Well, my kid's smoking pot.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

[QUOTE=fetus]
I can’t find a cite, but I remember reading that those findings were based on a comparison of recently-seized weed (at the time, somewhere around 2000 I believe) to dope that had been sitting around for 20, 30 or 40 years. Of course the stuff that was exponentially fresher turned up as being more potent. I’ve heard anecdotes both ways, and there’s really no way to know.

I’ve heard a lot of this, and frankly I don’t get it. Taking alcohol and other drugs while you’re smoking pot isn’t any more dangerous than taking the alcohol/drugs by themselves IME (although it’s probably not a good idea to heap stimulants like coke or speed on top of weed if you have heart problems, in which case you shouldn’t be doing lines anyway). When I was way into the scene smoking pot was a background activity, that I pretty much did regardless of whatever else I had going that day. If I was doing other drugs I was probably high. Most of my friends were the same way, and from personal experience and the research I’ve done it’d be hard to convince me that there were some special danger involved in smoking pot and doing other drugs at the same time, above and beyond that inherent in the separate vices.

SHAKES, Safety First is a group which promotes harm-reduction-based parent involvement in preventing substance abuse.

BTW, whatever you decide to do about this, best of luck to you.
[/QUOTE]

Yes, pot is stronger these days…simple fact. So are tomatoes, corn, wheat, etc. etc. Modern agricultural techniques, fertilizers, equipment and selective breeding have improved the positive aspects of thousands of plants…And the main positive aspect of pot for selective breeders is the high (and to some extent the weight of the buds as stronger/heavier = more $ per square meter of growing room). Ergo, the stronger plants get bred, the weaker ones do not. Otherwise put, the average pot available grown in the 60’s involved taking a seed from some random stash you liked and growing it in your backyard or at best under flourescent tubes in your garage using fertilizer copped from your grandma’s flower garden under the tutelage(sp?) of word-o-mouth growing techniques. Modern hi-intensity lights, growth-stage specific fertilizers, hydroponic medium and 40 years of documented growth information pasted all over teh Net makes it easy for anyone to make killer weed, (insert requisite ‘Dude’ here).

As for mixing drugs, yes it is always more risky than if taken individually because of the judgement factor alone. Let’s say drugs all have positive and negative aspects. What happens if the positive aspect of one drug cancels or reduces the immediate negative effect of the second? Could you then over-indulge in the second aspect and be in a worse position? For example, pot is generally used to suppress nausea in cancer patients. Nausea is also an initial warning sign of excessive alcohol consumption. It seems to me that in this circumstance one could easily consume more alcohol than intended/needed/wanted and be worse off than if they were to drink OR smoke. Plus I am sure we can come up with some examples where being either drunk or high one might choose to not do XYZ, but combined one could have the “Go for it!” of alcohol and the “Sure, whatever.” of pot lead down a path that gets someone into trouble, i.e. taking a 3rd drug, having unsafe sex, DUI, etc.

As with all things, moderation is the key. It is not that if you have a beer and smoke a joint you will end up in a hospital. But that combination might just lead to 6 more beers and a couple more joints…which for some is OK, for some, that is not.

Actions have consequences - some good, some bad. Make sure your son really understands this basic fact of life and you will be well on your way to raising a responsible person.

-Tcat

22

[QUOTE=SHAKES]
He came home today from watching the Mavs game with his friends.

His eyes where red and barely open. He was also quite the chatter box when he got home too. Also, laughing uncontrollably and devouring everything in the fridge.

I know I’m going to have to talk to him about it eventually; but the problem is I just can’t get myself too worked up about this. Which makes me feel guilty.

He’s a good kid. He keeps his grades up, he does his chores and is always home by curfew.

Also, I smoked it when I was his age (younger actually) and my life never went to shit. So I feel like a hypocrite for telling him pot is the gateway to hell. :dubious:

Also, I guess it doesn’t help that my parents were very lax when it came to pot.

They didn’t condone it. All they would ever do when they found my stash is throw it away and tell me “Dammit SHAKES don’t bring this crap in our house!”

