Cannabis how bad is it...? ( long sorry)

[I-S]

I think it might be worth showing him this thread...

It shows that you're thinking about it and finding out about it and trying to make sure that you do the right thing. It will also show that your point of view is that of concern for his well-being, both in the short term and the long term.

I'd be more concerned about the sudden non-attendance at college.

 

[lAmBoY]

Dont show him this thread - he will be led to believe that weed is OK. It isnt.

Your son is 16yrs old.

Thats the important point.

PBirkitt - Most of your last post is utter bollox. Dont I remebr a coupl eof threads from you maoning about lifestyle, health, motivation etc???

You are a victim of your own misunderstanding.

 

[Bob McC]

IAmBoY is dead right.
Bloody marvellous isn't it when the supporters of cannabis use illustrate its 'harmlessness' by the fact that they take it and have been able to hold down a job! I would hope rather more ambition for my offspring.

Bob

 

[kennyk]

Dont show him this thread - he will be led to believe that weed is OK. It isnt.

Your son is 16yrs old.

Thats the important point.

PBirkitt - Most of your last post is utter bollox. Dont I remebr a coupl eof threads from you maoning about lifestyle, health, motivation etc???

You are a victim of your own misunderstanding.

moreso since he didn't even remember posting about it the first time and had to be reminded...

 

[lordsummit]

As a teacher, I find it quite amazing the nonsense spouted about drug abuse, because that's what it is. Any secondary school that says it has no drug problem is lying, there will undoubtably be some pupils dabbling, and they are easy to spot. They're the ones who underachieve, are unfocussed, can't concentrate, find it hard to stay awake. Now I was no angel, and in late sixth form and at college I dabbled in one or two recreational drugs, but dabbling was what it was. Kids experiment, that's inevitable, but there is a big difference between experimenting, and regular usage.
Regular usage causes IME major apathy, lack of achievement, and a lack of commitment. Now some may say that's your average 16 year old lad, it is but 10 times worse.
S and C you need to decide what it is he's doing. Is it occasionally for a laugh with the lads, and are they pretty decent lads (the stats say about 80-90% of boys will try recreational drugs by the age of 18) or is he hanging around with a bunch of wasters (smoke daily or nearly every day)
Which one it is will result in different actions. If it was the first I'd try to feign ignorance, unless it started to become the second. It's part of growing up, I went to the pub and threw up after 4 or 5 pints of Stella. I soon learnt, and didn't drink Stella! If he seems to be opting into a lifestyle, things he's always wanted to do like sport, music, university seem to going out of the window in order to hang around with people who are not a positive influence, that's when you need to intervene. Try and lessen his exposure to them, monitor his schoolwork, only let him out some nights, make excuses, (ask his school/college how they think he's doing, does it match expectations? They'll know if there's a problem.) Talk to Frank and ask for their advice, or speak to any of the appropriate charities. At least you are concerned, that in itself tends to lead to a positive outcome.
Good luck

 

[Anex]

Finally, a lot of people say it is a gateway drug. That is just total and utter rubbish of the highest disorder -

I probably wouldn't have done anything else if I hadn't had grass first. Alcohol and tobacco are the first drugs you come into contact with yes but they're legal, grass brings you into another world in a sense.

 

[domfjbrown]

...SuperSkunk and the like, can cause serious freakouts as THC (the active ingredient) is technically a hallucinogen...

When you've just seen The Doors movie, then caught the end of Pink Floyd live at Earls Court on TV once the tape's stopped, after copious shotties, and your uni housemate INSISTS that Pink Floyd are the Doors, you start losing it.

Then you go to bed, and feel like you're actually lying in a coffin and dead, and these demons start flying around you, calling to you and telling you to "come to the other side", and you're saying "no" in your head, then finalling giving in and screaming "yeah, I'm coming over!".

This is so vivid that you end up panicking, whiting out and runnig downstairs and hurling your guts up in the toilet...

Not my finest hour... And people wander why I don't like absinthe

IF I ever had kids though, I'd just say "I don't condone these things, but I'd be a hypocrite if I said "DON'T do them"." and then have a pep talk about the do's and don'ts, whilst insisting that they have my (non-monetary of course!) support if anything goes wrong. It's tricky though...

 

[Anex]

It wouldn't be tricky if we had proper drug education in this country

 

[PBirkett]

PBirkitt - Most of your last post is utter bollox. Dont I remebr a coupl eof threads from you maoning about lifestyle, health, motivation etc???

You are a victim of your own misunderstanding.

So are you trying to tell me that ONLY cannabis caused it? I drank like a fish, and ate crap all the time. I've cut down on them all and feel better, and I know that weed is not completely to blame, in fact, its only a small part of why i felt like that.

But you dont know what you are talking about I'm afraid, if thats what you think. I never said it was completely without effect, but its certainly not the sole reason why I felt like what I did, several effects - it just so happens to make a good scapegoat.

IAmBoY is dead right.
Bloody marvellous isn't it when the supporters of cannabis use illustrate its 'harmlessness' by the fact that they take it and have been able to hold down a job! I would hope rather more ambition for my offspring.

Bob

Bloody marvellous is it? I'll just remind you i live in an area of high unemployment, something you shandy drinking southern fairies would not know anything about. And I hold down a good job with above average pay and I am still young. I have done well and my parents are proud of me. So thats a big **** you to you!

 

[lordsummit]

It wouldn't be tricky if we had proper drug education in this country

Education isn't just the responsibility of schools and the government. We're only face to face with them for about 6 hours a day. parents have a big part to play, and need to accept some responsibility for their youngsters actions instead of expecting everybody else to do it for them.

