I have acquaintances that has become involved in an illegal substance---marijuana. I think they have misjudged me and perhaps think that I am unaware of what they are doing but they will soon find out different. As I have been praying about this subject and asking the Lord to give me wisdom I began studying the subject online and an article that I came across was very troubling to me. It's title is "The Teen Brain: It's Just Not Grown Up Yet" The premise of the article is that a person during the teen years will do too much damage to their brain if they use marijuana during the teen years. The more I thought about this subject the more the concept disturbed me. I began pondering these questions:
Why do people consider it okay to destroy an adult brain? Alcohol, marijuana and drugs destroy adult and teen brains but for some reason society seems to think that it is okay to trash the brain of someone over 18 (or whatever age cutoff they decide) years of age. Why? An adult needs to be able to make good decisions. Adults need to drive safely. Adults need to be good examples for their children and raise the child in a happy safe environment. There is no age when it is okay to destroy the brain!!An adult may have an important job and needs all the brain cells they have to do the job well. Would I want an airplane pilot to be flying with fewer functioning brain cells? Would I want my surgeon to operate on me impaired by marijuana? Would I want the bus driver on the street to be unable to react in an emergency because he destroyed his brain with marijuana or drugs?
Advertisers don't mind telling children that they need to be an adult before they begin using their poison because they know that children are longing to be grown-up. They know that by fostering the idea that only adults drink that the child will be prepared to do it once they "become of age". The boys grow up with the idea that to "be a man" they need to consume alcohol. But so far none of the men that I know of that have never touched alcohol lost their masculinity. In fact they are bigger men than the ones that drink. They have backbone, courage and morals that cannot be lowered to the standards of the world around them. Real men don't drink, smoke, do drugs or rely on some stimulant to make them feel better. They have a confidence and joy that a bottle or a smoke can never supply. It is weak, easily influenced humans that turn to these things---trying to find courage, strength or happiness. Perhaps the reader isn't aware of the fact that impotence and the use of these things commonly go together. A good sex life is one that doesn't include these mind altering substances. Both a healthy mind and a healthy body are important for this type of activity.
Liquor sellers declare "Happy Hour" but it is anything but happy. It might be a happy time for the seller that is taking your money but more fights are caused by these substances than anything else. If you watch some police reality show it is common to see someone full of alcohol fighting with a spouse, child, co-worker, "friend", "drinking buddy", policeman---whoever gets in their way. People that involve themselves in marijuana and other similar substances become thieves, liars and will resort to murder of their own families in some cases to get their "fix". Happy? No, they are the most miserable people around. They can't see that that substance is the reason for their problems and not the solution to the problems. The problems (broken heart, unemployment, etc) is still there when they sober up but they have added to that small temporary problem an addiction and in some cases jail time. Their problems actually get bigger by using these things. I include caffeine use in this because it affects the mind and makes it impossible to be a kind patient person under stress. Road rage is one of the direct results of caffeine use. It may be legal but that doesn't make it right.
I have a friend----who is dead now---that died about a year ago. His name was Glenn. He was the first person to welcome us to the neighborhood when we moved here. The last conversation I had with him we found out that we were the same age---53 years old. He was a chronic alcoholic. He had been a carpenter in his life and even built the two story house he was living in. But his alcohol use had rendered him incapable to finish the house. It had no insulation, no drywall, no floor other than the wood planks. His kitchen was---well the whole house was a filthy mess---and the yard because he was to wrapped up in his addiction to do anything. His life was anything but manly. The alcohol had robbed him of even an interest in the opposite sex. We tried to encourage him to give up the poison, and he expressed a desire to change but the alcohol had weakened his ability to make right decisions and his ability to understand that the medical problems he was suffering were the results of his drinking that he was unable to change. His death was slow and painful for him. He looked 30 years older than he was and he and I both were amazed when we realized that we were the same age. When we first met he was still driving and had a nice truck that a family member had bought him but it didn't take long that his license was taken from him and he sold his truck for money to buy liquor. He had liver problems, multiple surgeries, cancer treatments---more health problems than I can call to mind at the moment.
I have another friend who keeps trying to win the battle with marijuana. He used to use other drugs but is so far unable to make a permanent reform. He is physically ruined. His teeth are gone, his body is wasted and his mind is often confused. He seems to have a confusion about what is real and what is not. His understanding of deep thinking is gone. It is sad and I keep hoping that he will make a full commitment to reform but it is a very sad fact that it would take over a year of being away from these substances for him to be fully recovered. I don't know if it will ever happen. He has some paranoia and often thinks that people are against him. When he is home in his little camper he watches out the window. Sometimes he thinks that he can read peoples minds and takes these thoughts as reality.
Another friend I had many years ago when I worked as an Occupational Therapy practitioner is Jimmy. He was in his early 20s when he became my patient. His young body was twisted. His hands frozen into a tight fist, his feet frozen in place pointing down. His arms were drawn in with elbows and wrists flexed. His legs permanently bent at the knees. What caused this contorted young man to be in this condition? Alcohol. He wasn't a statistic that anyone counts when they evaluate the effects of alcohol in society. He wasn't dead so he is not considered when the danger of drinking and driving are studied. He often had a message that he wanted me to give the world. That message was always given to me with every ounce of his being. His body would shake with emotion as he would say, "Tell them---don't drink!! It isn't worth it!!" He was living a life of total dependance on everyone around him. His bent frozen joints were the results of the injury to his brain that now tells his muscles to tighten up. He is unable to open his hands or straighten his arms or legs. He couldn't walk, feed himself or go to the bathroom without someone's help. His life is constant pain from having to wear splints that will keep his hands as far open as is possible. This blog and a future video that I have in mind to do are to fulfill his request to tell the world---anyone that will hear Jimmy----please, DON'T DRINK.
Some people reading this might think that it is okay to drink as long as we don't drive but if you could see what happens to a person after years of drinking you will see that it really isn't worth it. I have seen patients with Delirium Tremens which is one of the many results of alcohol use. Please don't do that to yourself. God has something so much better. God can give you the ability to deal with problems without these substances, if you ask him to help.
This blog is just a small part of this subject that has been on my heart. Please reader---consider the fact that all these health benefits that people promote are an illusion created by the ones that are selling these poisons. The benefits claimed of wine are from the grapes that it was derived from. The health benefits claimed by marijuana is an illusion and is not true. God loves you and He never intended for you to become a slave to these things. He is offering you freedom.
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