Under a bill to be considered by the OK Senate, minors under 18 wouldn't be allowed to buy certain kinds of cough syrup or spraypaint, because kids are getting "high" with them and thereby putting themselves in danger.
Yeah, that'll work. Just like the laws restricting sales of cigarettes to minors has worked so well.
Hey, why don't we put an age restriction on anything that teens might use to hurt themselves, like, oh I don't know, rope, or mouthwash, or household cleaners, or hell, caffeinated beverages? You drink enough Mountain Dew and you'll blow up your heart!!! Right...
Age restrictions are the stupidest way to prevent drug abuse. The smart way is to educate kids about the real risks and real dangers of the drugs and trust parents to guide kids to make the right decisions. I make the same argument about movie and video game ratings. Let the parents decide what their kids can watch or play; don't do a blanket restriction based on some subjective idea of what is "appropriate" for a kid to watch or play.
