Parenting Just Got A Lot harder with Legal Marijuana
This site is designed to help parents quickly understand marijuana in the 21st century.
When it comes to preventing drug use among kids, parents are the most important factor. But access to a drug and the perception of its harm are two powerful Environmental Prevention factors that help reduce use as well. Most parents don’t realize these environmentally-based protective factors exist and are working on their behalf to help keep their kids away from drugs - until the protections are gone. “Legalization” a.k.a commercialization of marijuana, in this case, destroys these protections. Increased access to marijuana occurs rapidly, and at the very same time the perception of marijuana’s harm goes down for all of us and especially our kids. Almost instantly after legalization, “it can’t be that bad for you - they made it legal” becomes the prevailing sentiment. And in fact, it’s hard to argue against. Add pervasive messaging from an aggressive Industry with deep pockets - The Marijuana Industry (sometimes called Tobacco 2.0) - and many parents wake up reeling from constant pro-pot commentary and beliefs from their kids. That belief can quickly become use, then heavy use in a short amount of time - some parents find their kids addicted before they realize their kids know what marijuana is and are using it. In the most tragic cases, some parents lose their children to this drug - fatal car accidents, suicides and debilitating mental illnesses - all from what their kid thought was just a little harmless weed.
At the end of 2018, 9 states plus the District of Columbia have passed laws legalizing the recreational use of Marijuana (RecLegal), and 29 states have passed laws legalizing some form of medical marijuana (MedLegal). This site is designed to help parents quickly understand marijuana in the 21st century as well as legalization so we are all - parents, kids, families, communities - better prepared to react, plan, prevent and manage the new RecLegal world some 80 million of us find ourselves living in.
