pot smoking teen - Page 5

[enkmom]

The thing is, for every pot head who doesn't finish college, there are people like my husband who was a pot head and graduated from Grinnell and University of Iowa law school with high honors. You can't say pot is the reason someone succeeds or fails.

My opinion still stands. My teens lead happy, active social lives. They hold down jobs, volunteer, my son goes to college and is doing well. If they want to drink beer or smoke a little recreational marijuana on the weekends, I am not going to come down hard on it.

[imagine21]

Originally Posted by babygirlie

There are also now studies out that show pot smoking is twice as bad for your lungs than tabacco.

Uh, no...quoting from my earlier post...(And before someone says that smoking pot increases the chance of getting lung cancer, the most recent studies show the opposite http://www.webmd.com/lung-cancer/new...to-lung-cancer.)

Please cite your studies...I'd like to review them.

[EdnaMarie]

Originally Posted by imagine21

Uh, no...quoting from my earlier post...(And before someone says that smoking pot increases the chance of getting lung cancer, the most recent studies show the opposite http://www.webmd.com/lung-cancer/new...to-lung-cancer.)

Please cite your studies...I'd like to review them.

Can I ask whether this is really relevant?

I mean, if it was "only" half as bad as tobacco, would that be okay? Obviously, marijuana is harmful to some degree for everyone, but it has its benefits for some others, and that's it's very addictive for some, though not others. Like certain otc painkillers, for that matter. But those are legal.

Marijuana is illegal, and if you get caught, nobody cares how harmful it is for you. The point is, if you have a certain amount, you can get charged with intent to distribute! I mean... I don't know about YOU all, but that is the reason *I* don't smoke regularly, and though I have had a joint once and again, never will have it in my house and never will be in a place where I think I could get caught.

Why ruin your whole future for a little high? I mean really. I can vote pro-legalization without risking my own future and criminal record.

The point is, the OP doesn't like it, it's illegal, so what should she do?

I don't think you're going to turn her into a pot civil liberties crusader on behalf of her son on this thread, so what's the point?

[Smithie]

"Her idea was, she had to smoke in the woods, we could too."

Heh. With my mom, it was "I had to sneak around to have sex, so can you."

I would rather my kids smoke pot than drink alcohol - but they aren't doing either in my home as long as it's not legal for them to do so.

[EdnaMarie]

Originally Posted by Smithie

"Her idea was, she had to smoke in the woods, we could too."

Heh. With my mom, it was "I had to sneak around to have sex, so can you."

I would rather my kids smoke pot than drink alcohol - but they aren't doing either in my home as long as it's not legal for them to do so.

I dunno, something tells me it's the lack of brain-scan evidence on potheads because who would admit it, that makes me more partial to pot. The brain scans on binge-drinking teens are awful... even if it's once weekly or twice monthly, you can SEE the dents! I don't know which is worse, but my guess is, the damage is probably proportional to how intoxicated you feel.

[imagine21]

Originally Posted by EdnaMarie

Can I ask whether this is really relevant?

I say that it is relevant because the poster made an assertion that deserves scrutiny. I really would like to look at the studies that she cited. Oh, wait, she didn't cite any. I included my reference so that people can read and make decisions from an informed position.

Originally Posted by EdnaMarie

I mean, if it was "only" half as bad as tobacco, would that be okay? Obviously, marijuana is harmful to some degree for everyone, but it has its benefits for some others, and that's it's very addictive for some, though not others. Like certain otc painkillers, for that matter. But those are legal.

Again, please cite references. If marijuana is "[obviously] harmful to some degree for everyone" I will have to assume that that is just your opinion unless you give me some scientific study that takes "everyone" into consideration. You're welcome to make blanket statements, but you have to expect to get called on them.

Originally Posted by EdnaMarie

Marijuana is illegal, and if you get caught, nobody cares how harmful it is for you. The point is, if you have a certain amount, you can get charged with intent to distribute! I mean... I don't know about YOU all, but that is the reason *I* don't smoke regularly, and though I have had a joint once and again, never will have it in my house and never will be in a place where I think I could get caught.

Marijuana is not illegal in all places.

Originally Posted by EdnaMarie

Why ruin your whole future for a little high? I mean really. I can vote pro-legalization without risking my own future and criminal record.

Since marijuana is not illegal in all places, not everyone is subject to the ruination of their future for a little high. In addition, I am far more concerned with the consequences of legal prescription drugs than marijuana both for individuals and for the harmful effects they have on the health of society as a whole.

Originally Posted by EdnaMarie

The point is, the OP doesn't like it, it's illegal, so what should she do?

Each kid is different and since I don't know her son personally, I can only give her the advise that I have in previous posts edited here for brevity...for some kids it's a problem, for some it's not.

Originally Posted by EdnaMarie

I don't think you're going to turn her into a pot civil liberties crusader on behalf of her son on this thread, so what's the point?

Well, I was giving the OP my advice from my experience, as a parent of a teenager, a high school teacher for 17 years and a regular pot smoker for almost 30 years. No one is trying to turn anyone into a crusader. In fact, I am not crusading either. I am a well educated, conscientious person who makes decisions based on both empirical evidence and research. Asking someone who makes a statement about the studies that she has read to cite those studies is a reasonable request for one who is interested in responsible decision making. Sorry that you didn't see it that way.

