Heroin Drug [Pushers] target Middle School Students
How can we think it through?
There’s an interesting article about a heroin drug-craze at the middle school level in some US cities. I expect it’s the canary in the mine shaft scenario–something that has been going on for a few years at the high school level–which went on for a few years at the college level; a craze 3 or so years in the making.
However, I don’t quite get the title “Heroin Drug Targets Middle School Students”. You’d think that heroin was a contagious thing or act like the flu or coughing with a cold while not covering your mouth. “Coughing targets Middle School Students”, what?
HEROIN DRUG TARGETS MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS
It was one of Mariela’s friends who first offered her “cheese” when she was just 13 years old. Mariela had never used any drugs before that day. “Cheese,” she was told, wasn’t really a drug – it would just make her feel happy.
Anyway, and interestingly, how cute and innocent a name “cheese” is but how ruthless and sinister the association. Second, haven’t we learned already this tired old lie “Insert Drug Name,” she was told, wasn’t really a drug – it would just make her feel happy” and that it often comes from so-called “friends”?
It’s hard not to go down the slippery slope. People argue against this below-the-knees “cheese” marketing because the user-addict is so young with so much potential. That’s nice, but what about other addictions, other drugs? The cynic in me would as soon dump this in with the numerous other “drugs”, addictions and obsessions that are marketed to middle school students. They’re all traveling the same “It’s not really a drug, it’ll just make you feel happy” road.
Why don’t we understand and prepare our children for moments or periods of life where we don’t feel as happy as we’d like to feel? Why not inoculate youth psychologically so that they can embrace or live with unhappy feelings in healthy and possibly even fun ways?
