Dad Was Arrested For DUI, After Crash Killed His Three Kids

Not even a year after the tragedy on the Taconic Parkway this past summer, a horrific accident just occurred in the central valley of California. A dad was arrested for DUI, after a crash killed his three kids in southwest Madera County on Tuesday afternoon. There has not been a whole lot of information released at this point; we know from Sheriff Officials that on Tuesday afternoon Aref Kareem Mohammed of Firebaugh drove his mini-van head on into another vehicle. The other car had four passengers inside, all of which suffered both major and minor injuries; the fate of the three children who were not wearing seat belts in Mohammed's vehicle would not be so fortunate.

The thought of any parent driving while intoxicated with their children aboard is mind boggling, after hearing about the Taconic Parkway massacre this summer; when Diane Schuler drove the wrong way down the parkway crashing head-on with an SUV killing eight people including herself. Shock waves were felt around the world, people asking how or why an accident like this can take place. Parents began to question who they let drive their children when car pooling. Sadly, months later the Schuler story seems to be forgotten and history repeats itself once again.

Mohammed who was not seriously hurt will have to live with knowing that he killed his 6-year old twin sons and his 3-year old daughter Fatima. No punishment mankind could impose upon him could ever out-weigh the punishment of knowing that your actions resulted in the death of all your children. The AP reported that, "34-year-old Mohammed faces multiple charges, including DUI with gross negligence, child endangerment and driving under the influence of a controlled substance". There has not been any talk of vehicular manslaughter charges as of yet, but, it seems likely that more charges will be filed.

California Medical Marijuana Is Doping Our Youth

Marijuana is being used to help treat Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with children in California, has medical marijuana gone too far? This is one of those things that is a question of ethics and certainly needs to be addressed before there is a catastrophe. In 1999 California voters passed a law which allowed doctors to recommend cannabis for medical use, including minors. A seventeen year old with leukemia is a far cry from a twelve year old with ADHD. In California Marijuana can be recommended "for any ... illness for which marijuana provides relief". It has been known for a long time that marijuana inhibits focusing and motivation, how marijuana could be considered useful for ADHD is beyond me; the Washington Times reports, "ADHD is described as a neurological disorder that prevents children from focusing on a specific task. In essence, people with ADHD have difficulty with self-regulation and self-motivation, owing to problems with distractibility, organization and prioritization".

In the United States we are guilty of over-medicating our children and as a result our children suffer. With 14 million Adderall prescriptions last year it is obvious that we are too quick to medicate. Now we are drifting into the world of alternative medications like marijuana to fix our problems with out doing all the research. There needs to be a certain level of digression by doctors when recommending marijuana, otherwise we will be fueling addiction throughout our youth. "What they don't realize is that marijuana use during childhood and the early-teen years produces significantly different effects than marijuana use later in life. The behaviors exhibited by introducing tetrahydrocannabinol -- the active ingredient in marijuana -- to the brain are similar to those demonstrated by alcohol consumption", reports the Washington Times.

We need to start getting real with ourselves regarding the benefits of medical marijuana. Its uses are limited and do not apply to everyone, it has side-effects that have no place in a child's life. If marijuana is going to be legal it needs to be treated like every other prescription drug and be held up to the same scrutiny. We wouldn't give Oxycontin to a child for a hang nail!