[ssh]

In some places being caught with a small quantity of pot, less than an ounce, will get you a ticket or nothing. It's a petty offense in some places, no offense or a misdemeanor in others. In some states any amount is a prison sentence. So how I would react to finding out my teen is using pot would be different depending on where we lived. Teenagers and young adults are basically going to do what they are going to do. It's a time of developing personal values and asserting independence. The main concern would be staying safe. Some people here have had a "not in my home" stance and having your teen carrying pot on their person and using it out in public is much riskier legally than in the privacy of their own bedroom.

As a physical and mental health issue, I would be alot more concerned finding out my teen had vodka or cigarettes than a small quantity of pot. But I've had relatives die of lung disease and emphysema. Also I've had a cousin die from liver failure at age 30 and known too many alcoholics.

[EdnaMarie]

Originally Posted by imagine21

Again, please cite references. If marijuana is "[obviously] harmful to some degree for everyone" I will have to assume that that is just your opinion unless you give me some scientific study that takes "everyone" into consideration. You're welcome to make blanket statements, but you have to expect to get called on them.

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/evidenc.../Health_1.html

Marijuana is not illegal in all places.

Okay, is she posting from Amsterdam? B.C.? Recreational marijuana use is illegal in most of the US, Europe, and Canada.

n addition, I am far more concerned with the consequences of legal prescription drugs than marijuana both for individuals and for the harmful effects they have on the health of society as a whole.

She's not asking about that, though.

Each kid is different

Okay, let me rephrase my answer. If I were black, I'd be furious and afraid, and if I were white, I'd probably just be furious. Because the law is supposed to apply to all equally. I don't care what this kid is like--they won't know until he's older whether he's the type to get addicted or to go further or who his dealer was. He is still screwed if he gets caught. We're all (supposed to be) equal under the law. It's not like the law says, "If you will probably go on to worse drugs or if you get really high with pot, then it's a felony, otherwise... meh, misdemeanor, whatever."

.for some kids it's a problem, for some it's not.

A felony conviction is a problem for everybody, and if you have enough on you to get "intent to distribute", that's what you get! So you weren't planning on becoming a cokehead and you didn't get cancer? Tough titties, it's still a felony!

I'm not saying she should forbid her kid from using. (Not sure if you read my first post.) I'm saying, no freaking way would I have it in my house, and I'm not having ANYONE in my house that brings that junk in. The last thing I need is illegal stuff in my house.

In fact, I am not crusading either. I am a well educated, conscientious person who makes decisions based on both empirical evidence and research. Asking someone who makes a statement about the studies that she has read to cite those studies is a reasonable request for one who is interested in responsible decision making. Sorry that you didn't see it that way.

I was actually more referring to the entire debate, not your posts in particular. Too lazy for multi-quote, sorry!

[MusicianDad]

I don't think anyone in the debate wants to turn anyone into a crusader. Me personally? I'm just against pot being illegal, and against the propagation of marijuana myths that put it on the same level as hard drugs. It's not like I'm Marc Emery or anything.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by nancynance

Okay - I'm the original poster and I have one more question to throw out there. Does anyone have any experience, either first hand or second, of whether or not pot smoking stunts your emotional/intellectual growth? I mean, my son is not yet 18 and I know the neural pathways in his brain are still developing. I don't want any substance to get in the way of him realizing his potential.

I smoked pot daily from about halfway through grade nine until a little after grad (so call it 14.5 to 18, almost exactly), and far less frequently for about another 2-3 years.

If there's been any stunting of my intellectual growth, nobody has ever noticed it. I placed in the top 10% in Canada in a math competition (wrote the tests at lunch time, and had been smoking pot earlier in the day for at least half of them). I also pulled 100% on tests on multiple occasions, both while stoned and when not stoned, but during my years as a fairly heavy smoker. My intelligence and intellectual capabilities suffered no impairment that was noticeable to me or anyone else. (I can't claim that means there was absolutely no impairment...maybe I'd be a fraction more intelligent if I'd never smoked, but I'll never know. There was no noticeable or practical impairment.)

Emotional? It's hard to pin down. I've struggled with depression since puberty, which is probably why I started smoking so heavily in the first place. The only noticeable effects pot had on my emotional development were that 1) I stopped punching people out when I lost my cool, because I stopped losing my cool (I suffered from pretty severe PMS in my preteens/early teens and lashed out physically at the various bullies I encountered), and 2) I didn't end up slitting my wrists. If it had any other effects, they weren't/aren't noticeable to me or to those close to me. I was definitely a little more...stupified...during my smoking years than I would have been without the pot, but considering my general emotional state at the time, that's not really a bad thing, imo. There were no noticeable long-term effects.

I knew a lot of pot smokers, and some of them had very heavy habits. Very, very few of them had any noticeable long-term effects from it, and those one were...one of them was smoking an eighth of an ounce daily at 15. That's heavy use, yk?

