聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 The other day, Spencer, 10, showed me something he had picked up on the ground.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Pulling it out of his jacket pocket, he revealed a little piece of paper 鈥� a McDonald鈥檚 Monopoly game piece.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 And I told him to throw it away, right now. On the ground. Don鈥檛 bother for a garbage can.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Why?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Recently I wrote a story for the Estevan Mercury about an American who got collared at the border, crossing with 20 patches of LSD on a paper, kept in a tin.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Here鈥檚 how the story read:
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淵our buddy gives you a blotter paper with a small amount of LSD for your 23rd birthday. You think nothing of it, put it way in your pile of things where you live, somewhat haphazardly communally, as an instructor at a ski resort in Colorado.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭wo years later, driving through Canada to get to your new job at a ski resort at Juneau, Alaska. Canada Border Services Agency officers at North Portal find your small tin, with the 20 blots of LSD on paper. When they confront you, you immediately fess up that it鈥檚 LSD.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Now, I will freely admit that my exposure to illicit drugs, of any type, is nearly nil. Only once, in my entire life, has anyone ever offered me any drugs 鈥� a puff on a joint of marijuana 鈥� and by that time, I was already 24. I was a man, not an easily influenced child.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 But this recent case got me thinking about how such innocent things, like how little pieces of paper, soaked in drugs, can find their way into kids鈥� hands.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Two days later, CBC reported on October 29 that, 鈥淲innipeg police are warning the public about a potentially deadly drug that looks like a harmless piece of paper with a witch stamp on it.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淧olice seized six fentanyl blotters, each marked with a witch on a broom 鈥� a drug dealer's signature 鈥� in a drug bust in Fort Rouge Friday and believe there are more blotters in the city.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Such an innocent looking thing 鈥� a little piece of paper, with a cartoon on it, yet with one of the most potent, and, if you follow what鈥檚 going on in British Columbia, deadly drugs out there.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 So here I found myself, explaining to my very innocent 10-year-old, that he shouldn鈥檛 pick up little scraps of paper, because you have no idea what it could be.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 And before you think I鈥檓 off my rocker, the CBC story noted, 鈥溾�榃ith Halloween coming, police are especially concerned the blotters could get into the wrong hands, maybe of a child, and be mistaken as just a piece of paper,鈥� he said.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I showed Spencer the CBC story, with the picture of the cute little cartoon on the paper, and explained it could kill him. His response? 鈥淲hoa!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Our kids are living an essentially bucolic life. Yeah, we have our struggles, like everyone else.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 But exposure to anything that might be considered 鈥渋nner city,鈥� drugs, gangs, prostitution, poverty, destitution, crime, family members in prison 鈥� that鈥檚 only stuff they see on TV. For them, none of that stuff is 鈥渞eal.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 For most of my life growing up, none of it was real either. I never saw it; I was never exposed to it. My life has largely been sheltered, I guess, and so have the lives of my children.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 With a daughter about to go into high school next year, she already knows she will be offered drugs there.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I still think high school should begin at Grade 10, not Grade 9, for this very reason. Doing away with junior high schools throughout Saskatchewan over a decade ago was a bad idea. I don鈥檛 think Grade 9 kids should be in the same building as Grade 12s, because they鈥檙e still too wet behind the ears, as it were. But that ship has sailed.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 This is where parenting gets tough. The long nights rocking the baby, the diapers 鈥� that was easy, I now realize.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Getting kids ready for the bigger world appears to be a lot harder.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Maybe I did overreact with regards to the Monopoly scrap of paper. Things are generally pretty innocent around here. But I don鈥檛 think I can ever look on a scrap of paper the same way again.
