Parents: As more states legalize marijuana, here ’ s what you need to know and do

Follow me on Twitter @drClaire Recreational use of marijuana was just legalized here in my home state of Massachusetts, and this has led to a lot of interesting conversations as legislators, regulators, and businesspeople try to figure out how to best implement this change. But the most important conversations about marijuana, in Massachusetts and throughout the country, may be between parents and children. This week the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a clinical report to help pediatricians and parents talk to teens about marijuana. As it has become legalized in more states, research has shown that fewer teens think of smoking marijuana as risky. This is often what I hear from teens in my practice. They don’t think of marijuana as a dangerous drug — and the fact that its use was legalized seems to have reinforced the impression that it’s safe. But it’s not safe. Marijuana can: impair short-term memory, concentration, attention span, and problem-solving, all of which can get in the way of learning and can also lead to accidents and injuries lead to lung damage from inhaling the smoke increase the risk of long-term psychiatric problems such as depression or psychosis cause long-term problems with memory and executive function, even after use of marijuana has stopped lead to addiction — experts say that 9% of those who experiment will become addicted. This number is higher (17%) for those who start in adolescence and even higher (25% to 50%) in teens wh...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Addiction Children's Health Drugs and Supplements Parenting Source Type: blogs