On Salon, Gary Kamiya recaps how he discussed the birds, the bees, and drugs with his teenage son...after taking a couple of hits from a blunt at a concert he brought his son to.

Although it may not be the best way to go about it, and he admits he was afraid that he'd start sounding too, well, high in the middle of it,  I think the way this man handled it definitely beats the way most parents and educators treat these subjects.

While, he admitted that half (or more) of his work had been done thanks to the very liberal sexual education his son recieved at his school in San Francisco and that his son may have been induldging him by listening rather than hoping to learn anything he didn't already know, the father's attitude was less stern than most parents' would be. I don't think it's mere coincidence that his son, who tried drinking before college, had never gotten drunk and steered away from most drugs as well at an age when experimentation tends to be at its peak.

While generally I think that kids who don't experiment at all before college are at a greater risk to try dangerous things during college, I doubt that will be the case with this man's son. Even if he does experiment with hard drugs or drinks too heavily, the chances of it developing into something out of his control, assuming there aren't other very negative factors like depression or something involved, are slim.

Contrary to what most conservative parents, pundits and politicians may believe their attitudes regarding sex and drugs not only rarely help their children, but are often more detrimental to them. Instead of trying everything possible to shelter children from aspects of life you don't agree with, it would be much more conducive to the child's health and the parent-child relationship if teh parents were more open and understanding.

The parent in this article was fair and honest. He told his son he occasionally smoked pot and saw nothing wrong with it and wished he actually smoked it more than he drank being that it is less dangerous. He also stated just as calm and cleary why he wouldn't and his son shouldn't try harder drugs, mainly because of their very strong negative affects and addictive natures.

Whatever your opinion may be of the details of this situation, I'd bet anything that if this kid found himself in trouble, or suffering from anything, he'd be less likely to self medicate himself with drugs and more likely to pick up the phone and call his parents. The father also eliminated the desire to experiment for purely rebellious reasons almost completely. (at least as much as its possible to do).

I'm not saying parents should talk to their kids while high (or be high in general for that matter) but talking about drugs in a calm. honest, reasonable manner is a parenting style more people should want to emulate.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2007/10/09/sex_drugs/