Where to Turn for Help/ResourcesYou are not alone. Find support for yourself via friends or a counselor who understands what you are going through and who can back you up.

Check to see if there is a support group or organization in your community that will offer services to teens. If the teen is already seriously involved with drugs, a local health clinic may know about treatment and recovery programs for youth.

Show the L-Evated: The Blunt Truth video to teens and their friends. The youth-oriented video uses a hip-hop flavor and real-life situations to show the consequences of marijuana use in a way that young people can easily relate and respond to. Call 1-877-MEE-PROD to order your copy.

Use your home computer, go to your neighborhood library or use the resource room in your local recreation center for access to the latest informa-tion and ideas about dealing with marijuana. Surf the Web together. You both can discover information that will be fun and interesting. Here are a few Websites to get you started:

www.prevention.orgThis award-winning Website is full of information on teen-oriented Websites for drug abuse prevention.

www.samhsa.govInformation on preventing drug abuse among youth, spon-sored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Check out these toll-free hotlines. Even many of the national organiza-tions can refer you to an agency right in your community where you can get help:

1-800-662-HELPConfidential information and referral line that can direct you to drug abuse treatment centers in our community. Sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

1-800-729-6686Confidential 24-hour hotline offers trained specialists who can answer questions about how to prevent drug abuse. You can also order free information and materials through this hotline, run by the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI).

Talking and Listening• Be the kind of parent your child will come talk to—keep lines

of communication open. • Have honest discussions with your child. Be open about your

own concerns and fears. All of us have done things we regret. Some of us have even smoked marijuana ourselves. But by being open, we give our children a chance to learn from our experi-ences.

• When you talk to youth, don’t preach; try to understand where they are coming from.

• Ask your child’s opinion about family problems and decisions around drug use.

Setting the Tone • First, be clear about what your expectations are for your youth.

Think about how you really feel about your child smoking mari-juana and using other drugs. Is it OK for him or her to “take a hit” to experiment? Is it OK to go to parties where people are smoking weed? Is it OK for them to have friends that smoke, as long as they don’t? At what point will they be old enough to decide for themselves whether or not to smoke? These are the types of things you need to have straight in your mind before you take on this conversation.

• Be consistent about rules and about what type of behavior you feel is acceptable.

• Set firm, but fair and realistic limits.• Talk to youth about taking responsibility for their actions. Teach

them to think about the consequen-ces of their behavior and their decisions.

• Describe a situation and ask them to think through what they might do if it happened. Have them think of the various choices they have, along with what the consequences of those choices might be.

Being a Good Role ModelChildren imitate the adults around them, so we have to be good role models. Take a look at your own behavior. Ask yourself these questions:

• What messages are you giving your child? • Have your children ever seen you high or drunk? • When you’re stressed out, do you “chill out” by taking a drink

or a drug? • How do you handle it when you’re feeling depressed or down?

Despite what we may think, our children learn from how we deal with issues like these. We should model exercise and good nutrition, take care of our bodies and show young people how important it is to maintain positive relationships with our part-ners, children and friends.

TheBLUNTTruth

What Teens Need to Know About Marijuana

Close to 69 million Americans over the age of 12 have tried marijuana at least once in their lifetime.

-National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

THE BLUNT TRUTH

Between 1991 and 1999, marijuana use doubled among 8th- and 10th-grade stu-dents and increased by one-third for high school students. While these numbers go up, the number of students who see marijuana as harmful goes down.

-NIDA

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Other Terms and DefinitionsDutch – a small quantity of marijuanaFifty –about seven grams of marijuana; more than you’d typically have for personal useHerb Gate, The Spot, The Corner – a street corner location where marijuana is smoked and sold“L” – a blunt, an emptied-out cigar filled with marijuanaPapers- thin white paper used for rolling a jointRoach Clip- a small, spring-loaded device, similar to tweezers, used to grip the last remaining part of a joint, to keep the smoker from burning or staining his/her fingersBong- a water-filled pipe with tubing used to smoke marijuana, which is placed in its small bowl

Parents have a lot more power to prevent our children from smok-ing marijuana than we may think. We not the TV, not youth’s hip-hop music, not their friends need to be their primary source of information and guidance. To make a difference, we have to able to counter the negative images and messages young people see and hear every day about using drugs. Being prepared by educating and arming yourself with facts and information will make it easier to talk to your child about smoking marijuana. This guide which can be used by biological parents, other caregivers or anyone who cares about young people ages 10 to 17 can help you get that conversation started. It can be used alone or along with the video, L-Evated: The Blunt Truth.

Remember, if you don’t talk to your youth about drugs, someone else will. Don’t let your children learn about marijuana “in the streets,” where the information could be wrong. It’s up to you to set the facts straight and let them know how you feel about smoking marijuana.

Don’t feel that by talking to your children about marijuana, you are encouraging them to try it. Instead, you’re giving them the information they need to make good decisions especially dur-ing those times when you won’t be there to tell them what to do.

This guide has the most current information possible, but you know with young people, things constantly change. There may also be different marijuana-related terms and issues depending on your part of the country. The important thing is to keep your eyes and ears open, so that you stay aware of new and "coded" terms as they come out.

