An Open Letter to Parents About Marijuana
Did You Know?Marijuana puts kids at risk. It is the most widely used
illicit drug among youth today and is more potent than ever. Marijuana use can
lead to a host of significant health, social, learning and behavioral problems
at a crucial time in a young person’s development. Getting high also impairs
judgment, which can wreak havoc on teens in high-pressure social situations,
leading to risky decision making on issues like sex, criminal activity or riding
with someone who is driving high.
And don’t be fooled by popular beliefs. Kids can get hooked on pot. Research
shows that marijuana use can lead to addiction. More teens enter treatment for
marijuana abuse each year than for all other illicit drugs combined.
This fall, America’s youth will hear a new message about marijuana, thanks to
collaboration among federal agencies, public health organizations, educators and
concerned parents.The initiative will inform young people that using marijuana
has real consequences and can put their futures at risk. It will teach them that
the dangers of marijuana are not overblown and must be taken seriously. Most of
all, this campaign will dispel the myths about marijuana by concentrating on the
facts.
Time and again, kids say their parents are the single most important
influence when it comes to drugs. So this message needs to start with you. Kids
need to hear how risky marijuana use can be.They need to know how damaging it
can be to their lives. And they need to begin by listening to someone they
trust.
To learn more about marijuana and how to keep your kids drug-free, please
visit www.TheAntiDrug.com or call (800) 788-2800.
Then talk with your kids.Together, we can help them separate the myths from
the facts.
Signed:
• American Academy of Family Physicians
• National Center for
School Health Nursing
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• American College
of Emergency Physicians
• National Crime Prevention Council
• National
Families in Action
• American Medical Association
• National Family
Partnership
• American Society of Addiction Medicine
• National Indian
Health Board
• Child Welfare League of America
• National Medical
Association
• Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America/Drug-Free Kids
Campaign
• National PTA
• Office of National Drug Control Policy
•
National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse
• The
National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia
University
• National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Directors
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PARENT'S GUIDE
