THE ROVING PECKER PRESENTS: "When Celebrity Children Promote Illegal Drugs" by Emma (aka The Tennis Chick)!

Greetings, Manor Hors! Periodically, "The Roving Pecker" presents urgent missives from filthy esteemed guest writers. Today's is from Emma (aka The Tennis Chick):  

Jaden Smith didn't say exactly how old he was when his mother Jada Pinkett introduced him and his siblings to the use of psychedelics...as a means for getting along with each other. Mama Smith does not confirm or deny any of this, saying only that we'll have to wait for her upcoming memoir entitled “Worthy.” Which of course it is. 

 

I wondered if Jaden was possibly a teenager or even younger at the time based on his revelations at the June 2023 "Psychedelic Conference" in Denver, for which he was (ahem) a featured guest. Jaden stated, ”Siblings can argue so much and fight so much, and lord knows me and my siblings have done so much of that in the past. But the level of love and empathy that I can feel for them inside of the (psychedelic) experiences and outside of the experiences has been something that's profound and beautiful.”  

Of course siblings don’t have to be living together to argue. Just look at the Gallagher brothers! But for siblings to all turn to psychedelics to ease the tension of their battles? This kind of suggests that they were living in the same place. Unless Jaden was implying that Jada was busy making drug drop-offs on behalf of himself and his siblings to help them kiss and make up? Anything's possible! Jaden also disclosed at this conference that his mother introduced these drugs to his father, Will. Obviously, Will forgot to take his dose when he went up on that stage and slapped the shit out of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. Unless he was hallucinating that Chris was the original Aunt Viv? Again, anything's possible!

While Jaden credits the psychedelics for opening his mind to new feelings of empathy toward his siblings, it's clear that his father’s mind probably needs some extra doses. After all, it only took him 27 fucking years to finally make peace with OG Aunt Viv and apologize for his lack of empathy towards her.  I don’t mean to discredit the incredible amount of meaningful research currently being conducted on the medicinal value of psychedelic drugs. 

For example, The Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research has been exploring treatments using psilocybin (found in magic mushrooms) for the treatment of intractable depression, alcohol addiction and nicotine dependence. Ketamine has also been found to be effective in treating major depression, and there are some encouraging case studies on its use as an adjunct therapy for managing PTSD. Yet it's also important to remember that psychedelics remain illegal in all 50 states. Some states have decriminalized the use of these drugs, but most experts recommend medical supervision for any experimental use. Jaden’s discovery that psychedelics have helped him find new levels of empathy toward his siblings is indeed consistent with some research findings. 

But as a parent, I would argue that there are important social skills being built when siblings learn how to argue, problem-solve and apologize to each other - and all without taking illegal drugs that may impact their brain development. You know, since psilocybin use by teens has been known to cause pesky things like temporary psychosis, paranoid delusions, vomiting and even schizophrenia, according to the National Institutes of Health. But, hey, if it was "profound and beautiful" for teen Jaden and his siblings, who are we to argue? Obviously they're "worthy."

Photo Credits: Jayden Smith/Twitter; Getty Images