Pubdate: Sun, 28 Apr 2002
Source: Cleveland Daily Banner (TN)
Copyright: 2002 Cleveland Daily Banner
Contact:  http://www.clevelandbanner.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/947
Author: Dr. Vijai Sharma
Note: Dr. Vijai Sharma is a Cleveland psychologist who writes a weekly 
column for the Cleveland Daily Banner.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

TEENS OFTEN MINIMIZE DANGERS OF MARIJUANA

One of the most frequent and troubling issues faced by parents is their 
teen-ager's abuse of "recreational drugs," of which marijuana is most common.

Marijuana is more easily available than ever and children are using it at 
an increasingly younger age. Teens abuse marijuana more than all other 
illegal substances combined, including alcohol.

Those who glamorize marijuana should remember that it is the leading 
substance reported in the arrests and hospital Emergency Room admissions 
for teens.

Myths about fun and pleasure act as the motors of vices. Teen culture tends 
to minimize the harmful consequences of marijuana abuse and exaggerate the 
pleasure aspect of marijuana. Actually, society as a whole tends to 
underestimate its harmful effects. It sees marijuana as a "soft drug," and 
therefore not as harmful as the "hard drugs" such as acid, cocaine or heroin.

Some baby boomer parents might say, "It's only marijuana." The irony of it 
is that marijuana is often the precursor for the use of hard drugs. Make no 
mistake about it. Dependence on marijuana can be a serious and debilitating 
disorder.

When a teen's marijuana use and related behaviors clash with the rules of 
school or society, parents are answerable to the school, police and the 
courts. Parents often clash with each other as to how to handle the problem 
and often have to miss work for school conferences and court hearings. 
Family life is disrupted. Quality of work performance goes down.

Children who start using marijuana regularly and frequently from an early 
age may later experience major problems in their personal, social and 
emotional development, and consequently, in their education and future 
career. Regular and frequent use of marijuana from an early age may also 
play a part in the development of a mental disorder. Therefore, treatment 
must be sought to the fullest extent.

Many parents have an unrealistic and pessimistic view of treatment for drug 
abuse. They view it as a costly and lengthy treatment with little promise 
for recovery. This is not true. Now we have a national study, which 
confirms that brief and low-cost treatment can be highly effective.

The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 
sponsored a study in 1997 regarding the effectiveness of treatments for 
marijuana abuse. The study titled as "Cannabis Youth Treatment (CYT)," 
which involved 600 randomly-selected teens in substance abuse treatment is 
one of the largest and most scientifically rigorous studies ever conducted 
on this subject.

According to the CYT study, the bad news is that teens who use marijuana 
once a week or more are more likely to have problems at home, school or 
with the law. The good news is that once they stop using marijuana 
altogether, these problems rapidly decline.

More good news is that only six to thirteen sessions of outpatient 
counseling delivered substantial results. Such counseling led to at least a 
fifty percent reduction in marijuana use, behavioral problems, child-parent 
conflicts, attention deficit and hyperactivity behaviors, arguing, 
violence, illegal activity, school absenteeism and academic 
underachievement. These improvements were sustained in at least a third of 
the cases as demonstrated by the fact that one year after completion of the 
treatment, one third of teens were still abstinent of marijuana use.

Most of the remaining 50 percent who did not respond to 6-13 sessions of 
outpatient treatment demonstrated a varying pattern of recovery and 
relapse. Some failed to respond to treatment right away but benefited 
later, some recovered and relapsed and others had multiple relapses.

Drug abuse might have become firmly entrenched in the personal and social 
life of those who don't respond well to brief counseling. They might lack 
educational, vocational and social skills to fit into the world of non-drug 
users. Some have a stronger genetic bias towards drug dependence. Such 
teens require more intensive treatment programs and follow-up support.

It appears that treatment is not an end-all. Two thirds of all recovering 
teens need some type of ongoing monitoring and support services. Counseling 
should be regarded as just a short phase in the long process of recovery.

Drug abuse is not like flu, which you treat and get over. It is more like 
asthma, diabetes or high blood pressure. Disease management and recovery 
maintenance is required. A doctor should treat the disease and educate 
patients in monitoring and managing the disorder.

The good news from the national study is that counseling for teen marijuana 
problems can be brief and inexpensive. About one half of the teens showed 
all-around improvement in 6 to 13 weeks of counseling. As teens improved, 
their parents reported a 42 percent reduction of stress at home and 52 
percent reduction in missed days at work.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager