Readers: Different viewpoints on pot yield different conversations

On Monday, we asked our readers “What should Colorado schools do to address the issue of legalized marijuana?”

Our question was prompted by a recent investigation from Rocky Mountain PBS I-News that found a major uptick in drug-related incidents at Colorado middle and high schools.

Chalkbeat readers’ opinions were mixed and often appeared to be influenced by their view on marijuana use.

Reader Kathleen Chippi suggested in a comment that marijuana is nothing to worry about. 

Be honest? Cannabis is the safest therapeutic substance known to man and has no known lethal dose. History shows us people have used cannabis for many uses for the last 8,000 plus years.

Educator Jeff Buck countered:

It seems to me that an open and frank conversation about the effects of marijuana (and other abused substances for that matter) on a developing brain would be the logical place to start. … In combination with the current trends in Growth Mindset, Grit, and Mindfulness in schools, we could effectively engage students in thinking and decision making about their futures. Like, do you really want to be a disorganized mess who cannot prioritize the simplest of activities for the rest of your life? Not scared straight tactics but research based scenarios of what they can look forward to if they decide to alter how their brain develops.

Meanwhile, Jeff Deutsch said students need to know the difference between medical marijuana and recreational pot. 

Kids in high school and college already know about recreational marijuana — they get it from their friends. Medical Marijuana is different. Kids need to learn about compassion from an early age. The earlier they learn about the fact that we all are our brother’s keepers, that people in pain need our compassion, the better human beings they will become.

As always, we invite you to join the conversation on our website, Facebook page, or on Twitter.