Teenagers More Likely to Smoke Pot than Cigarettes

Its many parents’ worst fear: their teenager smoking cigarettes.  However, if new data released by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, or NIDA, is anything to go on, then cigarettes may be the least of your worries.

In a survey called the ‘Monitoring the Future Survey’ teens in grades 8, 10 and 12 were polled to discover their attitudes towards marijuana. The results of the study shocked NIDA.

According to teens themselves, they are more likely to smoke marijuana than they are cigarettes and one in sixteen high school kids smoke pot daily or close to daily.  Even those who do not smoke marijuana do not see the drug as dangerous, and have a neutral attitude to its use.

Experts from various universities have hypothesized that it is the legalization of medical marijuana in various states and regions that has lead to this growing acceptance among teens.  Instead of seeing the drug as addictive and dangerous, they view it as beneficial at best, or have neutral feelings about it.

People opposed to marijuana, including the White House drug czar, R. Gil Kerlikowske, have blamed legalization of marijuana for medical purposes directly for the increase in teen use. Others, such as Nora Volkow, director of NIDA, claim that marijuana can interfere with brain development, leading to lower test scores in teens.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are still those who would like to see marijuana legalized, if only for the number of jobs it already creates, and those it may potentially create in future. Plus, the amount of people who benefit from marijuana use.

Of course, since there’s also growing evidence of increases in the use of ecstasy and heroin too, so while the chance that your teen may be smoking a joint once in a while is worrying, parents also have other, more dangerous drugs to worry about.

The best advice remains the same as it has always been: talk to your children about drugs, educate them about what they can do, and do not make your children afraid to talk to you about them.