Latest

When the kids aren't sniffing poo and gobbling Aqua Dots, they're listening to drug-laced rap anthems and probably thinking about getting wasted:

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, who studied the lyrics of hundreds of popular songs, found that one in three mention alcohol or drug use.
…

Most lyrical references to substance use were associated with partying, sex, violence and, or humor. The use of drugs and alcohol was motivated by peer pressure, sex, and, or money. Only four songs explicitly had anti-use messages. [Reuters]

I was initially surprised by the 1 in 3 result. It sounds like a lot, hence the scare story from Reuters. But if you think about what makes a song popular, it makes perfect sense. Popular music has to resonate with the "cool" kids, and you can't win them over by singing about puppy dogs and the pleasures of sobriety.

Ultimately, drugs are just part of our popular culture and that isn't going to change. What can change is the drug war mentality that glorifies some of the worst aspects of our society. Chart-topping rap music, for example, has turned drug-dealing thugs into folk heroes. The music doesn't inspire this activity, rather it documents it, providing listeners with a window into a world that is unfamiliar to most.

Rap stars and rockers will always brag about misbehaving, and awestruck youth will always gaze curiously at this dramatic spectacle.  But tabloid headlines and sensational  lyrics aside, many of our celebrities are hardworking people who've learned to use drugs responsibly. Maybe they're not such bad role models after all.

Instead of debating whether or not marijuana decriminalization sends the wrong message to children, maybe we should spend more time ensuring that kid's toys aren't made of club drugs:

NEW YORK (CNN) -- U.S. safety officials have recalled about 4.2 million Chinese-made Aqua Dots bead toys that contain a chemical that has caused some children to vomit and become comatose after swallowing them.

Scientists have found the popular toy's coating contains a chemical that, once metabolized, converts into the toxic "date rape" drug GHB, or gamma-hydroxy butyrate… [CNN]

Well, if the DEA can prosecute convenience store clerks for unknowingly selling supplies that could be used to make meth, surely they will go after Walmart for accidentally selling GHB to small children. Right? Better yet, perhaps ONDCP will now claim that this problem could have been headed off sooner by drug testing 1st graders.