Summer jobs can lead to drug experimentation
Categories: Teens & tweens, Health & safety, Alcohol & drugs
According to Drug Free America, summer can mean more than swimming, sunning and shopping for some teenagers. June, July and August are also the months in which teens are more likely to try marijuana for the first time. And as much as parents might want their kids get a job and do something useful with themselves, working actually increases the chances that they will experiment with drugs. Not only does a summer job expose them to older - but not old enough to know better - coworkers, they also have all that extra cash to spread around.
Now, I would not take that bit of information and decide that my teen isn't leaving the house until September, but any parent of a teen should be aware of the warning signs of drug use. Some are easy to spot (red, glassy eyes), while others are hard to distinguish from regular teen behavior (mood swings). Parents, The Anti Drug has great information with detailed signs and symptoms of drug use.
Perhaps the best advice I ever got for raising a drug-free teen was this: don't take your eyes off of them until they are 21. Seriously, the teen years are not the time to relax and assume your work is done. As grown up as they seem and as ready as you may be for them to actually be grown up, they are still kids. Most teens are far from ready to face the challenges of peer pressure, curiosity and plain old rebellion on their own. Arm yourself with knowledge and stay close at hand.
Now, I would not take that bit of information and decide that my teen isn't leaving the house until September, but any parent of a teen should be aware of the warning signs of drug use. Some are easy to spot (red, glassy eyes), while others are hard to distinguish from regular teen behavior (mood swings). Parents, The Anti Drug has great information with detailed signs and symptoms of drug use.
Perhaps the best advice I ever got for raising a drug-free teen was this: don't take your eyes off of them until they are 21. Seriously, the teen years are not the time to relax and assume your work is done. As grown up as they seem and as ready as you may be for them to actually be grown up, they are still kids. Most teens are far from ready to face the challenges of peer pressure, curiosity and plain old rebellion on their own. Arm yourself with knowledge and stay close at hand.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
curvy 7-02-2008 @ 9:28AM
glassy eyes? lol
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Sabrina 7-02-2008 @ 1:48PM
LOL is right... marijuana is again being singled out as a gateway drug, when the plant is actually much less harmful than say, smoking cigarettes or overconsuming alcohol. Researchers at Harvard recently published an article in the Journal of Medical Science which actually found that the psychoactive ingredient in Marijuana, THC, actually has anti-cancer properties, as well as anti-dementia qualities which have shown to help with alzhemizers. Marijuana is also impossible to overconsume, unlike legal alcohol, and a weed user would need to smoke 1,500lbs of MJ in a total of 15minutes to be lethal. 38 states have inacted medical marijuana laws, treating everything from menstral cramps and migranes, to back pain and glucoma. The 'stupid stoner' label is totally incorrect, and studies conducted by well educated, well funded researchers have proven that THC does not kill brain cells, nor lead to any neurological damage. Instead of parents freaking out about alittle weed, they should focus on the real problem silently creeping into their teens lives... prescription pills, namely synthetic opiates which are highly addictive, easily available in most households, and nearly impossible to quit without methadone or seboxin(opiate blocker) because of intense withdraw symptoms. These drugs are the new wave sweeping America, and unlike other illicit drugs of the past, are much more sinister and overlooked. Marijuana isn't the problem here, and in fact Jimmy Carter once wrote, "The punishment for marijuana use should not be more harmful to the individual than the drug itself," and to this I say, AMEN! Parents, worry about alcohol and prescription pills, and save a bit of your sanity by relaxing your attitudes towards a little harmless grass. By the way, if you are worried your teen may be abusing opiates, one tale-tell sign is pinpoint pupils, constant itching, increased or sudden nicotine habits and increased instances of irratibily and weight loss due to appetiate loss.
Chase 7-05-2008 @ 4:15PM
Wow, calm that down. Why flip out about teens smoking pot? If you ask me, experimenting with pot as a teen can be a very healthy experience. Marijuana is responsible for some of the fondest memories of my youth. In this country it's really just another part of growing up, it has been for generations. I say let your kids experiment with weed, let them know that you know they're gonna try it. Then focus on warning them about REAL threats, like alcohol, cigarettes, cocaine, heroine, and prescription pills. Hey, it's better to try it over the summer than during the school year right? At least it can't interfere with their studies.
Jennifer 7-02-2008 @ 10:09AM
True as this may be, that summer job may also keep them OUT of trouble. Not all summer jobs are exposing those kids to older teens/young adults. We do need to keep a close eye on our teens, true, but I have found that a majority of the drug use/sale/experimentation is during school months! It's amazing what some kids are getting away with. In school is where you have the younger teens exposed to the older teens. If you think for a second that it doesn't happen in school, think again. Kids are very ingenious! There are quite a few teens that don't work during the school months, and even though it may seem as if they are too busy with school work and such, they find the time! I think that not only is it important to have the kids working a summer job, but it's equally as important to have them involved in plenty of extra-curricular activities! Get involved! So what if you drive them crazy by getting "in their business". That's what a parent is supposed to do!
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DENNIS I. 7-02-2008 @ 1:16PM
This study must be right. George Bush lit up his first joint on a hot Texas day.
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DENNIS I. 7-02-2008 @ 1:20PM
THIS IS REPORTED NOW TO TAKE AWAY THE HEAT OVER TEENAGERS NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND A JOB THIS SUMMER.
The twisted logic is that :if it is reported drug use is connected with summer jobs; sheep people will say, that it is O.K. that jkids cannot find jobs.
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Chase 7-05-2008 @ 4:44PM
Ok, so I'm a teenager with a summer job. And yes, my older coworkers do drugs. They sell and snort cocaine. But you see, I'm not an idiot, I know better than to do something like cocaine. However, this article is very relevant to my current situation; I very recently started smoking marijuana with my friends. Once or twice a week since the beginning of the summer, we meet in my friends garage and light up. We sit, talk, listen to music, giggle, and chill out. After a month and a half of smoking, I feel absolutely no different than I did before I started. I feel perfectly healthy. Marijuana causes good times, and open mindedness. I have no regrets.
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Charlie Whitcomb 10-05-2008 @ 6:40PM
The part that gets left out is there is a group of people who have an adverse reaction to Marijuana. How many? It is really impossible to research well. True, a majority of kids, 12-18 will have started up somewhere in that time frame but the ones who develop a dependance or who lose control of usage look like all the ones who don't have a problem. Like Chase said, they get together and smoke and giggle and chill out. But often a couple of those friends will smoke before, during and after and the others won't notice. By the time they could, the "friend has graduated to getting high any way he or she can, for as long as possible. There is the"gateway" to worse things. It is heart breaking to see kids who have a toke here and there defending kids who stay high for weeks at a time thinking the friend is just like them. Add to that the natural sex and behavior experiments teens go through, and we are turning a blind eye to real trauma just waiting to happen.
The kids in Chase's garage are having fun and having their inhibitions suppressed. No mention of age. Are they 16? 14? or 12?
I cringe when I see "parties" with girls 13-17 and males 19-29 all smoking pot at least. Drinking is very often included without any thought and then anything is possible. I asked one pot smoking 16 year old girl how many boys her age were at the last get together she got high at. NONE. She flushed with realization that the "friends" were MEN not kids and there was really only one reason to be in a room with 14,15 and 16 year old girls instead of women their age.
If you are a parent of a teen (or a tween for that matter) realize there is a totally different "culture" out there for your children. Don't think that your experience as a teen is anything like theirs. They are in deep dodo. And Pot is no help.
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