Teens tend to think marijuana use is no big deal, but they’re wrong.

(Washington Post, April 20) While teenagers might be binge-drinking less and having less sex than the previous generation did, marijuana use among teens, which had declined from the late 1990s through the mid-to-late 2000s, is on the rise again. This is a problem because, despite our culture’s increasingly casual attitudes toward pot, research suggests that marijuana use can damage the developing teen brain.
 
Perhaps one reason kids don’t see pot as dangerous is because they know (or think) their parents smoked it. Even if parents haven’t come clean with their kids about their own marijuana use, teens who have watched any of the ‘80s stoner classics or who have seen reruns of “That ’70s Show” know that smoking pot was “cool” even when Mom and Dad were young.
 
Teenagers also might be more inclined to use pot because of the increased availability of marijuana edibles. Brownies, cookies and even gummy bears are now common forms of marijuana consumption. Read more.