Pubdate: Thu, 02 Jan 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Suzanne S. Brown

IN THE WEEDS

Parents of Teens and Young Adults, Here's What You Need to Know to 
Talk With Your Kids About Marijuana

Parents who have convinced their children that alcohol and tobacco 
are bad for them are likely struggling next with how to talk with 
their teens about marijuana-especially as it has become legal for 
adults to use recreationally in Colorado.

The perceptions many teens- and often, their parents-have about pot 
are not only wrong, they can be dangerous, say medical and treatment 
professionals.

An ongoing study of the behaviors and attitudes of teens and young 
adults has found that while teens aren't necessarily reporting higher 
use of marijuana, they're less likely to consider it "risky." The 
2013 Monitoring the Future survey, funded by the National Institute 
on Drug Abuse, found that from 2005 to 2013, the percentage of high 
school students seeing great risk from being a regular marijuana user 
has fallen among eighth-graders from 74 percent to 61 percent, and 
among 12thgraders from 58 percent to 40 percent. This concerns 
members of the medical community who say that pot is bad for developing brains.

We asked a few professionals in Colorado to address some of the 
questions teens often ask about pot.

"No scientist in the field would have any qualms about it being 
[called] addictive," says Dr. Paula Riggs, director of the Division 
of Substance Dependence at the University of Colorado-Denver's School 
of Psychiatry. "It has a similar effect on the brain reward system as 
other drugs of abuse like heroin or cocaine."

When pot use interferes with daily life, those effects point to the 
drug's addictive qualities, says Riggs, who recently appeared on "The 
Dr. Oz Show" to talk about the topic.

She suggests asking these questions: "Does a person have difficulty 
cutting down on his use of pot? Have there been negative consequences 
with family members over its use? Has he been kicked out of school or 
continued to use despite such consequences? Have they increased the 
amount of time they spend using and cut other things out of their life?"

"The studies are clear that one out of 11 adults who try marijuana 
will become dependent or addicted, while one out of six adolescents 
will become daily or near-daily users," Riggs says.

There's a perception that marijuana is fairly benign, but medical 
professionals say it is bad for brain development, which can last 
until people are in their mid-20s.

Riggs, who has recently begun a program treating students for 
substance abuse at Adams City High School, says ongoing research 
shows that pot is neurotoxic, or disruptive to the brain and other 
parts of the nervous system.

THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, binds to sites called 
cannabinoid receptors on brain cells. When the CBRs are 
overstimulated, their function is altered, and it can lead to 
addiction and withdrawal symptoms when use stops, according to the 
National Institute of Drug Abuse.

Among the research Riggs cites is the Dunedin Study, in which more 
than 1,000 people were tracked over a 30-plus-year period. Those who 
used pot regularly as teens and young adults permanently shaved 6 
points off their IQ scores.

"I clearly tell teens it's not safe to drive when you are high on 
marijuana," says Sheryl Ziegler, a counseling psychologist who runs 
The Child & Family Therapy Center at Lowry. "Concentration is 
difficult; your coordination is in jeopardy; it's hard to judge 
distance, speeds or identifying sounds. In combination with alcohol, 
it's worse."

Riggs notes that the effects can last longer than alcohol. "You can 
have a couple of cocktails, and while you might be impaired for a 
time, you can drive perfectly fine tomorrow," she says. But the THC 
in marijuana stays in the system longer. For people who have smoked 
several times over the course of a day or night, it results in 
"reduced reaction time, impaired balance and interference with memory 
and decision-making."

"This is not about interfering with those who have diseases and needs 
for it," Riggs says of medicinal marijuana used for pain or nausea 
relief. But just because it's used to treat some conditions doesn't 
mean it's for everyone.

For example, Riggs and others worry about young pregnant women 
thinking it might help them with morning sickness since medical 
marijuana is used by some cancer patients as an anti-nausea drug. 
That's dangerous because research has shown the developing child's 
brain is affected as well as the mother's, Riggs says, citing a 2008 
study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and 
Adolescent Psychiatry.

Parents may be afraid that if they say they admit to using it as 
youths, they're giving their children permission to use it as well, 
Ziegler says.

"I tell parents to think about how their children may use that 
information," she says. "I don't encourage lying," she says, but the 
parents have to decide how much to reveal about their past.

And it's important to get the topic on the table, she says. "Being 
open and engaged with your kids is important."

Also important to know: Much of the marijuana available today is more 
potent than it was in the past, so the potential exists for it to 
have more intense deleterious effects on the user. "We are seeing 
more emergency room visits with [excessive vomiting], and with 
adolescents, there is greater risk of psychosis and delirium."

A Mayo Clinic report published in 2006 and reported on in procon.org 
found that "marijuana smoke contains 50 percent to 70 percent more 
carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke and has the 
potential to cause cancer of the lungs and respiratory tract. 
Marijuana smoke is commonly inhaled deeper and held longer than is 
tobacco smoke, increasing the lungs' exposure to carcinogens."

Teens often think they're OK as they start to use, but when it 
becomes habitual, problems develop, Ziegler says.

"I talk about how it's associated with school failure, motivation, 
attention and learning. They get lower grades, are more likely to 
drop out and have lower salaries and job success."

Using pot also increases the rates at which people engage in risky 
behaviors, such as unplanned sexual activity, and use of other 
intoxicants like alcohol and other drugs, Ziegler says.

Pot use might also keep an important medical condition from being 
identified. "They might have an anxiety disorder, for example," 
Ziegler says. "There's a high correlation between ADHD and marijuana. 
They like to use it because it gives them a short-term release from 
their condition. But then if they start using it daily, it will no 
longer be calming. They can become paranoid."

In the 2011-12 Colorado Healthy Kids Survey, 32 percent of 
12th-graders reported using marijuana in the previous month. That 
means 68 percent didn't.

"It's about prevention and building self-esteem so that kids as young 
as fifth and sixth grade know how to say no and stand up for 
themselves," Ziegler says.

Dr. Christian Thurstone agrees that avoiding pot is the best policy. 
He runs a program at Denver Health for those 12-21 years old, called 
the Substance Abuse Treatment Education & Prevention Program, or STEP.

"[Parents] shouldn't just throw up their hands," Thurstone says. "I 
encourage pro-social activities that build self-esteem-sports, chess, 
youth group, debate or other interests. You can also set forth 
expectations and norms."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom