Won’t Somebody Please Think of the Children?

Won’t somebody please think of the children? This emotional fallacy – an “appeal to pity” – aims to manipulate people’s emotions.

The idea is to bypass critical thinking or rationality in favour of an emotional response. We see this with cannabis legalization, no matter where you’re from.

Politicians and “public health” busybodies justify restrictions on cannabis markets by appealing to “young people.” As if anyone under 25 had no sentience or moral agency of their own.

Appealing to “the children” oversimplifies complex issues and stifles civil debate. Throw in accusations of “racism” or “bigotry,” and you’ve effectively curtailed free speech.

If “public health” were consistent with their propaganda, the result would be merely frustrating for individuals who value free speech, voluntary exchange, and peaceful associations.

But “public health” is inconsistent with their appeal to the children. When it comes to cannabis, the propaganda is relentless. “The best way to protect your health is to not use cannabis,” they tell young people of legal age to consume.

But teens overdosing from “safe supply” opioids? “No evidence,” they tell the bereaved parents.

Are “the children” smoking or eating cannabis? Well, that requires entire web pages. Even worse, if you’re a parent “thinking about using cannabis,” you better heed the government’s warnings.

Won’t somebody please think of the children? Because Health Canada isn’t.

Toronto’s Crack Pipe Kit

When you think of the City of Toronto and crack cocaine, you may recall a former mayor who smoked the substance while in office. His brother is now the Premier of Ontario.

At the time, the former Toronto mayor was lambasted and criticized in the media. A politician can enjoy alcohol in moderation, but doing the same with crack cocaine is a non-starter.

But it turns out the former mayor was only a decade behind on the times.

Toronto Public Health is handing out crack pipe kits and crystal meth pipe kits to the city’s non-profit shelter system. It includes the City of Toronto logo.

There’s no evidence “harm reduction” activists are pushing these kits onto “the children.” But we know the unintended consequences of safe supply include young people using hydromorphone because they believe it’s safe.

Many young people, or “the children,” believe in public health authority. You saw it during covid, with young people wearing paper masks outside in the sun. Never mind that they were least likely to die or get seriously sick from the virus. Or that paper masks do nothing.

Seeing teens ride bicycles without helmets but wearing a mask is the dunce cap of the 21st century.

This is the power public health has over the minds of “the children.” They demand we follow their mandates during a pandemic but then turn around and – through our tax dollars – slap a City of Toronto logo on crack pipe kits for homeless addicts.

If they really cared about “the children,” they’d fire their marketing team and give their messaging some deep, serious thought.

Think of the Children. That’s Why We Hand out Safer Snorting Kits for Teenagers

When I was a teenager, my friend got into cocaine. Her older sister caught her and chastised and scared her into cessation. My friend’s older sister didn’t provide a “safer snorting kit.”

Yet, that was what a guest speaker at a B.C. high school did after their presentation. The kit included straws and wallet-sized cards for cutting powder into lines. There was also a booklet on “staying safe when you’re snorting.”

“You may be new to snorting drugs or have snorted drugs for many years. Either way, this resource has something for you,” reads the introduction.

The presenter compared it to handing out condoms.

Fortunately, common sense prevailed. The Cowichan Valley School District said they would undertake a “full investigation.” They did not consider the material “appropriate” for that age group.

But the statement rings hollow. High school presentations are not teacher-free. Teachers watched this group hand out drug paraphernalia to “the children” and did nothing.

Regardless, the Safer Snorting booklet comes from the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE), a group funded by our tax dollars through the Public Health Agency of Canada.

They routinely hand out “safer snorting kits” and “safer injection supplies” at Canadian universities.

What’s So Bad About Cannabis?

You would think that opioids or alcohol would take precedence regarding “the children.” And granted, Health Canada does warn about alcohol’s disastrous effects.

But alcohol has more social capital than cannabis. So while alcohol tends to get a free pass, cannabis is treated like heroin.

Actually, scratch that. Heroin gets better treatment than cannabis.

B.C.’s Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe said that critics of safe supply were “reprehensible” and “not basing their criticism on evidence.”

In a private conversation a concerned physician secretly recorded, she told the truth: safe supply diversion may be killing youth, but it’s worth it.

Like former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s quip, the death of a half-a-million Iraqi children was “worth it.”

These people don’t care about “the children.” A generation of youth on the West Coast is getting addicted to “safe supply” opioids, but the real problem is cannabis.

Think of the Children. Cannabis vs. Opioids

Won’t somebody please think of the children?!

“Cannabis can make a person feel very anxious, panicked, sad, and fearful,” says the government propaganda. 

“Cannabis can trigger a psychotic episode (not knowing what is real, experiencing paranoia, having disorganized thoughts, and in some cases having hallucinations).”

“Using cannabis regularly and continuously over time makes you more likely to experience anxiety, depression, psychosis, and schizophrenia.”

But opioids? A small section on short-term and long-term effects. Compare the government’s page on opioids versus cannabis. And it’s clear Health Canada does not care about “the children.” 

They are like that roommate who doesn’t like to clean. Instead of tackling hard jobs like scrubbing the shower or cleaning the oven, they settle for sweeping the floor or wiping kitchen counters.

Likewise, this incompetent, criminal federal government doesn’t want to address the real drug-related issues of the country.

Much easier to issue fact-free warnings about a nontoxic herb than to do anything substantial for the health of “the children” and the adult public.