Published on 12, July, 2020
Yes we all know when the legal definition is, but to me its about so many other things.
Becoming an adult is a process, and not something that happens on your 18th birthday and as a process it should be respected and acknowleged that it happens differently for different people.
Adulthood is often a cultural and social construct too, some cultures encourage their young to be far more independent than others, should we enforce conformity and if we should who's?
Should we hold someone back from doing "adult" things because they're not 18 even when they're ready?
For me I finally felt liked the title full fit ime was n my early sixties...
I felt I started to show some adult tendancies and capabilities in my mid thirties.
When society sets a sensible speed limit or a sensible threshold for adult activity, it only suits the majority of people who occupy most of the demographic, but people at the edges will ALWAYS exist.
You can only hold people back with laws if the people choose to obey them.
Law isn't Majick although it does sometimes look like it...
As a lifelong pot smoker who alledges to have received actual benefits from my foul addiction, I still think it should be illegal except if prescribed by a doctor for anyone under 18 to use it, on simple health and safety grounds.
I was lucky. if I'd started it at age 14 when my mind was very plastic and before I'd learned any real basic "life decision making" skills periods where I cannot afford the stuff would be very frightening indeed, rather than just mildly annoying, and I probabaly would not get around to having long "time outs" just to remember what the majority of uncannabinated people are experiencing.
So yeah, let's set sensible boundaires that satisfy the requirement to keep children and young adults safe and give them a legal motivation to avoid enetring the land of bad decisions until they are ready for it!