This
week, the Archdiocese of St. Louis announced it would prohibit alcohol sales at
events primarily catering to kids. It
seems that the adults on Lindell Boulevard want to stop sending messages to our
kids that alcohol is required to have a good time. As a Catholic and occasional beer connoisseur,
I don’t have a problem with the new rule.
At
the same time, Missouri and New York are among the states that have been
targeted to be the next to legalize certain uses of marijuana. Also this week, New York City announced that
it wants to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21, as
they apparently want to discourage young people from smoking.
Did
I get that right? New York wants to
raise the age to use tobacco, at the same time their adults are considering
legalization of marijuana? Do these same
adults know that you have to SMOKE marijuana to get it into your system?
With
the St. Louis area in the grips of four-year heroin epidemic, I’ve learned a
lot from those caught up with this addiction.
Most start with tobacco, then alcohol, then marijuana, then opiate
prescription medicine abuse, then heroin, then death for those that don’t break
the downhill spiral. I’m not saying that
everyone that uses tobacco, alcohol and marijuana eventually turns to
heroin. What I am saying is that nearly every
heroin addict I’ve met went down this path.
By the way, I don’t claim to know what the
answer is. However, I’m fairly certain that
young people don’t know exactly what we adults are trying to teach them.
