Son: “You’re kidding . . . Melvin Smart?”

Father: “No, I’m not. He’s in your class, isn’t he, Lucy?”

Daughter: “I thought there was something the matter with him! He acts so strange at times, just staring off into space.”

Father: “Is there much use of drugs at school?”

Daughter: “Oh, Dad, a lot of the kids are on ‘pot’ and ‘hash’ and whatnot.”

Mother: “Is that so? Can you buy marijuana at school?”

Daughter: “Sure!”

Mother: “Where?”

Daughter: “Why, right in front of the school.”

Son: “Kids sometimes meet to buy and sell drugs right in the school rest room at noon.”

Father: “Then, tell me, have you ever been offered any of these drugs?”

Daughter: “Oh, yes, many times.”

Father: “Well, have you ever felt that you would like to try some just once to see how it affects you?”

Daughter: “No, not really. It doesn’t make sense even to try them, especially when you see the effect on the kids who have. They seem to walk around in a daze and they look so sloppy.”

Father: “How about you, Bob?”

Son: “No, Dad, I’ve never wanted to try any either. Recently while I was in metal-shop class a student asked me if I wanted some powdered stuff.”

Mother: “Was it a drug?”

Son: “Yes. This boy is a known pusher, and when I refused, he looked at me and said: ‘What’s the matter with you? Are you chicken?’ I thought to myself, I’d rather be a live chicken than a dead drug addict.”

Why Drugs Are to Be Avoided

Father: “Well, I’m glad to hear this. But do you know why this use of drugs is wrong?”

Daughter: “Because we want to please God.”

Father: “Right. As Christians we want to love and serve God with our ‘whole mind,’ as Jesus said we should. (Matt. 22:37) This requires a sound mind, and the Bible exhorts younger men to be ‘sound in mind.’ (Titus 2:2-6) Would a Christian be giving evidence of a sound mind by using drugs to escape from reality?”

Son: “No.”

Father: “And so we want to please God and avoid what would displease him. Did you know that there is a connection between the use of drugs and the practice of spiritism, which God condemns? Now, the Greek worda used in the Bible for ‘practice of spiritism’ or ‘witchcraft’ literally means ‘druggery.’ The use of drugs in spiritistic practices was often coupled with appeals to occult powers. Would you get our copy of The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, Bob?”

Son: “Here it is.”

Father: “Would you turn to Revelation 22:15? Notice that it says that those who are outside God’s favor are those who ‘practice spiritism.’ Now look at the left-hand column where the Greek text appears, along with the word-for-word English translation. Here the Greek word for ‘practice spiritism’ is literally translated ‘druggers.’ So these persons are linked with spiritists and others who lose out on gaining life everlasting because of their bad practices.”

Mother: “The use of drugs and coming under the influence of the demons, then, are closely linked together.”

Father: “Yes, and what have you children observed? Do you find among drug users more than the usual interest in occult things?”

Son: “Yes, they even have books on magic and ESP. Some have Ouija boards and many are interested in astrology.”

Daughter: “But, Dad, if one avoids magical practices, how does the use of drugs lead to demonism?”

Father: “Well, Lucy, not all who use drugs for pleasure are actually demon-possessed. The point to remember is that by trying drugs just once, the mind can be affected, and it may be hard to resist the further use of them. Then, as you continue to make such use of drugs, all sound reasoning can give way to a diseased mental state. This may open the way to demon influence. Here is how the apostle Paul expressed the condition of those who did not hold closely to obedience to God. Read it, Bob, at Romans 1:28.”

Son: “All right. ‘And just as they did not approve of holding God in accurate knowledge, God gave them up to a disapproved mental state, to do the things not fitting.’”

Father: “Now, can you really serve Jehovah with your whole heart and with a sound mind if you are ‘high’ on drugs?”

Daughter: “No; how can you, if you’re ‘stoned’ on drugs and open to the influence of the demons?”

Mother: “You certainly can’t. Terrible things happen to the minds of those who take, for example, LSD. Just a speck of LSD can take a person on a ‘trip’ that may last eight to sixteen hours.”

Son: “That long?”

Father: “Yes, and after the first ‘trip,’ weird illusions and horrible visions can occur again, even for days or months afterwards.”

Son: “Wow, that’s something!”

