Pubdate: Thu, 20 Nov 2008
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2008 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact: http://bostonglobe.com/news/opeds/letter.aspx?id=6340
Website: http://www.boston.com/globe/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Author: Tony Newman
Note: The  writer is media relations director for the Drug Policy Alliance.

I Appeciate Bella English's column about Question 2 inspiring parents
and their teens to discuss marijuana smoking (" Up in smoke Nov 10).

The article - which presents the question, "Mom, did you ever smoke
weed?"  - is well balanced and lays out a range of options for parents
who have smoked marijuana. But it leaves out one important option: the
truth.

There are millions  of parents who smoked marijuana responsibly (or
still do), and it wasn't "only a  couple of times," and nothing bad
happened to them. The reward with this candor  is the building of
relationships based on trust and honesty.

This still means  that parents, even those who still smoke, are within
their rights to not want  their teens smoking because they are too
young (think alcohol). While many  parents may not be comfortable with
this nuanced message, there are many out  there who will want to be
honest with their children.

The resulting  conversations may lead to as good if not better
outcomes than resorting to lies  or half-truths.

Tony Newman
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin