We have a large number of people write to us through our website every day. Many times, it’s active addicts looking for help and is afraid to pick up the phone, sometimes people have general questions about alcohol and other drug addiction, and quite often it is parents, some in recovery and some considered to be ‘normies.’
Here’s a question that comes up often.
If I smoked marijuana as a young person, how can I possibly stand there and say, “Hey, you shouldn’t smoke pot?” They ask if they should lie if their child asks if the parent has smoked pot.
A lot of parents don’t know this unless they’re in recovery, and sometimes they still don’t know. Marijuana was half as strong twenty years ago, and we know a lot more about its ill effects now. Counseling honesty is the best policy. Lying to your teenagers is not something parents should consider when it comes to drug use. Most teenagers can see right through the lie. Remember “Lies erode trust.” That’s one of the last thing any parent wants with their child. When you tell the truth, be sure to tell how marijuana has changed since you smoked it. Just give them the facts. Here’s what we know now that we didn’t know before:
- Marijuana is stronger today than it was years ago,
- Research shows it negatively affects your personality, school and sports performance, and other areas of their life.
- Neurological wiring for judgment, reason control, empathy, compassion, and all other brain functions that help them grow into responsible adults.
- Drug use inhibits development of the brain and stops emotional development on the spot.
Also, try not to rationalize in your head that your child is only smoking marijuana. He or she is probably drinking alcohol as well.
If you need help on how to speak to your child about drugs and alcohol, give us a call and we’d be more than happy to speak to you or direct you to someone who can help you.
BIO
Recovery Rob is a 47-year-old man who has more than eighteen years of sobriety, whose drugs of choice at one time were alcohol and drugs, and he has worked in and around the field of addiction for more than 20 years. Recovery Rob is a professional writer who has published two novels and is currently working on his third. He has been writing and working as Pat Moore Foundation’s premiere blogger and content writer, which helps keeps Pat Moore Foundation’s addiction and recovery blog top-rated.