I think back in the day ,, the most they worried about was if a piece of a cow patty used as fertilizer found its way in the bag of weed ,,
So here's a kid who lives with his parents/grandparents, has always had an odd appearance, didn't fit in, got picked last for the ball team in school. (Do they still have gym in school? Nevermind.) An outcast in school, with few if any friends, and rejected by girls, he finds friends online. All sorts of weirdos can gain a following online, even busted up old men. Now they have a fan base. It seems like if they're far enough out there they gain the attention of alphabet organizations that feed and potentially guide their fantasies. Even without any agency intervention, the folks that these kids meet online can be a twisted and unsavory lot. The last two years of lock-down and limited social contact just pushed some over the edge. A speedy trial and public execution may still be a deterrent. Looking at the recent mass shooters, they're already dead inside.
IMO it's more a connection between the personality type/mental health that will turn o marijuana than the marijuana itself: Marijuana use is a symptom and not the disease.
I'm thinking that "parents" that don't actually do any real parenting, probably has a billion times the effect that smoking some pot did, on these little turds. Try 'em, convict 'em, and put them in General Population. Guaranteed, they'll be someone's bitch within the week.....or dead.
"So here's a kid who lives with his parents/grandparents, has always had an odd appearance, didn't fit in, got picked last for the ball team in school. (Do they still have gym in school? Nevermind.) An outcast in school, with few if any friends, and rejected by girls, he finds friends online." Well, up until I joined the Airforce at 18, that description fit me to a tee. Not all of us oddballs turned out bad. I just ignored the "cool kids", beat up a few bullies, graduated and got on with life.
And I think you mentioned what I view as one of our biggest problems: you beat up a few bullies. When I grew up, this happened periodically. A kid picked on others, and kids learned to avoid the kid, or kinda get along…until he went too far. When that happened, one would strike out and drop the bully. The system worked to create order in the “flock.” Works just the same as watching a group of dogs, chickens, whatever. Somehow we have forgotten that we are animals too, though the highest of the animals, and we have put rules in place to stop the self-regulation that used to drive behavior among our younger kids.
We have licenses and training for everything except parenting and this is the end result of 1. kids having kids 2. government paying people when they have kids they can't afford 3. baby daddies having kids with multiple females and not taking responsibility for any of them 4. Adults who have no parenting skills and could careless about the offspring they produce. Personally I am tired of paying for this nonsense The right to procreate comes with responsibility-- something far too many people have no concept of.
Actually, it's our fault. We bought into the keeping up with the jones's. Mom and dad working 40+ hrs a week and a big ass house. Give the kids what ever they wanted. Just stay outta our hair. Well, they found the internet, found and echo chamber and count their popularity in likes. They took our lead and are competing with the Columbine gauntlet being put down. It won't end until the scores are no longer posted or those attempting to score are cut down before they can act. Until then. Ready Player One?
Count me as not one of those who gave their kids everything they wanted -----my 3 sons worked summer jobs from the time they could work legally. My wife was a nurse and we made sure there was always one parent home, that meant she worked shift work . When they were too young to work they were outside playing with other kids. Advantage of living in a small town
The lockup was guaranteed to cause major problems as mentioned above. The damage is going to be with us for a long time in the form of mental illness and addiction. Free money and free time, duh.
