As more states both legalize and consider legalizing medical or adult use cannabis, the stigma of pot smoking or becoming a burnout for having used weed is falling away fast. Mostly because it was never the truth. Some of the most accomplished people have been avid cannabis users and pot smokers (vapers, edible eaters, etc.) are often some of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet, no matter their age.
A study published in November of this year in Addiction, put out by the Society for the Study of Addiction, examined whether cannabis use in youth caused, “unhealthy outcomes, such as conduct problems (CP) (e.g. school truancy, stealing).” Though it touched on many factors, including the additional stimulation of peer usage, the overarching answer is no, CP don’t spike with marijuana consumption.
There’s always going to be jerks around, but weed smokers aren’t overwhelmingly going to be in that particular demographic. The reputation of many tokers within the cannabis community itself is that of being laid back, creative, thoughtful, empathetic, on point and interested in social justice causes. Of course, there’s no cookie cutter pot smoker. Cannabis users come in all types of temperaments, ages, economic statuses and other differentiating traits.
The only problems with conduct from a very open minded vantage of cannabis users may be that of breaking molds and sometimes laws, but inwardly, where it counts, weed smoking is a harmless, victimless act that’s still enforced as a crime in parts of the U.S. And to be technical, it’s federally illegal across the nation.
Even though the recent study was built to find flaws in cannabis use, the start of its conclusion reads, “The present findings showed that, consistent with…previous studies, CP predicted cannabis use but not vice versa, particularly during mid–late adolescence.”
In other words, if the youth was going to turn out to be snotty, steal, lie, cheat and otherwise deviate from “good” conduct, they would have already displayed those traits before ever picking up cannabis. Cannabis is not the cause for adolescents acting out. Not having a proactive conversation with your young adult about marijuana could lead to a snit, but as long as minds remain open, even if you’d rather they didn’t, at least cannabis isn’t going to be the reason your kid has CP.