[EdnaMarie]

The term "crusader" seems to have touched a nerve, so I take it back.

Let me put it another way: I don't think you'll convince the mom.

[imagine21]

Originally Posted by EdnaMarie

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/evidenc.../Health_1.html

From this link "For more on this topic, please see Donald P. Tashkin, M.D., "Effects of Marijuana on the Lung and Its Immune Defenses," Secretary's Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Intiative: Resource Papers, March 1997, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Pages 33-51 of this address can be found at the website of the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University, located at http://www.drugs.indiana.edu/druginfo/tashkin- marijuana.html."

This cited study is out of date and been deleted.

An article much more recent study:
4http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729.html

Thanks for the link though. There is a lot of relevant information. I can't help but notice that the article hails from the law school, not the medical school.

[MusicianDad]

Originally Posted by EdnaMarie

The term "crusader" seems to have touched a nerve, so I take it back.

Let me put it another way: I don't think you'll convince the mom.

Uh, more like the other side won't convince the mom. If you read back you'll see that she has decided to go with her gut which is not worry at this point because her son is almost 18 and is otherwise a healthy, responsible person.

[2xy]

Originally Posted by AbundantLife

My DH spent a good many years as a pot head and never finished college because of it. He regrets that and has made every effort to assure our kids don't end up like he did.

I know plenty of college graduates who smoked pot all through college (some even have their master's) and continue to do so. Pot will only stop you from finishing school if pot is more important to you than school. It's all about how you prioritize your life.

[2xy]

Just saw this on Facebook:

"Hey, isn't smoking weed illegal?"

Replies, "Hey, aren't half the songs on your iPod stolen?"

[MusicianDad]

Originally Posted by 2xy

Just saw this on Facebook:

"Hey, isn't smoking weed illegal?"

Replies, "Hey, aren't half the songs on your iPod stolen?"

I don't own an iPod, and it's more than half.

[ssh]

Originally Posted by EdnaMarie

Okay, is she posting from Amsterdam? B.C.? Recreational marijuana use is illegal in most of the US, Europe, and Canada.

Maybe she's from Alaska, Colorado, Ohio, Mississippi, New York or one of the other states where it's decriminalized.

[EdnaMarie]

Originally Posted by imagine21

From this link "For more on this topic, please see Donald P. Tashkin, M.D., "Effects of Marijuana on the Lung and Its Immune Defenses," Secretary's Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Intiative: Resource Papers, March 1997, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Pages 33-51 of this address can be found at the website of the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University, located at http://www.drugs.indiana.edu/druginfo/tashkin- marijuana.html."

This cited study is out of date and been deleted.

An article much more recent study:
4http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729.html

Thanks for the link though. There is a lot of relevant information. I can't help but notice that the article hails from the law school, not the medical school.

I chose it for its citations, not because of the fact it was affiliated with a university. I think it's a student site.

[canadianhippie]

ok, Ill chime in a bit, first time ive read the thread

lol, man im not sure where to begin so Ill try and keep it short and sweet

Gateway drug is silly, the less than 1% assumption that pot smokers will not become heavy drug addicts, slightly insulting. I mean who are these "potheads"? Some kind of rare, incompetent cookie eating idiots? They are your teachers, neighboors, politicians, laywers, med school students, any one and everyone. Im a pot smoker, Im not an idiot, I know the difference between marijuana and cocaine. Ive known for a long time, as does the rest of the population, so how cannabis would all of the sudden alter my perception so badly that start injecting heroin, because you know, it seems like a reasonable trail to follow after a bong hit, is beyond me. Ive been smoking since I was 15 and I have never ever done any other drugs, no saliva, no shrooms, none of that. All of my friends did heavy drugs, but seeing them go through made me not want to touch it.

Any history lesson will tell you the hilarious story of how marijuana came to be illegal, so yes it is "illegal". What educated, up-to-date person would agree with it being illegal? I would not send my children else where to have a good time, a underage teen wants to drink and "no illegal activity in my house" will send them down the street to learn how to handle alcohol by other teens? You may not want to "encourage" and enable the behaviour, but obviously the people they are with are encouraging it. Hmm, cool friends saying have a toke, mama saying you'll be out on your *** if you bring a dimebag in MY house, where do you think the teen will be heading?

I want my child to know that our house is his haven for sleeping, eating, schoolwork and friends. If they are going to get high and drunk, because they're mini-adults, they're personalities and tendancies are shaped, they will do what their going to do, I want it under my watchful eye so I know where my son is. I feel thats common-sense, of all the things in the world, I will not be alienating my children because the law says the big green plant is bad.

I feel as though most of the anti- marijuana people have NEVER smoked weed, you must know so much about its effects then

Cannabis is simply not for everyone. It is meant to benefit your mindset and life, its a good thing, I think a couple people here need a nice sweet spliff rolled for them, mellow out man haha


and yes, im partial to mj, a glance at my sig will tell you that

[ShadowMoon]

Maybe she's from Alaska, Colorado, Ohio, Mississippi, New York or one of the other states where it's decriminalized.

Don't forget Massachusetts! It's only a $100 fine if caught with an ounce or less of pot in public.