Your top questions on marijuana--answered!

1. Tell me about the marijuana landscape

The legalization of marijuana is growing. It is legal in some form (medical or recreation use)  in 23 states and that number is expected to grow. With it come pot shops, ads for cannabis products in the newspaper,  and more public consumption, so more kids will be exposed to it.

2. What do parents need to know about pot?

·        It’s stronger than when we were young, so a smaller amount can have a bigger effect.

·        It comes in lots of forms: candy bars, lozenges, brownies, gummy bears, honey sticks to put in tea, among others.

·        It is bad for the developing brain. In the Dunedin Study, in which more than 1,000 people were tracked over a 30-plus-year period, those who used pot regularly as teens and young adults permanently lost six points from their IQ scores. Habitual use is associated with school failure and problems with motivation, attention and learning.

3. Is it addictive?

It can be, especially for teens.  Dr. Paula Riggs, director of the Division of Substance Dependence at the University of Colorado-Denver's School of Psychiatry says studies are clear that one out of every 11 adults who tries marijuana will become dependent or addicted, while one out of six adolescents will become daily or near-daily users. Like any risky behavior, the longer they put it off, the less likely it will be a problem.

4. What's a good first step for parents to take?

Talk to your kids early and often. Let them know that legal does not mean safe. And it definitely does not mean safe for youth. Stress that their brains are developing and that pot really affects that.

5. What’s the deal with edibles?

Edibles are drinks and foods like juices and baked goods that contain an extract of pot and will get you high – like the pot brownies your college roommate may have made. But now they are packaged in attractive ways and are sitting on pot shop shelves.

They are really tricky and really easy to take too much of. They kick in 30-90 minutes after you eat or drink them, and each person is different. The effect also depends on whether you have a full or empty stomach. The biggest problem is when the person thinks it isn’t affecting them because they take so long to kick in and then they take more. And when it all takes effect, they are a mess.

6. What about parents who choose to use pot themselves?

If you have any pot in the house, keep it locked away, especially if you have edibles and young kids. You don’t want them finding your candy stash and ending up in the emergency room.

7. Should you tell your kids you use pot?

It depends on the parents, the maturity level of the kids, and lots of other factors. Some experts says that kids will think it is okay to do if they know their parents use it. No matter which road parents take on disclosing their own use, the most important thing is to tell kids it is just not safe for them and really will affect their growing brains.

8. Too stoned to drive?

Unlike alcohol, which is really standardized in its dosage and the rule-of thumb of metabolizing one drink per hour, the varying strength and amount of the pot you take in coupled with your own body chemistry makes it really hard to put a timetable on its effect. There is a new app coming out called Canary which goes through some simple tests to tell you if you are impaired - but it shouldn't be used as a way to reassure yourself that you're not impaired, and it can't provide a guarantee that you're ok. The safest thing is to not get stoned and drive. Take a cab, have a designated driver, tell your kid you will pick them up. Better safe than sorry.

9. How much secondhand smoke causes you to be stoned?

10. Is there anything good about legalization?

There are at least three good things: 

- Likely reduction of our prison population

- Medical patients can have their medicine for cancer pain relief, PTSD, etc.

- Marijuana sold will be tested, so it won’t be spiked with nasty additives – that will make it safer.