I never got my ass whipped or grounded because of it.

(sigh)
[/QUOTE]

i would want to explain it as a decision between partying now and partying later in life. everybody parties at some point, but it’s a lot more fun to party with your own income after securing a profession. by focusing on school while he doesn’t have to support himself, he saves a lot of effort from having to recover from wasted time getting involved with drugs - college with full-time work is a bit harder.

with a $30/hr job you can buy the kind bud, and that is when you order pizza.

23

Yeah, i love this idea. I didn’t smoke weed in highschool, but I did in college. It was kind of distracting, but I never smoked a lot.

Also, I also love the idea of making him smoke it with you! That will certainly take the cool factor out of it. That’s hilarious. Although I’d never be able to get high with my kid. I doubt you’d want to either.

It’s all a question of his motivation in life. That’s the most important thing. If you start to see his ambition slip, then you gotta do something. I generally smoke weed when I’ve got nothing better to do with my life. Summer vacation is a prime example. If I’m sitting around waiting for school to start again in a minimum wage job, smoking weed everyday doesn’t really matter. But it’s important to cut back alot when you have something important to do with your life.

It’s simply a question of an addictive personality. It’s a question of how you like to spend your time. It’s seriously FAR BETTER, at least socially, than sitting in a dark room all day playing world of warcraft for 18 hours a day. That’s not a good thing at all. At least when you look back on all the times you got stoned with your friends you’ll have fond memories of a good period of your life. When you look back at online video games you simply have wasted valuable time.

How about the SMDB? It can be quite addicting, and at the end of the day, what do I care what people on the internet think?

It also depends if he’s driving. I seriously think that smoking weed and driving isn’t as bad as drinking at all, but it’s never a good idea to let him get the idea that it’s cool to drive impaired.

I guess the only suggestion I have is to keep an eye on him as any good parent would. If he gets stoned a few nights a week, whatever. But being a teenager you never want to explicitly prohibit something because he’ll surely redouble his efforts. I guess the best thing you can do is let him know the dangers and hope he makes the correct choices.

24

[QUOTE=Tomcat]
Yes, pot is stronger these days…simple fact. So are tomatoes, corn, wheat, etc. etc.
[/QUOTE]

What are you sayin, “dude”? That back in the day you had to put 3 entire tomatoes on a sandwich instead of a slice or 2? Eat a garbage pail full of cereal for breakfast?

The High Times comparison I recall from years back was something along the lines of if as much attention was put into other crops as was put into pot we’d see watermelons the size of houses, etc…

Seems to me that there is a logic that as long as it was contraband there was always an incentive to trying to get the most concentrated and compact product possible. Of course, the alternative approach was to swamp the market with low cost crap such that you made up on volume for any losses.

25

[QUOTE=Captain_C]
Treat it the same way you would underage drinking.

In my case, my father sat me down and said to me: “Son, if you break the law, dont let anyone get hurt. If you get caught breaking the law, you will have to accept the punishment given to you. If you don’t get caught and no one gets hurt, well… don’t tell your mother. Oh, and one more thing: I am the law as far as you are concerned, so don’t let me catch you either.”
[/QUOTE]

I think this is great advice. If it doesn’t bother you morally, then you don’t have to tell him it’s evil. You can tell him that there are potential legal repercussions, and part of the way to ensure he aviods them is to not drive afterwards, not smoke at/before school, and tell him that you don’t want it anywhere in your house (assuming that’s what you want).

26

My only problem is that the OP is in Texas. Aren’t the weed laws there pretty stringent? Here in SoCal it is a $100 fine. Employers aren’t even allowed to ask about convictions more that two years old. I thought there were still dudes rotting in jail in the lone star state for being caught with a seed in 1972!

As far as pot being stronger now, I frigging wish. I smoke the best available today, and I can tell you that the strongest pot I ever smoked was almost 30 years ago. It caused me to lose motor control and fall on the ground! Good times. :cool:

27

[QUOTE=Tabula Rasa]
When he asks if you smoked pot, you can say “you’ll never know for sure because I was never arrested for it. Let’s make that the family tradition.”
[/QUOTE]

Of course, he’ll know that’s a ‘yes’- but that may only make him think dad is a little bit cooler and worth listening to.

I’m in a similar boat, since my 14-year-old brother recently told he he’s gotten high a few times. I found that I really didn’t care, and suggested he keep it quiet. I’m sure he’ll screw up eventually, just as my father failed to keep his pot smoking a secret from the rest of us - and he did once say he’d be “disappointed” if Tyler figured it out this young. My parents were both sure he’d try it eventually, and unlike my dad I’m sure he doesn’t have any in the house. Perhaps it’s because of his other problems that I’m not even bothered he’s doing it at 14, or maybe it’s because I know so many intelligent and successful people who light up once in a while, but as long as he’s not an idiot about it, there’s not much potential harm.

Assuming SHAKES Jr. is around my brother’s age, I’ll second the advice from here. Tell him not to overindulge, to be aware of the risks - in terms of what an arrest might do in terms of college applications or whatever, not Reefer Madness stuff - and not to drive or go out and put himself at risk when he does it.

28

[QUOTE=Captain_C]
Treat it the same way you would underage drinking.

In my case, my father sat me down and said to me: “Son, if you break the law, dont let anyone get hurt. If you get caught breaking the law, you will have to accept the punishment given to you. If you don’t get caught and no one gets hurt, well… don’t tell your mother. Oh, and one more thing: I am the law as far as you are concerned, so don’t let me catch you either.”
[/QUOTE]

Brilliant! tell your Dad I want to subscribe to his newsletter.

Me being the evil bastard I am tho’, I think I’m going to wait until the next time I think he is stoned. As I am sure this will make it ten times more awkward for him.

Muwahahaha…
(Thanks for all the responses guys.)

29

I think I might focus on debunking the rationalizations on all sides. Y’know the ones 45 yr olds use to excuse their drinking, gambling etc. The ones pot heads use to excuse their lack of anything else in their lives, the ones prescription drug uses have to explain away their need.

Explain that almost every society since time began has found and used recreational drugs.

From fermented camel milk to peyote. Explain what the upside of recreational drug use is, it is so prevellant because it DOES serve some purpose. Relax a little with friends, shake off your troubles for a moment, unclench from whatever has hold of your pysche etc. Recreational drugs are used successfully (read; in moderation) by the majority of people, witness social drinking. But you don’t automatically become part of that group.
Teach him the truth, it takes caution and wisdom to use drugs and not let them take over your life, witness alcoholics and crackheads. Make sure he knows it’s not about being smart or clever, there are numerous intelligent alcoholics! Make sure he understands that all drugs carry risks, tobacco, alcohol, beer, pot, anti depressants, prescription drugs. Illegal drugs more so. The risk of addiction whether to drugs or gambling or sex should definitely be addressed as well.

Whether or not he can handle the risks is up to him and his maturity. That he’s fully aware of them and that he is fully responsible for his actions is up to you.

30

If you life never went to shit for smoking pot, why did you stop?

If those reasons were good enough for you, chances are, your child being of your ilk, they will make sense to them as well.

If you don’t care if they get stoned, it’s probably not even worth bringing up. If it bothers you, you should confront them with the fact that it’s 2006, and you’re smart enough to know what stoned people look like.

31

[QUOTE=SHAKES]

They didn’t condone it. All they would ever do when they found my stash is throw it away and tell me “Dammit SHAKES don’t bring this crap in our house!”

I never got my ass whipped or grounded because of it.

(sigh)
[/QUOTE]

You do seem calm about it, for which I salute you. I recall one member – I know his handle but there’s no reason to mention it – posted a few years ago that, when he was a kid, he got caught smoking pot. The police drove him home, and his father discussed the situation calmly with the cops. I assume some sort of citation was issued.

Then after the cops left, his father said it with his fist and laid him out.

32

[QUOTE=scotandrsn]
If you life never went to shit for smoking pot, why did you stop?