Father: “It surely is. But here’s what a Toronto newspaper had to say about a young musician in Canada. Lucy, will you read this quote for us, please?”

Daughter: “All right. It says: ‘A young musician in Canada was found in bad condition by the police. He told them he had decided to try LSD because he no longer got “kicks” from marijuana. The result was a “bad trip” during which he shoved his fingers deep into his eye sockets because “he didn’t want to see what he was seeing.” He severely damaged both eyes, and doctors feared he would lose the sight of one of them.’ Oh, that’s terrible, Dad!”

Father: “Yes, it is. But it’s no worse than the boy who, on LSD, bored a hole in his head with an electric drill to ‘help him break out of ordinary time and enter another dimension,’ or the several who jumped to their death out of windows thinking they were ‘flying away.’”

Is Marijuana Different?

Son: “Dad, one of the things I sometimes have trouble answering is when kids say they never use LSD or heroin, but they do not think smoking marijuana is so bad. What about that?.

Father: “There are persons, Bob, who have smoked marijuana and who claim to have had no bad results. But are these persons led to improve their lives? On the contrary, even though not all who smoke marijuana are led to take up harder drugs, such as heroin, the fact remains that it is well recognized that most persons who use heroin started off with ‘lesser drugs,’ such as marijuana, first. Surveys of heroin addicts reveal that 85 percent of them had previously used marijuana.

Son: “Then the big danger is that kids who smoke marijuana will go on to worse drugs?”

Father: “That’s only one of the main dangers. You see, even if a smoker of marijuana does not go on to harder drugs, how can he be sure that it will not harm him? Now, one thing that few marijuana users realize is that the active chemicalb in this drug is not eliminated by the body but it accumulates or builds up in the body. It clings to the fatty tissues of the body, especially to the tissues in the brain. As it builds up in the body and brain, it is certain to affect the health of the person involved, including his mental health.”

Son: “I sure didn’t know that about marijuana, Dad​—that you don’t get rid of its poison!”

Father: “Another thing​—a marijuana user can get in trouble long before that poisonous chemical builds up in his body. You see, each person is different and no person can predict how marijuana will affect him. In fact, doctors say that ‘the very unpredictability of marijuana on different individuals and on the same individual at different times and under different conditions’ increases the danger to the user. But now, let’s read from this book entitled ‘Drug Abuse,’ in its chapter on marijuana. Bob, will you read these sentences that I have underlined?”

Son: “Sure. It says: ‘A marihuana trip basically lasts approximately three hours. There is a loss of time and depth perception. A crack in the sidewalk or curb may appear to be a deep canyon or cliff. The reverse is also true; persons under the influence of marihuana have been known to step out of second-story windows or off the roofs of buildings. . . . speed of 120 miles per hour may appear to be 20 miles per hour . . . Crimes of violence, such as robbery, burglary, assault, rape, and homicide are common to persons under the influence and it is usually in this condition that the user tries his first injection of heroin or ingestion of LSD. . . . It is because the effect of marihuana is so unpredictable that enforcement officers consider a person under its influence to be extremely dangerous.’”

Father: “Does that sound like a habit with which a Christian would want to become identified?”

Son: “It sure doesn’t!”

Father: “To show how unpredictable the effect of marijuana is, this book relates the case of a sixteen-year-old student who bought some marijuana in the rest room at school. Notice what happened. Will you read this, Bob?”

Son: “Here it says, ‘The 16 year old left school and went to a park where he smoked three joints (cigarettes) of marihuana. He then went home and beat his mother.’”

Father: “Those who use marijuana, then, may resort to violence even against loved ones or themselves. Some marijuana users attempt suicide. So when kids at school joke about it, speaking of ‘grass,’ ‘tea,’ ‘weed,’ and claiming that they know all about marijuana, keep in mind that not all that they view as ‘fact’ may be true.”

Son: “You’re right, Dad. The kids never told me these things about marijuana.”

How to Protect Your Children

Father: “But, now, let’s discuss what will protect you children from drugs. You know the real reason why most young people start taking drugs, don’t you?”

Son: “Because other kids are doing it?”

Father: “That’s it. They want to be popular with the others.”

Mother: “But what group of people do we want to stay with between now and the end of this worldly system?”

Daughter: “The people who love God and do his will​—Jehovah’s people.”

