Increasing Marijuana Use in High School Is Reported

[Dick Whitman]

No, I think he's saying that he'd prefer they smoke marijuana to excess rather than drink alcohol to excess, given the choice.

Then he should back that up.

Marijuana is "safer" in some people's minds because you can't kill yourself via overdose.

But, I'm not sure why anyone thinks smoking marijuana in excess is a better choice than drinking to excess -- especially for teens.

Two reasons, probably. Alcohol is associated with high-risk driving. And it is associated with high-risk sex.

 

[LongTimeListener]

I am not an accomplished toker -- where is Bodie, dammit -- but do people actually smoke marijuana to excess? I thought that was one benefit versus alcohol, that a little goes a long way. So smoking a joint a day would be like that one glass of wine.

I could be way off, but that was my (very limited and possibly incorrect) understanding.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Tobacco cigarettes are bad for you too. Why don't we make tobacco illegal?

 

[vicd]

I'm worried about teens and coffee
http://www.ehow.com/info_12272559_good-bad-effects-coffee-teenagers.html
The ill effects of high caffeine consumption are well documented, ranging from difficulty sleeping to nervousness, according to KidsHealth. Teens who drink too much coffee may also find themselves feeling nervous and irritable. High caffeine consumption can cause migraine headaches to surface, as well as heart problems. Teens should make an effort to consume less than 100 milligrams of caffeine a day, or the equivalent of one cup of caffeinated coffee, to reduce the negative side effects of coffee drinking.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I would supervise a marijuana session every day some day for my teen-age children if, in exchange, they agreed to not carry smart phones.

 

[YankeeFan]

Two reasons, probably. Alcohol is associated with high-risk driving. And it is associated with high-risk sex.

Marijuana is also associated with high risk driving:

Cannabis is second only to alcohol for causing impaired driving and motor vehicle accidents. In 2009, 12.8% of young adults reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs and in the 2007 National Roadside Survey, more drivers tested positive for drugs than for alcohol. These cannabis smokers had a 10-fold increase in car crash injury compared with infrequent or nonusers after adjustment for blood alcohol concentration.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130301122256.htm

And high risk sex:

Multiple studies suggest an association of marijuana use with increased rates of sexual risk behavior and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

...

In event-level analyses that controlled for alcohol, marijuana use predicted a significantly decreased likelihood of condom use;... These results provide further evidence that marijuana use is a potentially important cofactor for HIV/STD transmission in high-risk adolescents

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20853925

Treatment-seeking polysubstance abusers with current or past marijuana use histories may be at greater risk of HIV infection than their counterparts who do not use marijuana. These data underscore the importance of increasing awareness about the potential association between marijuana use and increased high-risk sexual behavior among polysubstance abusing patients.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23841867

And, let's not forget:

Smoking marijuana affects peoples' impulsivity, attention, memory, cognition and decision-making abilities.

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20110622/Research-focuses-on-how-marijuana-affects-decision-making-process.aspx

As if teens needed any encouragement to act impulsively, or make bad decisions.

 

[YankeeFan]

Tobacco cigarettes are bad for you too. Why don't we make tobacco illegal?

Because politicians are addicted to tobacco tax revenue, and also because they pander to the voters in tobacco states.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Two reasons, probably. Alcohol is associated with high-risk driving. And it is associated with high-risk sex.

Marijuana is also associated with high risk driving:

Cannabis is second only to alcohol for causing impaired driving and motor vehicle accidents. In 2009, 12.8% of young adults reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs and in the 2007 National Roadside Survey, more drivers tested positive for drugs than for alcohol. These cannabis smokers had a 10-fold increase in car crash injury compared with infrequent or nonusers after adjustment for blood alcohol concentration.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130301122256.htm

And high risk sex:

Multiple studies suggest an association of marijuana use with increased rates of sexual risk behavior and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Right. I don't doubt it. But I'm telling you why people may think that marijuana use is safer than alcohol use. And it's because they associate alcohol with high-risk driving and high-risk sex. If and when marijuana use becomes more prevalent, those same people may have to face its pitfalls. For now, the intuition is that anything is better than drunk driving and sexing.

 

[YankeeFan]

I'm worried about teens and coffee
http://www.ehow.com/info_12272559_good-bad-effects-coffee-teenagers.html
The ill effects of high caffeine consumption are well documented, ranging from difficulty sleeping to nervousness, according to KidsHealth. Teens who drink too much coffee may also find themselves feeling nervous and irritable. High caffeine consumption can cause migraine headaches to surface, as well as heart problems. Teens should make an effort to consume less than 100 milligrams of caffeine a day, or the equivalent of one cup of caffeinated coffee, to reduce the negative side effects of coffee drinking.

Is someone arguing with this?

Not me. More than one cup of coffee for a teen is not something I would advise. I wouldn't necessarily recommend any caffeine for a teen.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Why would you drink coffee any way when there's Adderall to be had?

 

[YankeeFan]

Right. I don't doubt it. But I'm telling you why people may think that marijuana use is safer than alcohol use. And it's because they associate alcohol with high-risk driving and high-risk sex. If and when marijuana use becomes more prevalent, those same people may have to face its pitfalls. For now, the intuition is that anything is better than drunk driving and sexing.

Sure. Alcohol has broader usage (and acceptance).

And, so there are a greater volume of instances where alcohol plays a part in high risk driving or sex. That doesn't make it any safer. And, that's what we were talking about.

I thought folks like Stoney would see that.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Right. I don't doubt it. But I'm telling you why people may think that marijuana use is safer than alcohol use. And it's because they associate alcohol with high-risk driving and high-risk sex. If and when marijuana use becomes more prevalent, those same people may have to face its pitfalls. For now, the intuition is that anything is better than drunk driving and sexing.

Sure. Alcohol has broader usage (and acceptance).

And, so there are a greater volume of instances where alcohol plays a part in high risk driving or sex. That doesn't make it any safer. And, that's what we were talking about.

I thought folks like Stoney would see that.

I want you to remember this conversation, and how people might misperceive something en masse, the next time you push us, or anybody, to assume that people make rational decisions in a marketplace.

 

[Bob Cook]

Also from the same article that gave YF reefer madness:

The report looked at a wide variety of drugs and substances. It found, for example, that drinking was steadily declining, with roughly 40 percent of high school seniors reporting having used alcohol in the past month, down from a peak of 53 percent in 1997. Abuse of the prescription painkiller Vicodin is half what it was a decade ago among seniors; cocaine and heroin use are at historic lows in almost every grade.

Cigarette smoking has also fallen precipitously in recent years. For the first time since the survey began, the percentage of students who smoked a cigarette in the past month dropped below 10 percent. Roughly 8.5 percent of seniors smoke cigarettes on a daily basis, compared with 6.5 percent who smoke marijuana daily, a slight increase from 2010.

The overall story, it appears, is that students aren't getting as stoned as they used to. Is it because of health concerns? Better knowledge of drugs? More difficulty in access? The student population growing poorer over the last 15 years, so they just can't afford to buy the stuff?

I understand the concern that teenagers perceiving marijuana as less dangerous might result in a growing use. I suspect the reason they're see it as less of a big deal is less about legalization and more about other drugs getting the spotlight under What Will Kill You.

 

[Huggy]

I'm sure the fact that every two-bit rapper, rocker, actor etc. you read about is totally consumed with weed has no bearing on this.

 

[Double J]

Indeed.

http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/122780/Weed-Is-My-Crutch-Robin-Thicke-Admits-Spending-500000-On-Marijuana

 

[LongTimeListener]

Indeed.

http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/122780/Weed-Is-My-Crutch-Robin-Thicke-Admits-Spending-500000-On-Marijuana

That must be why the lines are blurred.

 

[93Devil]

YF, have you ever gotten stoned?

YF, have you ever gotten wasted on alcohol?

If you answer no to either of the above, you should probably listen to the people who can answer yes to both.

 

[Dick Whitman]

YF, have you ever gotten stoned?

YF, have you ever gotten wasted on alcohol?

If you answer no to either of the above, you should probably listen to the people who can answer yes to both.

Personal anecdotes are more valuable than data tracking the experiences of thousands or tens of thousands of people?

 

[old_tony]

If you had the choice between allowing your 18-year-old son to have a glass of wine each night with dinner, or to smoke one joint after dinner, which would you choose?

This question is utterly irrelevant to this issue in the real world.

When real world American high schoolers drink, they don't just "have a glass of wine with dinner", instead they drink in pursuit of intoxication. They do it to get drunk, and if not for the drunk, then they'd have no interest in doing it. Anyone who doesn't understand that must've spent their high school and college aged years in a cave.

I know a lot of people who like the taste of certain liquors -- a high-end rum with coke, a really good whisky or brandy or scotch.

Do you know anyone who smokes marijuana for the taste? No? Then why do you think a teen drinking "for the drunk" is bad but a teen smoking marijuana for the high isn't?

 

[old_tony]

Why would you drink coffee any way when there's Adderall to be had?

I'd be a lot more concerned about teens and energy drinks rather than teens and coffee.