Pubdate: Wed, 10 Jun 2015 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 2015 The Washington Post Company Contact: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491 Author: Patty Winters Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v15/n306/a01.html POT, PARENTS AND CONSEQUENCES Regarding the June 7Metro article "Pot-smoking parents: What about the kids?": Parents can reconcile personal marijuana consumption with its effects on children with three tools: science to understand how marijuana harms the developing adolescent brain and can be addictive in some people; a clear understanding of the law, including the differences between federal and state laws and between legalization and decriminalization; and strategies to have age-appropriate, effective communication with their children that acknowledges some laws have not caught up with science. The National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and Prevent Teen Drug Use all have free parent-friendly resources. Parents should consider the consequences to their children's well-being and their relationship with their children if their approach to this complicated problem does not include these tools. They should also have ongoing conversations to help their children understand the high stakes of marijuana smoking so they can discern if they want to risk the adverse outcomes. Patty Winters, Derwood The writer is coordinator of the Brave and Bold Coalition, which advocates against alcohol and drug use by teenagers. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom