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My goal is for you to have a discussion with your teen.

Why? Let me explain what it's like to live in a state with legalized recreational pot. I live in Washington state. 

• I was at a stop light sitting in my car and suddenly smelled pot. Thick smoke coming from the car next to me. 
• I was in a nice restaurant, and the couple near us reeked of pot, while just outside the door two others were lighting up. 
• I saw a pricey Broadway show, took two steps out of the building and it reeked of pot so much even my mom knew the smell instantly. 
• There are pot shops (dispensaries) every couple of miles in our area, with helpful billboards everywhere. Meanwhile, an acquaintance went to a dispensary seeking medical pot for a medical condition and received no advice or help. 

There are laws about where it's OK to use pot, but because it's as legal as cigarettes and alcohol now, they are not enforced by police (who are busy stopping crime not enforcing where people partake of legal products.) Police are just busy, and have lots of pressures. Without meaning to criticize them, I'm just saying that policing a legal substance is not their number one priority.

Many of my neighbors, as well as freedom-loving homeschool friends, proclaim pot as "God's herb" and tout the medicinal benefits. Even so, do your research. In many states, you can't get medicinal pot without a medical card from a doctor's office. Of course, I want you to talk to your teens about your own family values in these discussions also. 

So, plan to talk about pot in a family meeting, or as part of your health class. I think it might help to start the discussion where it effects teens the most (money and driving). Then get into the detailed information about health reports and the economics of being stoned. Finally, come full circle with a fact sheet for teens, so they know what's really true when they read that final report.

What I did about topics like this was print articles, have my teen read the article, then we would discuss the topic over lunch each day. 

Insurance Study Ties Legal Pot to Boost in Car Crash Claims

Cannabis reduces short-term motivation to work for money

Teenagers who smoke cannabis damage their brains for LIFE and may be more likely to develop schizophrenia

Endocrine effects of marijuana in the male

Review and update: marijuana and reproduction

Marijuana Fact Sheet for Teens

One other thing, consider looking up the small African Nation of Djibouti together and discussing consequences of lack of motivation. For Djibouti, lack of motivation is a national crisis. Djibouti has a different legal herbal drug called Khat(cathinone). That country faces a huge crisis, as the majority are stoned on a daily basis, and it's estimated that 30% of household income is spent on the drug. The country faces an unemployment crisis where nearly 6 out of 10 people are unemployed. Read more; Djibouti: A nation High on Drugs . I don't pretend to know how khat and pot compare, other than they both reduce the motivation to work.

If  you need help in your family, consider joining my Gold Care Club. I was a nurse prior to homeschooling my own kids and I can help you wade through side effects of pot, if your family is struggling with that.

I welcome family-friendly comments and other helpful articles that will encourage parents to continue the discussion with their teens.