Cannabis Conversations: Talking to Kids

A marijuana handbook navigates the discussion of educating children about cannabis, and shares some tips on how to pull it off successfully. Talking about marijuana is a tough subject for a lot of parents, whether it be their own use or their child’s potential use. Our nation’s diverse marijuana laws only complicate it further. I am not a parent, but I spoke with many parents for my book, “Mary Jane: The Complete Marijuana Handbook for Women,” most of whom are involved in the cannabis movement and have a lot of experience with the subject, as well as the public’s reactions to it. With few exceptions, the parents I spoke with believed honesty was the best policy — albeit at the right time and in the proper context. When parents choose to have “the talk” about marijuana use, their children usually fall into two age ranges: younger kids, usually still in elementary school, and teenagers. Many parents like to wait until the junior high and high school years, when they know their kids will likely be exposed to marijuana from outside sources. Parents usually prefer that their children learn the truth about the effects and risks of pot use at home, instead of hearing hyped-up propaganda from school authorities or misinformation from their friends. Other parents prefer to talk to their kids about marijuana earlier, when their children are in elementary school. Sometimes it’s a school unit on drugs or a presentation from the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) that raises…

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