Sometimes, I feel like I’m living in a town that is out-of-touch and outdated. If anyone thinks that allowing a “medical” dispensary/pharmacy a few extra hours of operations is going to somehow provide an “easier access point” for youth to get their hands on drugs, then they need to take a closer look into their own medicine cabinets.

I doubt teens are confused when the term “medical” fronts a marijuana dispensary, any more that they are confused over the terms “drink responsibly” follows a beer commercial. There has been a huge teenage drug issue in Fountain Hills for many years. The problem doesn’t lie in the hours of operation of a medical pharmacy, but the lack of jobs, reliable town transportation, and the abundance of prescription drugs in their parents’ medicine cabinets.

This is an opportunity to “dispense” with the mystique that surrounds marijuana and provide teens with an education on the healing powers it provides. They aren’t getting “high” because they are confused over vocabulary. Rather, I imagine, navigating the stresses at home, dealing with an alcoholic parent, or a serious family illness is what drives most kids to use drugs.

Thankfully, teens do grow up, and often abandon their “hazy” days for more purposeful endeavors. Give them some credit.