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2-02-05 16:21
UK: What's wrong with a joint?

Door LILA DAS GUPTA - THE TELEGRAPH

It is not just drop-outs who smoke cannabis responsible and hard-working parents do, too, says Lila Das Gupta.

The news, reported in The Daily Telegraph last week, that Patricia Tabram,a 66-year-old grandmother, faces jail for possessing cannabis with intentto supply (mainly other pensioners) may have brought a tut-tut from somequarters, but it evoked howls of laughter from others.

For the latter, the title of Tabram's proposed book, Grandma Eats Cannabis,sounded as if it came straight out of Reefer Madness, the 1936 filmintended as a propaganda tool against marijuana, which showed suchhysterical behaviour from those who took the drug that it had the oppositeeffect, becoming a cult classic among stoned students.

Many people who have been to college or university in the past 30 yearswill have taken drugs there at some point. Twenty years ago and beyond, thedrug of choice would most likely have been dope - either resin or grass.The communal setting of halls of residence or group houses lent itself tothe sharing of drugs.

Then, after starting jobs, most grew out of the habit; when they started tohave children and found themselves staying at home more, they gravitatedtowards wine as their favourite poison. But some carried on and are nowraising children while continuing to take drugs.

"I don't see much difference between smoking a joint and drinking wine,"says Suzanna, 40, who is the head of marketing at a very large andwell-respected company in the Home Counties. Her two teenage daughters aredoing well in their private school.

She regularly works stressful 12-hour days and says that smoking dope is agood antidote to her busy schedule. "Does it compromise my role as amother? Of course not. Does it affect my work? Quite the reverse. I feelrelaxed by it, it helps me unwind and it's better for you than a cigarette.It's quite nice before sex, too."

For some time, Suzanna was anxious about her drug-taking. "I used to keepit quite secret from work. Then I went to a sales conference and, in theevening, we had a social. I saw a few people huddled in the corner and wentover to see what they were doing. They were rolling a joint and my boss wasthere, too. I stopped worrying after that. "

Another mother I know, Kitty, is in her early thirties, has three childrenand stays at home to look after them. Her husband "does something in theCity", so the couple can afford a full-time nanny and a cleaner. Kitty hasthe kind of grooming and exercise routine most women could only dream of -her sleek looks and figure are a testament to all the hard work. She admitsshe's pampered but she says she takes her job as a mother seriously.

She cancels our interview as it's proving too difficult to meet betweenrunning the children to a music class and netball practice. On the phone,she has enough time to tell me that she loves smoking dope. "You've got tohave something to relieve the boredom," she says. "It's important to have abit of fun in life." Kitty says she is religious about homework, gettingchildren bathed, reading stories and cooking supper for her husband, butwhen everyone's been taken care of, she likes to go out with friends, smokedope and get away from domestic life.

Some mothers have kept the habit up even longer. Rosemary, who's 46, runsthe personnel department of a company that employs more than 10,000 people.With her husband, Tom, she lives in a beautiful village in a property theyworked hard to restore. It has all the ingredients of a classic countryhouse - wellies in the hall, stone floors, Farrow and Ball coloursthroughout and a grand piano in the huge sitting room. Several cars areparked across the drive, including the obligatory Land-Rover.

When Rosemary's children were young, she worked part-time so that she couldbe with them more often. When they moved to secondary school, she wentfull-time and was quickly promoted to her current job. Tom is a companydirector who works 12-hour days and flies to America at least once a monthon business. Despite their tight schedules, both have served on the PTA andthe parish council. Neither has given up the college habit of settling backwith a spliff on the sofa.

They have yet to confront the dilemma of what to tell the children, butfeel it creeping up. "Morally, I feel on tenuous ground," Rosemary says. "Idon't think that, to the extent I use it, dope is bad, but because it'sillegal, it comes to me through an illegal network."

Like other mothers I have spoken to, she does not feel she has compromisedher children's welfare or her ability to look after them. Tom agrees. "Thebig question I ask of myself and my employees is: are you capable of doingyour job? Or, in this case, are you capable of looking after your children?It could be that you've stayed up too late surfing the net or had too muchto drink the night before - it's all the same if you can't get the jobdone."

As for the law on smoking cannabis, he says: "It seems to me the law isonly there for people who can't set boundaries for themselves."

If these parents are not concerned about the health risks to themselves,what of the risks to their children if they start to take drugs? Suzanna'shusband Robert, a scientist, clearly feels uncomfortable about what to tellhis daughters. "There is some research coming out from the United Statesthat points to possible schizophrenia. It's possible that dope does affectthe young adult brain more than the older brain."

Tom is aware of the research but says more information is needed on themedium- and long-term effects of dope. "There will come a point where [thechildren] have to make rational decisions for themselves. I'd rather theytook their own journey. I would like them to be savvy enough to make theirown decisions."

This quiet equanimity is not shared by Martin Stephen, High Master of StPaul's, the private boys' school in London - nor by the Department ofHealth, which is to review studies linking cannabis use to mental healthproblems. "I'm increasingly concerned about marijuana," Stephen says. "It'sconvenient for any head to pretend that cannabis is unimportant.

"The medical evidence - particularly from the United States - suggests thatthe long-term effects of cannabis are unpleasant, to say the least.Fourteen- to 16-year-olds are being exposed to increased strengths ofcannabis. It has an effect on drive, motivation and concentration. It is a'ruiner' of young men."

He takes a dim view of parents who use drugs and does not accept that suchparents might also be "responsible" parents. "One of the problems is thatwe are sending out mixed signals - when we see famous rock stars beinginvited to No 10, who everyone knows are taking drugs, it does send out amixed message. We damn them with one hand but validate with the other.

"We need to look at the role models we promote - we certainly haven't gotour act together on that score."

Names have been changed