Is Marijuana Use Harmless?

Many parents think that smoking weed is a harmless, and inevitable part of teenage life. They need to think again.

Teenage Pot Smokers Can Lower their I.Q. For Life.

A study from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) in the United States points out that a teenager using cannabis can affect his/her Intelligence Quotient, or I.Q., for the rest of his/her life. Using marijuana affects critical thinking and memory immediately, with these effects sometimes lasting for days. Nora Volkow in Washington Post’s The Myths of Smoking Pot, indicates this impairment can last for years - or a lifetime:

… if you are an adolescent and you are taking marijuana, there is a higher increased risk for addiction and there is also a higher risk for long-lasting decreases in cognitive capacity — that is, lowering of IQ.

A pot impaired teenage driver, already inexperienced at the wheel, is at high risk of motor vehicle accidents and other threatening consequences of poor judgement. These young people likely do not realize that drug rehab may be in their future. Read more about teenage marijuana use risks.Today's parents of teenagers may have occasionally smoked marijuana themselves as high school or college students. Possibly there seemed no apparent negative consequences for these parents, and therefore these mothers and fathers of teenager pot smokers, may not see marijuana use by their own children as much of a problem. They need to take a closer look. Marijuana today is not the same as it was in the 1970’s and 1980’s.[caption id="attachment_3207" align="alignright" width="300"]

Young Teens Risk Lowering I.Q. by Smoking Weed[/caption]The University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute (ADI) claims that children start smoking at much younger age than they did 30 years ago, and they tend to smoke the much stronger flower buds of the marijuana plant rather than the leaves and stems their parents may have smoked. The actual strength of the TCH in the plant has also increased between 2 and 7 times. Read more here about teenagers smoking stronger cannabis.

How do you know if your child needs drug rehab for smoking weed?

The bottom line is that using marijuana today for teenagers is a life affecting decision. The child enters into the world of illegal drugs, meeting drug dealers and people entrenched in this dangerous lifestyle. Their grades usually begin to drop immediately and attitudes and actions may not resemble the child the parents or siblings thought they knew at all. If you are wondering if your child has a problem with marijuana, he or she probably does. Drug rehab for pot use, early in the teenager’s life can prevent an escalation of drug use. Address the problem now, before the child moves on to oxycontin, meth, heroin, cocaine or deadly binge drinking of alcohol.A place where young adults or older teenagers can heal and learn to life a sober, exciting and responsible life is available now. Going out of country for help protects your child’s privacy and keep his/her private life out of government and medical records which could affect him/her later in life. Serenity Vista in the Republic of Panama is a great choice for a change of life direction.