Teens Smoking Marijuana & Pot

In this lesson you are going to learn how to talk to your teenager about smoking marijuana or pot.

In it, you will discover:

  • Why your teen will probably try it
  • How it effects the mind and body
  • The importance of focusing on your child’s state of being
  • Why there is not much difference between marijuana and alcohol
  • How to best approach the situation
  • A sample talk you can have with your teenager
  • The importance of not making it a big deal

Overview

Names: Marijuana, pot, weed, ganja, herb, green, 420, and too many to list.

Concern Level: 5

This is the most common “drug” and it’s actually not a drug. It’s a plant and the “bud” is the flower that grows out of the hemp weed. Technically our forefathers grew it in the US along with tobacco and it was a key component to the US economy until the lumber industry realized that hemp was far superior and easier to grow than trees. Thus it was decided to launch a smear campaign against marijuana to have it outlawed.

More then 50% of Americans have tried smoking pot at least once and it’s the most common drug of drugs that are now legal in ten states for medicinal purposes (and very close to being legalized nationally).

What It Does

Smoking pot can get you high for about forty-minutes. It makes you relax and slows everything down (similar to a depressant). THC, which is the active ingredient in marijuana and is what gets you high, is assimilated through the bloodstream once smoked. The effect is that you get high and feel “stoned”. In many ways it’s similar to drinking a glass of wine and feeling buzzed.



Why Your Kid Will Like To Do It

It’s a social drug in that people get together, hang out, talk, and smoke pot usually in combination with drinking alcohol (or not). Your teen will probably do it the first time because they want to fit in. Everyone else is doing it and they won’t want people to think that they don’t belong. The reason it’s important for you to talk to your kids before they do it is that if you’ve built a solid relationship and they’re not pissed at you, the first time they’re offered marijuana, they have a higher chance of turning it down. However, if they’re already mad at you and you’ve already judged them, then they think to themselves “might as well!”

The Truth About Marijuana

Smoking marijuana is fun. It makes you laugh and brings you in the moment of life. It heightens your senses so that listening to music or watching a movie becomes much more enjoyable.

The Downside Of Marijuana

1. Laziness – It makes people more lethargic and lazy. It should be noted that what it really does is bring up or “heighten” an existing characteristic a person already has. If your child is not lazy, you don’t need to worry about them becoming lazy while smoking pot because it’s not in them.

2. It’s an escape – Many people enjoy pot for the same reasons they enjoy alcohol, to escape their problems. Instead of facing issues they decide to smoke pot because life seems just fine on pot and problems are temporarily forgotten. That being said, people watch TV, eat sugary foods, play video games, and so on to escape their problems so the escape has less to do with pot and more to do with the type of individual.

3. Anxiety – If your teenager has insecurities or emotional issues, they may panic and become anxious because once again smoking marijuana enhances a person’s existing personality. Many people are nervous inside but can hide it well. When they’re smoking pot, it will come out.

4. “Munchies” – Your child will get really hungry and if they have issues with their weight it will add more issues because while high they can eat twice as much as they normally do.

5. Boredom – This is the ONLY reason I’d prefer kids not try pot too soon because many people do it when they’re bored. This is not healthy because when we’re “bored”, we need to spend our time using our imagination to do something creative such as learning something new or even reading a book. In my opinion, if there is any caution to using pot, doing it because you’re bored would be it.

Approaching the Situation

First and foremost your energy and thoughts must be calm and centered remembering your unconditional love for your child. I suggest that you be straightforward with your teenager and say something to the effect of:

“I know if you want to smoke pot you can and there is nothing I can do about it. I prefer that you hold off until a later age to try it if you’re going to. If you are going to try it now, here are some of the pros and cons of doing it (then discuss the points I mention above along with any other research you find once educating yourself on the subject). Also, if you’re going to try it please do it somewhere where you’re safe and don’t drive or do anything where you will harm someone else. If you do decide to smoke pot and get in trouble or cause damage, you will need to suffer those consequences. I love you no matter what and as mentioned, here is why I prefer you to not do it.”

Remember, the most important factor is not just what you say, but “how” you say it. If your child senses fear or anxiety from you, then they will pick up on this and it will rub them the wrong way. If you come from a neutral and fair state of being, they will sense “strength” and “power” from you and it will open the lines of communication. It will also make them want to take into consideration what you have to say.

I recently spoke to a 13-year-old boy about marijuana and he was so excited to talk about it. It was a “big deal” to him and he wanted to talk about the fact that it was legalized in California. I could sense that he really wanted to try it and that he thought it was “so cool”. As I responded to him I spoke in the same way I would speak to any adult about it. I didn’t react to the fact that he was interested in it and I gave him both sides of the pros and cons of marijuana. In the end, I just talked to him about what his choices could mean and that it really wasn’t a big deal. Afterwards, I could sense that his eagerness to try it dwindled. Not that he wouldn’t ever want to try it, but the “taboo” cool symbolism tied to smoking marijuana had dissipated and in some ways he lost interest.

Again, it’s what I mean about remaining neutral and exploring their curiosity from a fair and balanced place. When you do this, you remove that “taboo” cool factor from it and then it’s not a big deal to them. The more parents and “adults” make things a big deal, the more curiosity the child will have in wanting to try something.

See also…

Drugs

Ecstasy

Hard Drugs

Prescription Drugs

Psychedelics

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Want more tips?

Alcohol – How to talk to your teen about alcohol

Anger – How to help your teen address their anger issues

Being Cool & Popular – How to talk to your teen about not being cool & popular

Boredom – How to talk to your teen when they are bored

Bullying – How to talk to your teen about bullying

Career & Life Purpose  – How to talk to your teen about building their future career & life purpose

Dating & Sex – How to talk to your teen about dating and sex

Depression – How to talk to your teen when they are depressed

Hurt Feelings – How to talk to your teen if they have hurt feelings

Lying – How to address your teen when you catch them lying

Money – How to talk to your teen about being responsible with money

Out of Control – How to talk to your teen when they are out of control

Overweight – How to talk to your when they become overweight

Partying – How to talk to your teen about partying

Rebellion – How to address teenage rebellion

School – Tips on how to address problems at school

Stealing – What to do if your teen is stealing

Technology Addiction – What to do if your teen is addicted to technology