With today’s youth, drugs and slang terms change as often as fashions. If we use old, outdated terms and information, youth may tune us out because they think we don’t really know what we’re talking about. By listening to their music and reading their magazines, we have a good start on educating ourselves.

There are probably at least 200 different slang terms for mari-juana. Here are some examples:

Weed Boom Kill or KillaBlunt Ganja That Hot Sh*tFire Bud “L”Tree(s) Joint/“J” FlowersDub Lah ChronicHerb Lid A Dime/A NickDoobie Spliff Hydro Gank Cannabis StickyWet Ganja BeadiesRoach Phillies

Start talking to your youth early, in a way that makes sense for his or her age. For younger children, don’t throw out a lot of facts they may not understand. It’s more important to teach them to feel good about and take care of their bodies and minds. With older children, though, we should teachthem the facts about how drugs can mess up their lives.

Marijuana Myths vs. Reality

Myth: Marijuana is not addictive.Reality: Marijuana contains THC (tetra-hydro-canna-binol), the chemical that produces the “high.” The longer you smoke, the more your body builds up a tolerance to THC. That means you end up having to smoke more marijuana, more often, to get the same high you got when you first started smoking. You can become dependent on it.

Myth: Marijuana does not impair or affect you.Reality: The chemicals in marijuana can make it hard to remember things. It can also make you unable to make quick decisions when you need to, and keep you from using good judg-ment. Smoking marijuana can make you paranoid and slow down your reflexes. It affects your ability to concentrate in school and anywhere else. Mixing marijuana with alcohol makes the prob-lem even worse.

Myth: Marijuana doesn’t lead to harder drugs.Reality: Most hard-core drug users (crack, cocaine, heroin) will tell you that their drug use started with casually smoking mari-juana. That’s why it is called a “gateway” to more powerful and dangerous drugs. It can happen.

Myth: Marijuana does not cause lasting health problems.Reality: Marijuana actually contains more cancer-causing agents than cigarettes. That’s why marijuana users have a greater risk of developing certain types of cancers and problems like bronchitis, sore throats and coughs. When marijuana smokers take big puffs of unfiltered smoke and then hold it in their lungs as long as they can, they’re doing real damage to their lungs and heart.

They Say, You Say

They say: Marijuana makes me more creative.You say: You’re selling yourself short. Marijuana fools you into believing that you’re being creative. Just imagine how much more you could do without it. The real test of creativity is being able to produce great ideas without a crutch like using drugs.

They say: I’m young and I can handle it.You say: If you smoke constantly, then your life and your atti-tude are going to change for the worse. If you’re in control, show it and give it up.

They say: I’m bored. There’s nothing to do.You say: You have better things to do with your time than get high. You’re missing out on chances to do better things with your life.

They say: Most of my friends smoke.You say: Why do what everybody else is doing? If you see everybody smoking, then you’ve seen first-hand how marijuana can mess up people’s lives. You’ve seen how people who smoke a lot stop caring about themselves and how they look and dress. Is that what you want for yourself? Be real. Be true to yourself. Your smoky breath and red eyes are not cool.

Introduction

“Street” Names for Marijuana

Preparing Yourself for a Dialogue

Connecting With Your Child

Copyright © 2002 by MEE Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

The best way to know if your child might be smoking marijuana or even thinking about it is to be involved in his or her life in a close and constant way. If you are, you may sense that something is going on, even if none of these signs is there:

Signs Your Child May Be Using Marijuana:

• Sudden loss of coordination/bumping into things/tripping• Happy or laughing for no reason• Can't remember things• Depth perception problems• Increased appetite—having the "munchies"• Lack of motivation, even for doing things they used to likeDiffi-

culty concentrating/restless• Tiredness• Paranoid or secretive behavior• Red or bloodshot eyes• Skipping school/big drop in grades• Missing money or other valuables around the houseFinding drug

paraphernalia in the house or a bookbag• Brown or discolored fingertips• Cut-open cigars or loose tobacco in the trash can or around the

house (emptied out from a cigar)• Very small holes in clothes (from hot ashes that fall while smoking)• Smoky scent in the clothes

• Get into the habit of asking your young person how he or she is feeling.

• Reward youth’s good behavior as much as possible; don’t only talk to him or her about what is wrong. If you have a child that isn’t smoking marijuana, reinforce that behavior by encouraging him or her to continue staying away from drugs.

• Teach young people to feel good about themselves. Young people should know that you love, accept and respect them as individu-als.

• Spend quality time with your child, one-on-one and as part of a group, at a meal or other family gathering.

• Know your children’s friends and what they’re doing when they’re not at home. Invite the entire peer group to come over to your house to “hang out.” It’s a great way to get a sense of who they are and what they’re about.

• Let youth know that you understand how hard it is to resist peer pressure when it seems like “everybody’s doing it,” and that you will try to help them deal with it.

• Listen to the music and watch the TV shows and movies that your children are watching. Point out the messages about marijuana they see and hear. When you watch and read things together, that’s a great time to talk and teach them about drugs and other important issues. Don’t let these chances pass you by. Discuss some negative examples of the reality (as opposed to the fantasy) of drug use from right in your own community or family.