is this a child protectuon issue - wwyd??

[mebythesea]

Right not sure where to post this but usually get very sound advice from you guys so ...

Walking dd's home from school a few days ago and walked past a car belonging to a local couple who live near us. as we went by a great cloud of skunk smoke came billowing out of the car. I looked in the car and there was a baby in a carseat in the back and a toddler. Felt really sickened by this.
This family are quite rough, they live in a council house with an old man one of their their grandads maybe and lots of other people. I can never quite make out who lives there as seem to be so many different people using the house. Im pretty sure they are known to social services.
But im just now worried about these poor children being exposed to such a strong drug.

Would i be wrong to talk to the social services about my worries? Feel bad 'dobbing' them in but imo its very wrong. So what do you think?

Social workers cannot get involved in every family is my point. It's their job to protect children from significant harm, a concept we all differ on. I bring in other adult behaviours because ones perception of harm is moveable- not many parents think drinking in front of kids is a cp concern, so why is canna

squeakytoy thank goodness you bought some sense into this thread!

My personal experience is that people who smoke weed have personality traits not associated with people who don't.
People who do smoke weed, claim that that's not true, through their personal experience.

So we have two personal experiences which directly conflict...

anyone who smokes weed and claims that it's not harmful, check out cognitive dissonance.

To OP:

Yes, you should report it to SS. You can do so anonomously (completely lost the ability to spell!). From what you say it IS likely they will have record of the family and a list of concerns. It is helpful to get a full a picture as possible, and they may take action if the evidence accumulates. Any referal will be kept on record for them and will be helpful if it ends up in court proceedings.

Just reading this thread is making me go a bit woo. Love the idea of skunk as a beautiful flower

OP - yes, it is a possible CP issue.

The smoke is dangerous to children, it is also a fact that children brought up in homes where they are exposed to drugs (or indeed heavy drinking) are far more likely to indulge in precocious drug/alcohol use and delinquent behaviour themselves.

I am not anti drugs, legalize the lot of them, I say, had the best times of my life on them etc. But, it is a child protection issue to expose your children to them. In this case it would appear it is a regular thing if the parents can't even do the school run without getting baked. It is also illegal and dangerous to drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

FGS stoners. Leaving aside all the dry arguments about star wars vs star trek weed vs skunk, it is illegal to drive under the influence of drugs let alone to do it whilst your kids are in the car, you have to agree on that? And even if cannabis is harmless, the smoke is not yes?

So are the children at risk of harm? I think it's worth a call to the NSPCC to check.

Yes it is.
I smoke it most days, but only in the evenings once the kids are in bed, in the garden. I dont smoke during the day in term time or drive whilst stoned whilst I have the kids in the car. If i had seen people smoking it in the car with children in there then yes i would report. There is no need for it, I like my smoke, I dont really drink, but i can cope with not having any till the end of the day and those that cant and have to get baked to take the kids to school, yep i consider that irresponsible and a cp issue frankly.

I remember my days of smoking spliff. Occasionally I'd have one before going to work. I remember once standing on the train in the morning stoned witless, and suddenly having a panic attack that I'd forgotten to put my trousers on and became too scared to look down. . Actually I'd hate to think of anyone in that state being responsible for the welfare of very tiny children who need parents with their wits about them. IMO parents need to be SOBER when they're looking after their children. Being pissed or stoned isn't conducive to providing safe care for babies.

I agree with plentyofpubesgarden.

Skunk is chemically enhanced and much stronger. Nobody should use it around children. It most certainly is contributing to mental health issues, and drug induced schizophrenia.

Actually, a relative of mine did in fact use both skunk and heroin, and he says the same. He finally stopped using heroin, and then, although he smoked a bit of weed, would not touch skunk for this reason. He said it made him paranoid.

Whether this is right or not, I dont think it is fair to take the risk in an enclosed space. Also, I drink a couple of glasses of wine in the evening often, but not in the day, when I am in charge of kids. And anyway, it isnt the same as using a substance in a confined space which can affect them too. (not saying it is good for you, over a certain amount, though).

So bird has a good point.

Now, I am not going to say that poverty and unemployment make some people worse than others. My own family had both when I was young. BUT the situation the OP describes here, in totality, suggests to me a chaotic lifestyle where drugs are involved, and probably more than weed. I actually therefore do think it is a CP issue.

Nutrients aren't chemical enhancements to make more thc or cbd

They are additives to pile on weight to improve yield.

Plant genetics dictate strength but overall, environment is ultimate in deciding how strong a strain of cannabis is.

The sun is the best grow light in the world, no lamp or plant feed can compete with that, hence the best skunk being grown outdoors organically.

Cannabis is damaging to developing brains? Untrue, see here , and also here.

Cannabis damaging to developing brains?bullshit

Look here too, Follow the links .

Well, whatever.

I have always thought people dont just believe what they want, but what complements their lifestyle and actions. I have worked with a few different types of drug users myself in my time; what they say usually depends on whether they are using drugs themselves or not.

The point here is, is this right with a baby in the car, in the day? er, no....

It is used as a medicine under controlled circumstances, the patient isn't given the adddress of the local dealer and told to go and stock up .