 

[TonyL]

LOL, 'shandy drinking southern fairies', Bob, that's you!

Tony.

PS Bob is actually from Lancashire.

 

[PBirkett]

Anything south of Durham is south to me mate

 

[domfjbrown]

Bloody marvellous isn't it when the supporters of cannabis use illustrate its 'harmlessness' by the fact that they take it and have been able to hold down a job!

I'm with pbirkett on this one I'm afraid. I was born blind, but now have a job which pays in the top 10% in Devon. I'd like to think I've done well enough. Besides, if I'd not discovered the stuff in Uni I'd probably have topped myself there, as the course I was on I'd been "cheated" onto, and I was therefore drowning in a sea of apathy. Don't tell me I should have worked harder or changed courses - I worked my ass off and couldn't afford to redo a course somewhere else.

I would hope rather more ambition for my offspring.

I leave the offspring to someone else. I'd like to think my kids'd do well, but since they'd all be disabled, I'm unselfish enough not to force yet another expensive burden onto society, thanks.

 

[Anex]

Education isn't just the responsibility of schools and the government. We're only face to face with them for about 6 hours a day. parents have a big part to play, and need to accept some responsibility for their youngsters actions instead of expecting everybody else to do it for them.

Of course but if the parents don't know anything about it either then where do you go? It leads to over-reaction etc. as all you ever hear about is drugs are bad this that and the other, particularly the blatant lies told about ecstacy related deaths and so on. So many news stories run, then a few weeks later theres 'killer used cocaine' and it turns out to have been months ago etc. EDIT: Although thats probably my fault for reading the evening standard but its free on the train and often good for a laugh (sort of). Its the same with drug testing, I'd have no objection to people doing dangerous jobs being drug tested, same with alcohol if they were testing for dosage i.e. is the person actually high at the time not has the person used drugs full stop- you can detect cocaine in a persons system for up to six months after they've used it as for some reason it is stored in your hair. Most of the people I know that have to go through it in jobs say they don't test for dosage, in a way fair enough as its illegal but imo as an occaisional user, its just an over reaction based on anti-everything drugs propgander. I haven't taken anything since the summer when I wasn't working after uni but I could possibly be sacked from my job now as they could probably find cocaine traces in my hair.
I just don't think always telling people not to do it because is the way to deal with things, I remember the drug 'education' from school, just made me want to try smack. Which I did.

 

[themadhippy]

hash sold in the UK contains faeces, polish or other such things. Take this with a large pinch of salt

The majority of hash (soapbar) IS made from varies nastys including turps diesel.wax,coffee.barbiturets and anything else they can bulk up the mix with.why do yo think its so cheap (£5 an 8th last time i was offered ),and yes i've smoked varies types of hash over the past 25 years and have seen the decline of the british hash.
Personally id rather see cannabis legalised,after all how many to tokers do you see on a friday night smashing up the town center or kicking the **** out of each other?
SID my advice is to stock up on crisps,choclate,twiglets ect get some good quality green, stick some sounds on and sit down with your son for a session

 

[rodrat]

Sid

I work with young offenders and have a lot of experience working with substance misuse. My advice for what its worth. To his face

Don't panic
Don't overeact.
Don't condem
Don't judge

you may feel some or all of these in private.

Do seek professional advice. There are a lot of 'old wife's tales' about cannabis some of which are contained in some of these posts.

It is more important to determine why he is using cannabis. This will help provide some indication of risk. If he and few otherwise sensible young people share a couple of joints at the weekend the risk may be lower. However, if he is trying to conform with peer pressure or ingratiate himself the risk element may be higher especially if he is socialising with a new group.

It is important that he fully understands the legal side. Possession of class C will not normally attract much in the way of a penalty but can result in a criminal conviction. The danger area is supply. If your son is asked by a mate to get him some the next time he buys (assuming that your son sources his own) he is supplying drugs which obviously carries a much higher penalty.

By all means tell your son that you do not like him using but if he will not stop or accept help (if needed) then you will not try to stop him. Warn him of the risks, set boundaries in relation to your home and property and leave the door open for discussion or access to help.

Please feel free to pm me if you want any advice on the legal side. I can advise you on drugs but I am more generic than specialist.

Rod

 

[lAmBoY]

PBirkett - You make a good advert for not becoming a stoner.

madhippy - I fear that I am in the same boat as you - the difference between starting 15 yrs ago (as i did) and starting now is that a) the quality is waay down, b)some grass is far too strong for newbies and c) cheap pills, speed, coke and others tend to be more readily available from the weed dealer.

For a 16yr old the ONLY recommendation to give is to try and stop him from going down the path of being a recreational drug user.

When did recreational drug use become a positive thing??? I speak from experience that it isnt.

 

[Anex]

I think it can be, I've had plenty of bad experiences but the good outweigh the bad, I've never not liked a drug and I've tried a fair few. They all opened my mind in some way or other, often to new types of music. Thats a positive thing for me.

 

[lAmBoY]

and you would recommend this to your kids?

 

[Anex]

Depends on what you mean by kids. I started smoking a bit of hash at 16 but very rarely as I hardly ever had the money to buy it with, it wasn't till I was 18 and had a bit of money that I really did anything. I did do some stupid things but I learnt ALOT in a very short time by doing it. I agree with you someone at 16 isn't emotionally mature enough to be smoking alot but if its a small amounts now and again and doesn't affect day to day life I can't see the harm in it. Seems to me its becoming part of growing up for most kids now, good or bad.