if your kids just can't stop smoking pot (which is bullshit, anyone can quit) then make sure they know not to fuck around and get caught with it or to try and act like a gangster and sell it. The harms that come from smoking pot at a young age are far outweighed by the possible legal consequences. As indicated above^. If for no other reason, a 13 year old kid should not smoke pot because they are far too fucking stupid and get caught with it or in trouble because of it.
I remember smoking on a school bus when i was younger, that is the kind of stupidity you can expect. Or kids getting high in an actual class room while the teacher steps out for a second. It's funny to remember but those were massive risks and for no reason at all, other than being extremely immature.
I wasn't a big stoner until i was 18 and am now a drug addict. I see many people mentioning that cannabis will lead people to harder drugs, for the most part, people who sell cannabis sell only cannabis. They don't have crack/heroin/coke around. They are usually just stoners supporting their own use, not people who are out to make a ton of money by selling drugs. It's not like opening pandora's box and all of the sudden you have heroin at your disposal, i don't even know how a 13 year old could support an actual drug habit anyway, unless their allowance is pretty insane.
13 is just too young to even appreciate getting high properly and in a safe manner, whether it is damaging or not. I have a little brother who is 12 and i don't think i'd be cool with him getting high so young, my whole family smokes pot, as well as much of my extended family and pretty much everyone i know does as well, so i'd prefer that he just holds off until he is 18 or whatever. The brain isn't fully developed until the mid twenties i'm pretty sure, so it's a bit ridiculous to make a claim to hold off until then.
Different strokes, I guess, whereas the legal ramifications of getting busted sure can fuck up your life, I don't think that anyone can deny that it does have an effect on anyone's mind, and, as I have seen, it seems to make some people quick-witted, extroverted and funnier, from my experience, they are in the minority. In my experience, I enjoyed the psycho-mindwandering-door opening- wonderful conversations we had when getting totally stoned, discussing religion, face-trees, illuminadi and whatever else came into mind.
However, as I got older, (like almost 40) that it shut me the fuck up, and caused me paranoia, and that it was stopping me from letting go and talking shit cos i was worried what others would think/was I saying without causing offence etc, so I unconsciously dropped it from my intake inventory. Not that thats the same for everyone.
OK, the town I grew up in, we all smoked pot, (at least in my crew..) I don't live there anmore, I live in another country, but visit from time to time. However, when I go there now (20 years down the track) if I want to score, (meth) I go to the same people that I used to score mull off when I was a teen. I was surprised, as I lived in a remote corner of the world for about 15 years, having a family and building a career, but when I went back there and got onto the newest best thing... it was the same dudes who were the key players. (not that I hold anything against them for that, they have simply moved with the market, I was friends with them back in the day, I am still friends with them)
So, yea, I will say that any drug is a gateway drug, depends on the user. The kids who get off on dizzy spin games maybe more prone to addictness, I don't know. I remember my first tobacco-spin... it was horrid, but I loved it. Mostly kids who are adventurous and smart tend to explore. And face it, drugs initially feel good, or you wouldn't bother. However, to the OP, you can make rules, you don't want to alienate him, however he will smoke as much as he likes when he can, and you are better off to encourage other activies to distract him from it, such as sports and organised activities to prevent those bored moments. Even though you will probably find that after a good day's rock climbing (or skiing or whatever) the participants will probably sit round and pass a joint.
Thats fine. The joint isnt the main game, its the 'celebration' or unwind, bebrief, whatever. Its when the joint is the main game it becomes the issue.
Excuse my ramble, I have a 19 year old son, whom I am constantly trying to keep reminding that drugs are not the main game, however, I don't set the best example.
Weed certainly is underestimated by my generation and I know a lot of people my age who can't quit and now have to waste their lives in the judicial system.
