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I think kids should be given honest accurate information about drugs. Not the lies and propaganda they currently receive from the government.

The first time I drank a beer in high school, I thought it was going to be like an LSD trip based on the lies that government propaganda masters fed me in high school drug classes.

If you ask me I think drug abuse should be a medical problem, not a criminal problem. And that all drugs should be re-legalized.

And of course it rubbish to say that every person that uses alcohol or drugs has a drug abuse problem. Most people handle drugs responsibly.

Source

Do you tell your kids about your past drug use?

USA TODAY NETWORK Ken Serrano, Asbury Park (N.J.) Press 9:56 a.m. MT March 4, 2017

As the threat of the opioid epidemic reaches more families, parents and guardians face increasing pressure to talk to their kids about drugs, public health officials say.

How they respond matters, according to a body of research from academic journals and nonprofit organizations. But that research differs on how to respond. And not everyone agrees that honesty is the only policy.

Some psychologists stress caution.

Angelo Valente, executive director of Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey, a drug prevention organization, said the question should be viewed as an opportunity.

"The fact that your child is coming to you is extremely important," he said, siding strongly with parents being honest. If dishonesty comes to light, it can harm trust and that can keep a child from coming forward later, he said.

"You want them to continue to be able to build trust," he said. "You want the parent to be a resource during difficult times in adolescence."

Along with any disclosure of past drug use, parents should make sure their children know that drugs — from opioids to synthetic drugs like bath salts — are far more dangerous than most drugs were 20 or 30 years ago, Valente said.

The national organization, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, provides advice on how to answer the question in a tip sheet and a more detailed kit specifically about marijuana.

"Kids want to have that open dialogue," said Kristi Rowe, a spokeswoman for the group. "That doesn't mean you have to give them all the detail in technicolor."

One of the group's broader points: the right approach depends on your child.

Telling the truth, for instance, carries its own pitfalls, according to one prominent 2013 study by researchers from the University of Illinois that says that honesty leads to more positive feelings among children about illicit drug use.

But few practitioners, if any, advocate lying.

“It’s best to react with honesty,” said Tara Lally, a licensed psychologist with a practice in West Long Branch and an adjunct professor at Monmouth University. “If you lie, you damage your relationship.”