It may well work on tumours, but if you don't have one what is it doing?

Skunk is different, it's stronger.

To clarify, depending on whether they were using any particular drug at the time, or had given up. Ex users have a different take on drugs once they stop, and are actually quite honest about them, although maybe less so initially on the effects on their lives long term.

People tend to justify and defend anything they are using.

Regardless, it is never right to get stoned in front of or whilst taking care of kids.

I have two adult kids, one over thirty, and I have lost count of the number of parents, trendy types, who tip a wink to their own kids getting stoned at parties whilst under 16, just warning them to be careful 'as some of the parents are a bit square'. Pathetic.

Terminal, one wee study from almost 20 years ago in Jamacia, does not prove in my mind that the cannabis/grass/weed weird hybrid stuff that is grown and smoked in the UK these days is fine and doesn't cause MH problems in some users.
Cannabis has medical uses and like all medicine has benefits and contraindications.
I stopped smoking a few years ago because I didn't like most of what was available. Or perhaps the grass was the same and I just grew up.......

mebythesea IMO you should contact SS, local police, your local council and your local councillors! It is likely that the family are already known to all of these agencies who can't act because of lack of information. The children must be protected. Don't feel bad about reporting them; you would feel awful if anything happened to the little ones!

ConstableQueefbadger - Hydro is NOT hybridised

No it isn't, you're quite correct.

Hybridisation is when plants are selected that exhibit various naturally occurring traits such as higher THC levels or greater yields and are cross fertilised to produce an improved strain. Skunk is a hybrid.

Hydroponics, on the other hand, is a system of growing plants without soil, using instead a solution of carefully controlled nutrients to provide all the plant needs and to boost its growth at various stages. It is commonly used in the production of skunk but not always.

----

This is most definitely a CP issue, whether ss have time to deal with it or not. I think fiventhree touches on one of the biggest dangers - if you smoke dope around your kids or try to be the 'cool' parent at parties, you're normalising it. you may be able to handle it but teens and young adults are at a critical time for mental health. If they are predisposed to develop psychosis, or depression or anxiety, it's likely to rear its head in these years with the right trigger. There is growing evidence that dope, and more especially 'skunk' is such a trigger. And skunk is what they will find if they go out looking for dope.

Also, because dope is illegal, you are burdening them with your secret which IMO is really unfair.

I'm an occasional smoker of weed or hash but never even remotely around the DC. I'll also smoke skunk once in a blue moon. I don't understand the attraction of smoking skunk as a regular thing, it's like doing several rounds of tequila every time you fancy a drink.

Biggest give away of drug distribution/activity in a house?

People coming and going, staying only a few minutes-half hour and persistently knocking on the door/shouting through letterbox when it would be reasonable to assume nobody is in.

I'd keep an eye on the family, wouldn't necessarily report that if it was a one-off. People smoke cigarettes in confined spaces with their kids - totally wrong in my opinion but not really cause for SS intervention. Having said that, it is a bit of a flag that the parents aren't taking their kids' health and wellbeing very seriously.

As for the cannabis/skunk debate, I've smoked weed regularly for about 20 years and can safely say there are huge differences between skunk and commercial weed. And whether skunk grows naturally or not is irrelevant; heroin comes from poppies, doesn't make it harmless. Plutonium occurs naturally too.

Constable, if you were a bit less abusive you might find people more willing to listen to your point of view. HTH.

I've been close friends with CP social workers for years, and I'm afraid that none of them would be remotely concerned about parents smoking weed UNLESS there were other significant factors involved. Actually, quite a few of the SWs are parents and smoke week themselves.

Over the last ten years I have seen a massive increase in young adults/adolescents admitted to local acute MH unit with drug induced psychosis (DIP). These DIP's tend to be extremely florid too. Nearly all of them smoke these strong variants of cannabis.

Older staff confirm that the amount of admissions from a similar demographic for DIP was much lower before the 1980's. A spike in admissions from the mid 80's was linked to MDMA.

Sorry, that should have been "smoke WEED themselves."

There are far FAR worse things that can happen to kids than being exposed to second-hand smoke (even in a car) of the legal OR illegal variety. Ditto being in a chaotic household with an "old bloke" living there .

It isn't what we would do as parents. But you must understand that Social Services have to deal with dreadful, heartbreaking situations every single day, and utterly nightmarish ones on a bad one - I mean your worst EVER nightmares as a parent. So please put this situation in perspective.

Constable -

Paracetamol
Codeine
Aspirin
Ibuprofen

All are legal. All are medicine. All will kill you if used inappropriately.

Your argument that if Cannabis was dangerous, it would not be used as a medicine is illogical. You do not need to use this argument to 'justify' it's recreational use.

"A spike in admissions from the mid 80's was linked to MDMA."

That's really interesting, Nursenic. A lot of old 70s and 80s music industry potheads folk of my acquaintance who were involved with the clubbing / Es/ MDMA scene during the 80s and 90s, have noticed the same thing.

None of them touch the commercially available skunk nowadays, those that still smoke cannabis hold out for the grossly overpriced old-fashioned and hard to obtain good-quality imported none-adulterated hashish.