My teenager has been wanting money and clothes for Christmas for the past two or three years, which makes holiday shopping for me a breeze.  But what if your teen were to add a dime bag of weed to their list? I’m speaking figuratively of course, but research shows that marijuana is what a lot of teens want these days. Is your teen one of the many who have developed a love/love relationship with the narcotic?

According to  the annual study performed by ‘Monitoring The Future’:

Marijuana use is holding steady among eighth, 10th- and 12th-graders in the United States and tobacco smoking rates remain low.  Each year, the survey gathers information from teens about their use of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco, as well as asking them questions regarding their attitudes about the drugs.

As the parent of a high school student, I’m privy to information about my daughter’s friends and peers in general.  Sadly, she reports that a large number of her associates are marijuana users, sexually active, and a few have experimented with Meth.  I’m not at all surprised, but extremely disappointed to find that sex and drugs are running rampant among our children.

I plead with my teen to leave an anonymous note for her counselor about the drug issues at school. She looked at me like I was totally insane.  She didn’t understand my concern and didn’t see how she was at all responsible for reporting this information.  She explained that she would be considered a snitch and didn’t want any part of it.

Cnn reports that this year, 6.5% of 12th-graders said they smoke marijuana daily.

That’s slightly down from 2011, when 6.6% said they smoked it daily. Teens’ perception about the harmfulness of using marijuana was down, which may signal future increases in marijuana use.

It’s impossible to know what your teen is doing at all times, but by asking questions and watching for changes in behavior you can try and stay ahead of the curve. One simple way to stay informed on your teens behaviors is by taking inventory of the company they are keeping. Also, don’t be afraid to ask them pointed questions and in my opinion light snooping is fair game.

Words by Sid Powell
Source: Cnn.com

Sid Powell is the NAACP-nominated screenplay writer of ‘Somebody’s Child’, a mother of two, and the owner of SIDPo Productions. Read more about how SIDPo Productions is ‘Changing Everything’ at www.sidpoproductions.com.