![]() Kids today experience enormous stress, and they crave, as we all do, peace and serenity. We also can’t discount the pressure we’re putting on our children to succeed in the form of academic performance and athletics. Indeed, it’s during this time after school before the parents are home and the kids are unsupervised that so much of the trouble begins. I think growing up today, unless you’re in some kind of protected environment, you’re going to see bullying at school, pressure to use drugs, and, in many cases, a lack of parental oversight because both parents are working. And today’s movies, video games, and music-I believe they all intensify their stress levels. When I grew up, I didn’t worry about kids walking into school with guns. They feel extremely stressed out and anxious, and I think their problems are very, very real. Kids are telling me that their lives are out of control. I’m not sure that the reasons for smoking marijuana have changed all that much, but the motivation or desire to use seems to be intensifying. I have a son who is in recovery, and in his case, marijuana was also his drug of choice. In the end, neither can be ignored.Ī lot of kids who I work with at the Juvenile Justice Center tell me that they “wake and bake,” and use marijuana daily. Of course, it’s often very difficult to tell which comes first: the drug use or the anxiety and depression. The research is clear on the intimate connection between chemical dependency and mental health problems. Consider that, by conservative estimates, half of young people with addictions (alcohol, marijuana or other drugs) also have a mental health disorder. They claim it’s effective for stress and gets rid of their anxiety. Just as important, though, is that kids say that it relaxes them. These factors make it an easy drug to obtain and adds to its popularity. Marijuana is easily available, relatively cheap, and it’s becoming legal in more and more places. I knew it, but ignored it because I couldn’t imagine he’d do that.” And I wanted to believe he was not involved with alcohol or other drugs. “Although I’ve written nine books on addiction, I didn’t know my own son was smoking marijuana until I found the pipe wrapped up in his gym clothes. “Chances are, if you think that your child has been smoking pot, he or she probably has.”-Katherine Ketcham “I have extreme empathy for any parent who is dealing with this in their family.” Katherine understands the difficulties families go through when dealing with addiction firsthand. She is also the mother of three children. “No one is immune to the disease of addiction,” warns Katherine Ketcham, the coauthor of thirteen books, including Teens Under the Influence: The Truth About Kids, Alcohol, and Other Drugs – How to Recognize the Problem and What to Do About It and the bestselling classic Under the Influence: A Guide to the Myths and Realities of Alcoholism.įor the last eight years, she has worked with addicted youth and families at the Juvenile Justice Center in Walla Walla, Washington.
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