Hmmm....I did think that this was a parenting thread for parents.

Wait... The title of this thread is "So your child is smoking pot..." NOT "So, you just passed your child the hash pipe..."

I thought the premise of this thread was what are our thoughts once we discover our child is smoking pot, and how we go about handling it...

So please refrain from insinuading that I am an advocate of minors doing drugs (even if I happen not to consider pot a drug!)

I simply meant that there are worse* things than pot a child could be using...


*worse things than pot, meaning pot is still bad, just not as bad as...

There are kids (young girls ages 12 and up) having unprotected sex to get pot (and other drugs) from older guys already!!!! That is one of my major issues with it. My daughter's friend was 13 and doing just that to get pot to get high. My daughter probably did too, but didn't admit it. I put her in rehab because she was on "self-destruct." While at rehab, I met several kids from 14-16 years old who were there for their 2nd and 3rd time to get off pot and other drugs. I think it is a sad state of affairs when kids this age are so young and using drugs and addicted. By the way, this was about 1988. Imagine the statistics now!!!

PS: I got my information on the lung cancer danger from a doctor who studied at Harvard and Stanford, one of the smartest guys I know.

We will never agree on kids smoking pot, but my daughter had an addictive personality and I needed to do whatever I could to get her off the drugs. Later she got into alcohol. She got clean in her mid 20s, but it was scary. Her dad was a hard core alcoholic.

I ended up giving back a house and a car to the bank to pay for her treatment. I would do it again if I had to.

I started smoking pot when I was 12 and look how I turned out

okay maybe that isnt so good an example, but still...

Marie,

Your daughter was lucky to have you for a Mom.

I've read about how smoking pot is cancerous to the lungs too.

Thank you, Winx.
I could tell you stories that would make the hair on the back
of your neck stand up. I am still not sure how the kid survived
making it past 18. I really expected her to be dead before then.
I did whatever I had to to try to keep her alive. Now she is 34
and the mother of my 2 grandbabies. So I guess it worked.

Again; there is absolutely no medically documented proof of the claim. One of the main reasons is because marijuana is so taboo that most colleges don't do studies on it (this includes both Harvard and Stanford).

"The main respiratory consequences of smoking marijuana regularly (one joint a day) are pulmonary infections and respiratory cancer, whose connection to marijuana use has been strongly suggested but not conclusively proven."

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/evidence99/marijuana/Health_1.html

From your very own Harvard...

set them up in counceling

it all depends on who you listen too

Marijuana
Many of the carcinogens found in tobacco are also found in marijuana, which actually has more tar than regular cigarettes. Research suggests that marijuana may also cause cancers of the mouth and throat.


http://www.antigenics.com/diseases/lungcancer.html

Another thing - pot is inhaled deeper then cigs. It pushes the carcinogens farther down into the lungs. Then they hold it longer.

I'm so glad that it all worked out in the end. It doesn't always end so happily. I've accompanied a friend to NA meetings. They light a candle for the people that didn't make it.

there are also studies saying that it doesn't cause cancer and cigarettes don't either.

depends on the source

Rose,

I would never believe a study that says that cigs don't cause cancer.

I first started smoking about 10 years ago and have pretty much kept the buzz going permanently since then.

okay maybe im not a good example either.

Okay, after this I'm done debating this...there is absolutely NO medical proof to the claim, it has never ever been medically proven in a laboratory setting. Every claim is based solely off the opinion of the person making the claim, this goes both for those saying "it doesn't cause cancer" and those who say "it does cause cancer.".

Never been proven either way.

I never even tried it until I was nearly 20...and I still do it. But smoking weed has never endangered me or impeded on my daily life so I see no problem with it.
My parents know. We've discussed it. They don't agree but I'm a grown person so it's different.

There is no long term effects from marijuana. And it is by far better than getting drunk daily...of course moderation should be practiced. Marijuana doesn't "mess" with your mind, if you have pre-existing conditions it can set off triggers...but those are not long term, except for the condition you may have had in the first place.