Pubdate: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Copyright: 2002 The Sun-Times Co. Contact: http://www.suntimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81 Author: Jim Ritter, Health Reporter NEW PUSH TELLS PARENTS PERILS OF KIDS SMOKING POT Dr. Daniel Angres, a drug counselor and parent, is alarmed at how casual many parents have become about their children smoking pot. "Their attitude is, thank God it's not cocaine or Ecstasy," he said. "This is so frightening to me." Angres, director of a drug treatment program at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, has joined a government-sponsored campaign to wake up parents about the dangers of marijuana. On Thursday, Angres spoke about the campaign, launched by the White House drug czar, that includes ads, Web sites and partnerships with influential groups such as the National PTA and American Medical Association. Angres and other experts detailed some of the scary stuff researchers are discovering: * The percentage of eighth-graders who smoke marijuana has doubled in the last decade, to 20 percent. * More kids enter rehab for pot than for all other drugs combined. * One out of 11 pot smokers becomes addicted. * The concentration of marijuana's active ingredient, THC, is 30 times higher today than 20 years ago. * Kids who smoke pot are more likely to get poor grades, engage in risky sex, cut classes, steal, attack people, destroy property and have difficulty concentrating and remembering. * The younger kids are when they first smoke marijuana, the more likely it is they will abuse drugs as adults. But if they haven't smoked pot by 17, they probably never will. Parents have more influence than they may think. One survey found that only 7 percent of kids 12-17 who believe their parents would strongly disapprove if they tried pot once or twice had used an illegal drug in the last 30 days. But 31 percent of kids who said their parents wouldn't strongly disapprove used an illegal drug. Here are some things experts say parents can do to keep kids off pot: Strongly prohibit marijuana, and if you catch kids smoking, punish them. Eat dinner together. Know who your children's friends are and what they're doing. On the Web: www.theantidrug.com (for parents); www.freevibe.com (for kids). - --- MAP posted-by: Beth