Mother: “That’s right, because we do want life in God’s new order.”

Father: “When we associate with worldly people, what Bible principles are we violating?”

Son: “I know, Dad, where the Bible says that ‘bad associations spoil useful habits.’” (1 Cor. 15:33)

Father: “Right. And here, then, is the first important way to safeguard yourselves from drugs: Guard your associations! Why spoil your good habits by associating with kids who use drugs?”

Mother: “Yes, and, Lucy and Bob, you need to be watchful when you are with other youths at school. Sometimes children are even tricked into taking LSD.”

Daughter: “How could that happen?”

Mother: “Well, other children might offer you something to eat, perhaps just a piece of sugar. If you know that a youngster goes in for drugs, and such a person offers you a piece of candy, or something else to eat, realize who is giving it to you. You know who the person is, so turn down the offer and avoid association with him.”

Daughter: “But we can’t stay completely away from the students at school. We have work assignments together. I have a project for Home Economics class. I have to work with some of the known drug users if I am to get the project done.”

Father: “As far as your school assignments are concerned, you may have to work together, but you don’t have to socialize with them. You know, I have the same problem on my job. I work with others, but I don’t socialize with them and go where they go or do what they do. I avoid using their kind of language. So protect yourselves by guarding your associations. But there is more.

Daughter: “What is that, Dad?”

Father: “The second of the safeguards. This is to tell others what your position is with regard to drugs and that you live by the Bible. So, by all means let your schoolmates know that your life is governed by Bible principles, and that you try to live by them. Then never hesitate to talk to them about God’s kingdom at every opportunity. You know, many of these children will see your good conduct and will respect you for it.”

Mother: “And some might even become interested in the Bible.”

Father: “Letting other youths know your position will not only safeguard you, but may also do good for the other youths. Do you know anybody who used to be on drugs?”

Son: “Yes.”

Father: “And we know how they quit, don’t we? They started to study the Bible and came to the Kingdom Hall and found something really worth while to work and live for. You can be sure that any kids in your school who are involved with drugs just do not have something to live for. So how can you help them?”

Son: “We can tell them about the meetings at the Kingdom Hall and invite them to come.”

Father: “Exactly. Then what they hear at the Kingdom Hall might make a difference in their lives. We have something to live for. When you have this wonderful hope, you do not need a crutch such as drugs. But now, getting back to the matter of safeguards​—you probably know what the third safeguard is.”

Son: “Remind us, Dad.”

Father: “Well, it is this: Realize what involvement in drugs would mean to your family. How do you think it would affect our family if you got involved in drugs?”

Daughter: “Dad, you’d probably have to come down and talk to the police, and everyone in town would know about it. Why, I wouldn’t even be able to raise my head when I walked down the street.”

Mother: “I was just thinking about Melvin Smart’s family. I wonder how his mother and father feel right now.”

Son: “I’m sure they feel terrible. I certainly wouldn’t want to be arrested and have the whole family disgraced like that.”

Father: “So you see, this is a safeguard, keeping in mind what involvement in drugs would do to our family. But there is another protection, and it is the most impelling, the greatest safeguard of all. And that is something we have already discussed. The main reason you avoid drugs is that you desire to please Jehovah God.”

Son: “Dad, those four safeguards are sure good to know.”

Father: “Can you remember the four?”

Son: “I think so. First, we must guard our associations. Second, tell others that we live by the Bible. Third, we have to keep in mind what our use of drugs would mean to the family. Fourth, and most important, we want to please God, and to do that we have to avoid all this misuse of drugs.”

Father: “Fine!”

Mother: “Then we all agree that nothing good comes from getting ‘high’ on drugs.”

Son: “Yes, and I’m sure glad we had this discussion.”

Daughter: “I learned some things I didn’t know.”

Father: “Well, children, I appreciate your good attitude. If a problem should come up on any matter, feel free to come and talk to both your mother and myself and tell us all the facts. There’s a lot more we could say about drugs and other problems you face, and what the Bible says about them. Maybe we can get together about once a week, say, after supper, and talk over some of these things. It keeps us all alert and is a protection in these critical times.”

This example gives you an idea of how the matter might be approached and dealt with by parents. Perhaps there are different circumstances in your locality or your home. Discuss them together. Think beforehand as to some of the points you will present, and be real parents and protectors of your children.

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