Reefer Madness: The Real Reason Why Parents Want to Keep Marijuana Illegal

Almost anybody who has children (most likely parents ages 30-45), wants them to grow up to be the brightest, most talented people out there. When they see their pre-teens and teens succumbing to the newest “rap” trend, they do not know weather to be concerned or accepting. The real reason why parents don’t want to legalize weed is because it is taboo, they are ignorant, and it has a bad reputation. Most parents will admit that as a teen in the Woodstock age, they may have smoked weed a few times. But they in no way, shape, or form want their children anywhere near such a substance.

Weed is commonly depicted as a highly dangerous illegal gateway drug. It is abused in rap videos such as, “Blueberry yum yum,” by Ludacris, and “Smoke that Kush,” by Wayne Carter. It is even in alternative music such as MIA’s “I Fly Like Paper Get High Like Planes.” along with Bob Marley Songs. Parents see their kids listening to this and think that their kids will turn into “delinquents” if they are caught smoking weed. A great majority of the teenage population listens to Lil Wayne’s music; he is currently one of the hottest rappers in America. He has no problem taking drugs on stage, or smoking weed in his recording studio and airing it on his own CDs. In the photo above, he is depicted as a jailmate with tattoos on his eyes, his cheeks, his neck, and everywhere else. He has dreads, which make him look “dirty” to most parents, and even more horrid, he is advocating the smoking of weed. What most parents don’t know about this man is that he was in the gifted and talented program when he was younger, he is the most famous rapper alive earning a salary of $18,000,000 a year, and he is the CEO of Cash Money Records. Most parents can't call themselves quite as successful. Yet, they still look at this man and see everything that they do not want their own children to be. He is holding a joint and blowing smoke to look “cool,” or to depict a “badass” persona. On the other hand, if marijuana were actually legal, this would not be as taboo and inappropriate as it seems. Lil Wayne wants to appear this way to fans in order to attract a certain audience, but this really doesn’t say anything about weed itself. Parents just make the association subconsciously. He is shown front and center in this image to convey how powerful he is, and the fact that he is smoking a joint just adds to his dangerous guise.

If they are not aware that their very own neighbors could be smoking weed (likely with 28.4 million marijuana smokers in the US alone, according to dailytoke.com), parents would be surprised to know that even their own famous role models have smoked weed, including:

1. Seth Rogen

2. Cameron Diaz

3. Drew Barrymore

4. Justin Timberlake

5. Kimora Lee Simons

6. Charlize Theron

7. Mariah Carrey

8. Mathew McConaughey

9. Barbara Streisand

10. Paris Hilton

11. Jennifer Aniston

12. Paul McCartney

13. George W. Bush

14. Bill Clinton

15. Jack Nicholson

16. Michael Phelps

17. Al Gore

18. Whitney Houston

19. Steven King

20. Megan Fox

America’s sweetheart, Jennifer Aniston even admits that, "I enjoy smoking cannabis and see no harm in it.” It is merely marijuana's "taboo" reputation in society that has been blown way out of proportion.

Administrators. “Posts on Weed” My Daily Toke. Web. 24 Aug. 2010. <http://mydailytoke.com/tag/weed/page/4/>.

“Celebrity Cannabis Consumers.” Frank Discussion. Cannabis Activism Info & Resources. Web. 25 Aug. 2010. <http://frankdiscussion.netfirms.com/who_celebtokers.html>.

Raymond, Serena. “Richest Rappers of 2009” AOL Radio Blog. Web. 27 Aug. 2010. <http://www.aolradioblog.com/2009/07/20/richest-rappers-of-2009/>.