Everything in history always seems to repeat itself; like clothing, makeup, and even jewelry, but why isn’t anyone talking about the history of drugs and how it is repeating itself? For the last couple of years, there has been a giant repeat of the 70’s and 80’s drug movements, but I would argue it's more discreet. In the 70’s drugs like Heroin disproportionately affected Urban communities by leading to mass incarceration. In the 80’s, which was the era that I was born in, crack cocaine became the monster that took many of my friend’s mothers, father, aunties, and uncles. Some of these individuals were under the radar and were considered "high functioning" addicts. Meaning their house was clean, kids taken care of, and no trace of drugs in sight. Then, we had the group who one hears and sees about every so often. The ones we see on the street unkempt, probably loved–abandoned, just lost. Fortunately, some “got clean” and were able to make a change for themselves and their families others were not so lucky. When I was a child it wasn’t uncommon to see drugs on the table, people strung out, or your local crackhead selling something that didn’t belong to them. By seeing this, It discouraged myself and others from my generation from going down a similar path. Drugs, especially hard drugs just weren't appealing. Fast forward, here I am in my forties and I see the younger generations indulging in what was once considered “safe and from the earth” taking out our younger generation the way that the heroine used to. Kids are begging for a hit and irritated when they can’t smoke. They are unable to focus in class and often have manic outbursts when asked to wake up. Our youth are destroying themselves right in front of our eyes. Marijuana has been praised as the drug that can help a person with cancer deal with pain, seizure control, and appetite stimulation. However, there is a catch: it is not made for children at all. It can impair memory and learning, reduce attention and concentration, increase the risk of anxiety and depression, increase risk taking behaviors, and worst of all lead to Schizophrenia or Psychosis and/or Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome. The earlier a child starts it increases the likelihood of these conditions developing. These children are indulging in Marijuana that clearly isn't the same potency as it was when I was a child. It has been modified to make strains stronger and stronger in order to get customers to purchase more. I used to be an advocate for Marijuana until I realized what it was doing to my community. It is creating a generation of kids who can’t control themselves, who can’t think straight, and who will be the next generation of “crackheads” if they don’t get help soon. School systems are out of options, parents are out of options, we all are. So, what do we do next? 

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Th3Artistic7
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