Villager February 2019
Legalization and the sky is not falling……..YET!!!!!
It was the Canadian Medical Assoc. Journal that stated the legalization of Cannabis in Canada is a, “National, uncontrolled experiment” that pits the profits of cannabis producers and government tax revenues against the health of Canadians.
The analogy I have been using with legalization is, “It is like building a plane while you are flying it.” It sounds exciting to some, but probably isn’t going to end well for everyone over the long haul.
While presenting, “The Truth About Cannabis and other Drugs”, I can’t let the audience know what the consequences will be if charges are laid. Unfortunately, it is going to take a few years to get this through the court system when looking at the sentencing and appeal process for people that are charged with various offences such as providing Cannabis to minors.
To be clear I do not have a problem with the legalization of CBD which is more of the medical qualities. You can’t get high from CBD’s. The THC in Cannabis is the substance that provides the high and the consequences of this will be felt for generations by some families and society.
When I ask students in an assembly how many of them are concerned about the legalization of Cannabis between 70 – 80% of the hands go up. This seems to be a shock to many in attendance.
They compare it to alcohol however, I am not sure alcohol was so great for our society. I speak in First Nations communities and the devastation due to alcoholism that has occurred in some of these communities is really sad, especially for the youth.
I believe you would appreciate my position if you were with me during my investigations of assaults, sexual assaults, and deaths that occurred due to alcohol or it being a secondary cause. Also, taking into account the impaired driving causing injury or death, which I witnessed first hand on many occasions when I was an investigating officer of fatal motor vehicle accidents. During my years as a police officer and as a professional speaker, I have become aware of so many marriages that have ended due to alcohol related issues or other addictions.
The Government of Canada is aware that Neuroscientists recommended the age for legalization at 25 years because the prefrontal cortex of the brain is not fully developed until 24 to 25 years of age.
In Colorado and Washington, even though the age is 21, it is having an impact in the schools. Colorado put aside almost 10 million dollars from the cannabis tax revenue for school education and addiction programs.
We have enough addiction issues in our world. Why add one more? Parents need to be very clear on their position with this topic and strongly voice their opinion whether are for it or against it.
October 17, 2019 is the date when Canada will
introduce edibles into our communities.
New Initiative for Thumb Switch Charity:
A new initiative will be launched later this month called 24/7 – 365. This relates to what many people reference as 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. The challenge is to raise money for student scholarships and assist schools in hosting qualified youth programs.
24/7 – 24 corporations, businesses, foundations, families offer support for $7,000.00 to $700.00. When this is achieved it would allow scholarships for deserving students to go from $1,680.00 to $16,800.00 and would allow qualified schools access to $250.00 – $750.00 per day for youth programs.
365 – $300.00 from 65 businesses, foundations, families or individuals. This would create an additional $1,950.00 for scholarships and qualified schools access to $250.00 per day for youth programs.
I hope you will spread the word and align yourself or company in this very worthwhile cause.
Gaming:
Roblox has been called “the world’s most popular game you’ve never heard of.” In fact, this massive multiplayer online game has recently outstripped even Minecraft’s user numbers. While the game may seem like an innocent digital playground for children, there are some frightening issues with its online community.
What is Roblox about?
Roblox is a vast online platform where kids can create and interact in what its makers describe as “immersive 3D worlds.” Players are given the opportunity to create an avatar (player) for themselves and allotted a small amount of digital money to rent a house. Money to furnish and decorate the house requires real world money, with costs adding up fast. A variety of different outfits are also available to purchase which is a huge drawcard for many young children who want to make their avatar look as cool as possible. Players who don’t buy upgrades may be mocked by other players and pressured into spending more.
Why is it such a risk to children?
Additional purchases are not the biggest issue with this game – the social interaction amongst players is. The purpose of Roblox is for players to interact and make friends. This is achieved by wandering around the online world and stopping to talk with other players within an unmoderated chat feature. Like any online multiplayer game, there is little to no control over the types of people or age limits of those playing the game. Despite the fact that strict chat filters can be activated – blocking inappropriate words and phrases – children are still susceptible to being targeted by online predators.
This problem isn’t unique to Roblox. Far from it. Throughout the online gaming world, wherever games are marketed to children, online predators lurk. Social games like this are often used as a platform to lure children away from the game and onto other platforms: eg., Facebook, Snapchat and even in some cases Skype. Roblox appeals directly to children under 12, easy targets who lack the ability to discriminate between appropriate and inappropriate requests.
The game invites players to explore imaginary worlds of all kinds. Some of these are sexual in nature. One British dad who decided to check out the game his sons were obsessed with was shocked to discover avatars having virtual sex, ABC News reported in 2017.
“The chat function poses a real danger to children playing this popular game,” explains Safe psychologist Jordan Foster, a leading Cyber Expert at Family Zone. “With limited safety measures embedded within the game, children are open prey for predators to communicate with.
“Consider it similar to sending a child out into a real room filled with strangers, with no barriers in place to stop people being able to talk to whomever they like.’
For these reasons, Ms. Foster regards Roblox as unsafe for children under the age of 12 and possibly older children as well.
Source – Family Zone
“Parenting with Eyes Wide Open” was finished and printed in July, 2018. The response has been overwhelming and humbling. At the request of parents and school administrators, a study guidebook has been developed and is presently in the editing stage. This will provide a platform for parents to come together and discuss what seems to work and what doesn’t within their communities. Our readers are excited about this additional support to the book.
The book is available on Kindle, through the website
www.lifesynergy4youth.com,
and at Indigo located on 130th Ave S.E. Calgary. The best deal is at the parent session which
is $20.00 per book, GST included.
Testimonials of the month:
Thank you Sheryl! Your T.H.I.N.K. Day presentation was great, and was exactly what our students needed. You are so personable and it was great to see how you were able to connect with my students and teachers right away. Your message really hit home with some of our students and got them thinking about their actions. Hopefully we can do it again next year and add on more for our other grades and parents.
Krista Bartlett
Assistant Principal, Woodman School
Calgary Board of Education | www.cbe.ab.ca
Thank you for your presentation last night. There was many times that we all had our, “Eyes Wide Open” in hearing the information you presented and how it related to each of our own family situations. I think everyone took away a key note that they will use to improve their own lives and better yet, the lives of our children. You are doing an awesome job at standing up for our youth and “telling it like it is” so I hope that you never stop presenting/communicating this type of information to us all. Tell your wife and kids “thanks” for letting you travel to do this!!
………… Dad of high school student
“Thank you for such an amazing talk. Amazing and drugs is not typically words I would use together positively in a sentence but your presentation on drugs was amazing!”
……….. A Mom