If those reasons were good enough for you, chances are, your child being of your ilk, they will make sense to them as well.
[/QUOTE]

I’m guessing he grew out of it, and I don’t know if it’s possible to sell that to a kid.

33

I would stress not going to school or work high, because he can get expelled or fired. And especially not driving high if he has a license (in fact, don’t drive high without a license, either.) A lot of teenagers think it’s perfectly ok to drive high because you can pass a breathalyzer.

34

If he smokes any pot at all, even the tiniest puff, he will go insane and murder his friends.

Also the marijuana market is entirely controlled by Osama Bin Laden, who uses it to fund his campaign of international terror.

35

[QUOTE=scotandrsn]
If you life never went to shit for smoking pot, why did you stop?
.
[/QUOTE]

Hey there, Scott. Ready for the new semester?

I think most people do just quit sooner or later. I believe, from personal experience, that it affects you differently as you get older; in my case the last time I had it it just seemed no more cosmic or psychedelic than a good shot of Johnnie Walker Black, so why not just have the latter.

36

[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus]
Hey there, Scott. Ready for the new semester?
[/QUOTE]

I hope so, since it started this week! :eek:

[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus]
I think most people do just quit sooner or later. I believe, from personal experience, that it affects you differently as you get older; in my case the last time I had it it just seemed no more cosmic or psychedelic than a good shot of Johnnie Walker Black, so why not just have the latter.
[/QUOTE]

That fleshes out what Marley23 said about “growing out of it”, which really doesn’t say much at all. I know fifty year olds who still smoke pot, and much younger people who do not. I never got into it, only because it did not seem to have the effect on me that others reported for themselves, and I found the effect it DID have on me to be quite negative. But that’s my personal viewpoint, not a reflection on my maturity level at the time.

At some point, your criteria for deciding whether or not to do it tells you not to. So yours are that the sensation was different at a particular time, which for all I know could be the effects of age.

SHAKES, what was the specific reason you stopped?

37

[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog]
Good advice.

stressing that shit like employee drug testing wasn’t around in the good old days.
[/QUOTE]

Very sad, to have to tell our youth of today that we now live in a corporate fascist state, and we let it happen.

38

My wife and I told our son that we had tried it. I was honest and told him that I didn’t like the way it made me feel (out of control and stupid) and haven’t done it since I was 18. I admitted that I used to drink a lot but stopped (he’s shocked if he sees me have two beers in the same day). I told him I was tempted to try hash and coke but didn’t. The people offering the hash were friends of friends of friends… and I didn’t trust them. As for the coke, I saw one guy do a line and he offered me the straw. Then I saw the blood start pouring out of his nose. Gee, sign me right up, sparky!

My son said that he sees kids showing up stoned at school and just laughs at them. He has severe asthma and so refuses to smoke anything and won’t do any other stuff because he is on the wrestling team and doesn’t want to screw up his standing on the team or his health.

Being honest with kids is sometimes embarrassing and always tough but it is the best and only way.

39

[QUOTE=Cisco]
I would stress not going to school or work high, because he can get expelled or fired. And especially not driving high if he has a license (in fact, don’t drive high without a license, either.) A lot of teenagers think it’s perfectly ok to drive high because you can pass a breathalyzer.
[/QUOTE]

I think that it really depends on the person when it comes to driving high. I’ve been smoking on a daily or near daily basis for going on three years now or so and I’ve driven while high on countless occasions. It doesn’t do nearly the same thing to you as alcohol, rather I find that with myself it just makes me more cognizant of what’s going on around me and I find that I’m actually a better driver when I’m smoking than when I’m not. Of course I’m sure that there are some people out there who probably can’t handle smoking and driving, so YMMV.

40

[QUOTE=scotandrsn]
That fleshes out what Marley23 said about “growing out of it”, which really doesn’t say much at all.
[/QUOTE]

No, it doesn’t. I’m just saying that the reasons a person grows out of it - ‘I don’t like it as much as I did years ago,’ that kind of thing - might not appeal to a kid.