WHY TEENS NEED TO KNOW RISKS OF MARIJUANA

Teen Use of Pot Is at Its Highest in 30 Years, With 10th Graders More
Likely to Smoke a Joint Than a Cigarette. With the Spread of 'Medical'
Marijuana, They Perceive Less Risk -- Despite the Evidence.

One measure of the moral mettle of American society is the private
lives of teenagers. And we're not talking about a fascination with
vampires and werewolves.

On a few key benchmarks -- smoking, pregnancy, and alcohol use --
today's teens are making smarter choices. Trends show more of them
avoiding those particular misadventures of adolescence.

But that's not the case with marijuana.

Pot use is now more common among 10th-graders than cigarette smoking.
By their senior year, 1 in 15 teens use marijuana daily. That's up
from 1 in 20 just five years ago, according to a new survey done for
the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Abuse of marijuana is at its highest level in 30 years among eighth-
to 12th-graders. And it's not just the naturally grown marijuana,
which itself comes in a stronger form than the milder type used by
boomer parents during their wild-oats days.

This year's survey decided to ask teens about their use of a synthetic
marijuana known as K2, or spice. It was sold widely until last March,
when the Drug Enforcement Administration declared a few chemicals in
this synthetic pot to be Schedule I drugs. The FDA banned the
chemicals for a year, while Congress now weighs a permanent ban.

To the surprise of researchers, nearly 1 in 9 high school seniors said
they had used the synthetic pot over the past year. "K2 and spice are
dangerous drugs that can cause serious harm," warns Gil Kerlikowske,
director of National Drug Control Policy. "We will continue to work
with the public health and safety community to respond to this
emerging threat, but in the meantime, parents must take action."

Parents play a pivotal role not only in effectively communicating with
their children about their behavior but in telling them about the
dangers of pot -- in its effect on driving, mental health, and in
sexual consequences. (Research results have tied regular marijuana use
to serious mental health problems, especially for youth, while the
British Lung Foundation reports that smoking three to four joints is
the equivalent of smoking 20 tobacco cigarettes.)

The survey found that a teen's perceived risk of marijuana has fallen.
One reason is that 16 states now allow the sale of "medical"
marijuana, which is widely consumed for only recreational use. The
massive resale of such pot across state borders forced the Justice
Department to start enforcing the federal ban on marijuana production
and sale this year.

Another reason teens don't know about pot's risk is cutbacks in
prevention programs. Parents need such programs to help back up their
efforts to influence their teens. Public education programs about the
risks of smoking, alcohol, and teen pregnancy have helped to reduce
those problems among teens.

Cigarette and alcohol use, for example, is at the lowest point since
the survey of teens began in 1975 (although the decline in smoking
rates is slowing).

And the National Center for Health Statistics reported in November
that the teen pregnancy rate had fallen 9 percent from 2009 to 2010 --
the largest single-year drop since 1946-47 and the lowest level ever
reported. Much of that drop is attributed to sex-education and
abstinence programs.

When the Food and Drug Administration still regards marijuana as a
dangerous substance, calling it a medicine isn't helping teens or
their parents. Government needs to send a clear, loud message about
marijuana's dangers.