By Jude R., One Chance Youth Advisory Council Member
I am a high school junior from Boulder, CO and growing up in the first state to legalize marijuana has fielded some very distinct drug-oriented challenges. And although many of the stereotypes that are applied to Colorado – everyone in Colorado smokes pot, the state is the home of druggies, there are dispensaries on every street corner – are simply stereotypes, many of them ring true.
Nowhere is this truth clearer than in the social sphere of high school. Marijuana has become an integral part of teenage social life.
Nowadays, gatherings aren’t deemed complete without the presence of marijuana. Every party is filled with edibles, carts, and joints which are often mixed with copious amounts of alcohol. The tragic part about it is that many teenagers are unable to have fun without abusing substances. Those who don’t abuse substances are deemed boring and arrogant.
I have been ridiculed on several occasions for being someone who stays away from pot, and – even worse in most smokers eyes – someone who has never tried it.
The sad truth is that it is far too easy to become involved with marijuana in Boulder. My city boasts 12.1 dispensaries per every 50,000 residents, the twelfth highest per capita concentration of cannabis dispensaries in the nation. Marijuana is far too easy to obtain for teenagers.
Many others find dealers in their school, some buy from dispensaries using fake identification, and a surprising amount are simply given cannabis by their parents. I have watched many of my peers go from intelligent, strongly willed individuals to absent “nowhere men” after their regular usage of marijuana. Cannabis dominates the social life of teenagers due to its easy access and novelty.
About Jude R. :
I am 16 years old and attend Boulder High School. This issue matters to me because I have watched many peers and friends destroy their lives through marijuana usage.
