The green plant that seems like its everywhere

     It’s just pot. No big deal. It’s not a real drug. I know that this message might seem redundant, but I ask you for a few minutes of your time. Nationwide there is a vast misperception about marijuana that is having devastating implications. I can say, without hesitation, the social acceptance and widespread abuse of marijuana has become an epidemic. We have a problem that is impacting our kids on a daily basis. I see it every single day with people of all ages, backgrounds and philosophies. 

   

      I am frequently asked, ‘what drug is most widespread within your high school?’ What concerns me is not the answer, but the response. The most common reaction is a sigh of relief or a shrug of the shoulders along with, “It’s just weed.” We are now suffering the direct consequences from these inaccurate assumptions.

     There are no documented cases of anyone ever overdosing from weed. The effects after smoking or consuming (a ‘special’ ingredient added to brownies, cookies, etc.) marijuana are not nearly as noticeable and invasive as what we’ve classified as harder drugs, such as cocaine or pills. But it is the typical slow, gradual shifts in attitude and behaviors that are swooping in and crippling us.

     The reality is that there are three types of experimentation outcomes with weed:

·      experimentation without any real negative outcomes

·      experimentation that leads to use of other substances (where marijuana is aptly labeled a ‘gateway drug’)

·      experimentation that leads to psychological dependence on the drug    

       I cannot begin to tell you how many students have sworn up and down that they would never use anything beyond pot. When the high becomes mundane and tolerance builds there is a combination of rationalization and a justification leading to the expansion in the realm of experimentation. Smoking is now combined with popping a pill from the medicine cabinet, dropping a hit of acid or snorting a little cocaine. The line has been compromised and the level of abuse becomes progressively more problematic.

     Then there is the other much larger group, inclusive of students currently walking the halls of and American High School.  Their drug of choice remains weed and, over time, interests change, their peer group shifts, apathy sets in and goals for present and future becomes less clear and significant.  This is the manner in which so many lives are being altered in ways that we do not read about in the newspaper or hear of in national statistics. As apathy increases users become less interested in expending energy on anything else that does not revolve around marijuana. This cripples their abilities to achieve their talents and skills. Have you noticed any of these changes in your child? 

     In our community young people are settling for smoking around the bonfire every weekend, hanging in the garage every other day after school getting high with their bag of chips, and the life that was in store for them becomes so much less than it was intended to be. This then becomes the focus of their lives and all they look forward to doing. It transitions from fun to dependence; something occasional to a lifestyle.

     My heart breaks for the loss of opportunities that I hear about and witness on a daily basis. It saddens me to listen to the upperclassmen now reflecting about all the time that has been wasted and cannot be retrieved. The once esteemed athlete that is no longer a candidate for playing in college due to decline in his or her ability. The twenty-three year old graduate who is still stuck smoking, just getting by with no real goals or prospects that is heartbreaking. We live once. So much potential lost, altering the lives of so many of our kids and their families.

     There are different outcomes, but the hope is we don’t turn a blind eye. There is power in knowledge and a comfort in knowing we are not alone when challenges arise.

If you’re concerned and wonder what to look for, here are a few top ‘red flags’:

·      Glassy eyes,

·       Lethargy

·      Shift in friends, interests, etc.

·      Paraphernalia: glass pipes, bowls, small plastic baggies (dime bags), cigarette rolling papers

*      Long term use = increased tolerance, meaning you need more of it to get high. This can sometimes lead to irritability, anxiousness, etc. 

*        Short term memory can sometimes be effected 

     If you have any questions or comments about this topic, feel free to kick me an email. Have a great week!