Which would bug you more? 16 year old smokes cigs daily or pot weekly? (self, life)
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Thats a hard question to answer. I hate cigarettes so I absolutely would not be happy with my child smoking every day whereas I don't have a problem with pot generally speaking but there is a history of mental illness in the family and I would be concerned that that would compound the (very small, admittedly) risks from smoking pot.
If I had to choose, the cigs would scare me much much more.
Not that I'd like either, choosing pot over a cig is like choosing the shiniest turd out of the crapper.
Cigarettes don't have much behavioral effects. But compared to pot, it's more addictive and there's a risk he could be smoking decades for now with health problems, though it's not too hard for smokers to quit when they're young and only have done it for a few years.
Realistically, pot / once a week isn't that high for a high schooler, it could be a phase he'll grow out of. It's low enough it probably won't interfere with normal life.
"Cannabis psychosis" gave me a huge hearty laugh; thanks for that!
US fatalities caused by tobacco use per year: 440,000
US fatalities caused by alcohol use per year: 75,000
US fatalities caused by marijuana use per year: 0
Obviously no parent wants their kids smoking anything at all, but marijuana is absolutely the least harmful substance a person can try. Instead of demonizing it, learn about its relative safety compared to legal intoxicants, prescription drugs, even junk food.
That's like saying, would you rather be boiled in oil or just fried in it?
Neither is an acceptable choice.
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Originally Posted by Ceece
Both.
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Originally Posted by DewDropInn
Both would bother me.
We're not asking what is acceptable; we're asking which one would bother you more. One of them HAS to bother you more - even if it is just an itty bitty bit more.
Cigs, by FAR. They stink, they're terrible for you, extremely addictive, and provide no benefits of any kind. Marijuana has never been conclusively linked to any kind of cancers or lung damage. If anything, it actually protects against certain types of cancer. It's relatively nonaddictive, entirely nontoxic, and probably one of the safest drugs one can possibly use. When used properly, it can be a source of insight, creativity, and even pain relief.
I would not be particularly worried if I caught my child smoking pot. We would of course be having a serious discussion on the nature of marijuana and responsible use, but I certainly wouldn't fly off the handle, yell, or punish them, or even force them to stop. Making things taboo and punishing kids over perfectly safe boundary exploration and experimentation is only going to invite intense resentment and rebellious tendencies sooner or later, and there's a chance they could end up using more and worse drugs in the end because they were taught to have poor relationships with otherwise perfectly safe recreation substances.
Pot would bother me more. From what I understand, pot is a mind/mood altering drug that kills the desire to do productive work.
That pretty much describes video games, watching TV, texting, Facebook and most of everything else that 16 years olds want to do. At least on the desire to do productive work part.
I'm not naive enough to think that my 16 year olds won't do all kinds of things we find unacceptable, but thy already know that both of these are against our house rules. When they are old enough to move out and live on their own, they can do whatever they want. As long as they are living with us, there are rules to live by and consequences for not following them.
When they are old enough to move out and live on their own, they can do whatever they want.
I wouldn't write this. Just because they are out of the house, it is not acceptable for them to do unhealthy things. And, even though they are out of the house, you may still have some control over them financially (college, loans, inheritance, trusts, etc)
I'm not a parent yet, but looking 16 years into the future, this is what I imagine I would think:
Pot x 100. Especially if it is only a few times a month. 1/2 a pack to 1 pack a day is a lot of cigarettes for anyone to be smoking, let alone a young kid. How would a kid that age find enough time in the day to smoke 10-15 cigarettes? They obviously cannot smoke much at school, so they must just be chain smoking once they get off campus. And if you smoke that much as a kid, you are looking at a steep uphill battle against the addiction. 2-packs a day is in that kid's near future. I smoked a bit in college and after college, but the most I ever got up to was maybe half a pack a day, and it was not a huge issue to quit (though I do bum a friend's cig here and there).
I would prefer my 16 to not smoke pot at all, but just a few times a month isn't bad. I smoked pot at a much higher frequency when I was in high school (3-4 times a week), and while I grew up just fine I do regret it a bit. Mostly because I think of all the times I came a millisecond away from getting busted, which could have significantly effected my future (expulsions, etc.).
I would also prefer my kid to be smoking pot a few times a month to getting drunk every weekend (especially because teens tend to drink and drive a lot).
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