OLTL: Marijuana

[marceline]

Half of Llanview could benefit from a little quality bong time.

[Rakesh]

What a stupid storyline! Pathetic!

[DavidEvanSmith]

Well I'm not saying that the parents shouldn't be concerned for Matthew, but I guess my point is that weed has become such an "accepted" drug in the culture ("Weeds" on Showtime was one of my favorite shows up through its third season) that I just don't take the storyline seriously.

But also, the way the story was constructed, it seems drugs just did rapidly descend on Llanview in the span of one episode.

I felt like at least Cole's story was going to lead to other drugs because the dealer was telling him "yeah I can get you anything you're looking for". But Brandon Buddy was also being so intense about it that I was smirking through his scenes.

Never mind the fact that Matthew wouldn't likely have a rolled joint in his bag. Wouldn't he roll it right before he smoked it? It must be pretty classy over at Llanview High if they are selling pre-rolled joints instead of weed in the little bags like I have bought... I mean... that I've seen.

[SFK]

Yeah seriously, unless he's the type who gets paranoid like me some people I know, pot is the last drug little Melatonin Buchanan needs.

I know meth "is like so 5 min. ago" but it's a lot more *now* than pot. When that joint rolled out of his JanSport, I immediatley thought of Clair and Theo on The Cosby Show. Have the soaps ever done a meth-related s/l? Here was their chance. Forget Llanfair's secret room, little Matthew running a meth lab down in Asa's basement...

I've always been kind of uneasy about the EA/Matthew situation, ever since he started. Mainly, how awkward it would be when the show eventually SORAS'd the character, especially when it became obvious that they were riding it out with his sister. But I guess they're sticking with him, and if they are, they need to stay on him and make sure he delivers.

But back to pot... I've had friends who smoked with their parents, roommates who'd call up and have it delivered to them (with a smile!) like pizza, relatives who served time for possession then went on probation/had to pee in cups... it can go a lot of ways. But if I'm to judge based on the guys I know in Matthew's social/financial situation, please, this dude could get away with smoking pot for the rest of his life. Of course he's got a mother like Nora though, and she's already had to deal with drug addiction with Rachel.

I know it was only his first day, but anyone else think SC was laying on the "I'm your new, young, cool teacher" thing a little thick?

[All My Shadows]

That's the impression I got to. It's like "Well, let's scrap everything with the kids and throw some pot at them for a while, it can be a social issue storyline." I feel like it's gonna come and go and afterwards, we'll all be wondering "WTF was that all about?"

Nora will find a way to blame Lindsay, I'm sure.

I agree.

[ian]

He probably got the pot from Lindsay lmao

[marceline]

I'd love a scene of Matthew rolling his own! I'm sure half the cast and crew would be watching the taping and thinking to themselves, "He's doing it all wrong..."

[brimike]

Jennifer on ATWT is the only meth-specific story I remember on a soap, and like everything else on ATWT, it was done and over in about three months. And basically the actress (whom I liked very much) just acted like a loon for a few scenes, then they put some make-up bags under her eyes, she cried a lot, and went into recovery, and it was never mentioned again.

[Heyou]

No offense taken however, I'm from a small town in the south and drugs are a big problem here with the cops focusing their attention on any drug. I agree that they only have themselves to blame but starting with the occasional joint and before too long they have graduated onto something else. I've seen kids get busted for felonies because they possessed more than a misdemeanor would allow (more than 1 gram I believe). So, pot can definitely be troublesome and this is a good way for OLTL to start the storyline.

[miajere]

My highschool was one of the nicest in the city- we ranked #1 in drug dealers- because rich kids were constantly selling their parents perscriptions. So when people talk about pot- I think "it could be worse". There's no physical inclination to abuse pot day in and day out, even though there's a potential for addiction- continual use despite negative outcomes.

Living in a relatively large city, everyone smokes pot. They smoke on the street. They smoke on lunch breaks. It's an alternative to drinking and just as common as grabbing a beer.

I know a cab driver who takes pot for a cab fare. It's quite nice really. Call him up and he'll give you a ride wherever you need to go.

My neighbor sold pot. which pissed me off because he buzzed just about anyone into the building. I know parents who smoke with their kids- upstanding citizens that belong in a suburb.

Drugs are apart of life. I'm surprised Marty isn't on valiums, or Jack isn't struggling with ADD and taking retilin. Lord knows this show isn't going to talk about pot itself- just parent's fear of it. People could stand to get a little more educated on drugs instead of treating it like the boogey monster.

[Heyou]

Agreed!!

[brimike]

Daytime? Hold a mirror up to society? What is this - the seventies?

[Khan]

What about Alison Stewart, brimike? Wasn't she on meth, too?

Believe me, I wish it were.

[brimike]

Oh yes - I forgot about Alison. Soapsuds? PJ? I can't remember... was that meth, or was that "Unnamed White Powdery Substance" she was addicted to?

[Cat]

There appears to be a split on this board, based in part perhaps on regional particularities, on what constitutes a "realistic" drugs experience for teenagers.

Perhaps OLTL did some of its own research on this and found what we did -- that there is this divergence. They probably suspect that metropolitan centers like New York, LA and Philadelphia (upon which Llanview is apparently based) have a greater circulation of drugs (including harder drugs) in its schools. So in that sense, maybe they should have leaned towards getting Matthew or Cole or whoever hooked on ecstacy or meth or whatever it is you young whippersnappers do these days.

But perhaps they also looked at who watches their show. And how to market the story to a broader audience without offending sensibilities. You know who carries the most authority in TV today? The Minivan Majority. Especially Minivan Moms who watch Oprah and The View and don't particularly care for their little angels knowing more about the drugs than is absolutely necessary.

I'll bet Frons is VERY aware of who might watch OLTL and how they would embrace (or not) this kind of story. Hence all the press that Kristen Alderson and Brandon Buddy did about Starr's pregnancy SL. It was presented as a "sensitively handled" warning to teens about the dangers of falling pregnant, encouraging parents to talk to their kids, etc. This is exactly the way daytime shows like Oprah, Dr. Phil, The View etc., talk about such things.

Perhaps we will see a similar press blitz for this story. And perhaps marijuana was the "right" drug upon which to pin this story. It may be considered not a big deal nowadays, but I think there is a certain generation of parents out there who remember when drugs came into their lives as a teenager, maybe in the late 60s or 70s. Before that, drugs were nowhere to be found. Alcohol was the big danger.

There is also a marked delineation in crime rates between before, say, 1968 and after. Drugs have gone hand-in-hand with that increase in crime. Parents raising kids in an uncertain environment today could well pigeonhole pot in with the harder drugs. They most likely had a more "liberated" childhood in terms of sex and drugs and many do not want their children to have access to what they had back in the day. Maybe because the sex and drug-use wasn't always risk-free, physically and emotionally.