No one dislikes having honest conversations with children more than their parents – and no one has a stronger reason to tell a convenient lie than their parents. Let’s face it, one of the “secrets” of effective parenting is the use of the Platonic lie – sacrificing honesty for the sake of harmony. You may deny it, but let’s be real: sometimes you don’t know the right answers, sometimes you don’t want to say anything, and sometimes it’s just easier to make something up when your four-year-old wants a deep philosophical discussion before bedtime. These may seem like small victories, but they are hollow and short-lived. This applies to talking to children about cannabis as well. In a time when millions of adults have access to recreational marijuana and may even keep it in their homes, and when there is growing acceptance and evidence for using medical cannabis to treat specific ailments in children, it is important to be honest from the start.
But before you can be honest with your children, you must first be honest with yourself. If you are over 30, chances are you have been exposed to years of anti-cannabis propaganda from parents, teachers, and other authority figures who have let you down. So the first step is to educate yourself on the science of cannabis. This is the approach taken by Elizabeth D’Amico, a clinical psychologist and researcher at the RAND Corporation. She is also the lead author of a recent study that looked at the impact of medical marijuana advertising on young people. The study found that constant exposure to ads can give kids the impression that cannabis is mostly safe and good – and in many ways, this is true. According to a 2015 study, cannabis appears to be a safer choice than alcohol or tobacco.
D’Amico, who is also a mother of two teenagers living in a heavily populated and cannabis-saturated area, believes that the key for parents is to encourage their teens to make healthy choices by having open and honest conversations about all aspects of cannabis. This means being truthful about its potential benefits and risks. As D’Amico told Westword, simply telling someone not to do something is not an effective approach. Instead, parents should be willing to have open discussions and answer any questions their children may have.
In conclusion, it is important for parents to be honest with their children about cannabis, especially in a society where it is becoming more widely accepted. This requires educating oneself on the science of cannabis and being open and truthful with children about its potential benefits and risks. By having these honest conversations, parents can help their children make informed and responsible decisions about cannabis.
