should you ever tell your kids you smoke weed?

yeah I agree with the idea that addiction goes more towards the nature end, a lot of my friends and I grew up in similar environments and we all drank, smoked weed, and would sometimes try things that were harder. some people really had a problem with it and some didn't. I guess I'm lucky I don't have that gene. I had a friend who overdosed and several of my friends were really shaken up saying "this could've been me"

good post, J0rdan.

my kids are 8 & 5 so I am thinking I probably have a while before I have to think about this. but I know it's probably gonna be sooner than I think. I think I was in 5th grade when I first went to a place where people were drinking. mostly "older kids" who were probably like 14 or 15. I didn't have the guts to try it but I did have a wine cooler in 7th grade lol. in retrospect I'm kinda glad White Claws didn't exist back then. I imagine that's responsible for a lot of underage drinking - we all had our Busch Lites and Milwaukee's Best (my first reaction: "damn, this is the best you have?") but they tasted so shitty nobody really made a habit of it.

as for weed I would probably prefer my kids get into that rather than alcohol. feel like teenagers do way more dumb shit when drunk, I sure as hell did, while my high times were mostly watching The Simpsons and weird music videos. fwiw they may have a taste for it already, my dumb ass hotboxed the house making tea for the first time not realizing what would happen if I left the lid off.

tracer, i agree with a lot of what people have said here & would like to add it's potentially a good way to conversationally segue into talking about consent & substances (i realize it's a landmine but it's also urgently needed imho)

Nah I don’t think so. I don’t want to influence whatever journey they take. I don’t think it’s helpful.

I didn't tell them while they were kids but at some point when I was answering their questions about drugs they probably drew their own conclusions

"Son, you should avoid skank weed. And roll your doobs tight but not too tight. Change your bongwater when it get opaque. Or so I have heard, from druggies."

Do you tell your kids you drink alcohol? In states where cannabis is legal I feel it shouldn't have the same kind of stigmas it does elsewhere. If you already reveal you're willing to alter your mental state with chemicals (alcohol) it shouldn't be a stretch to explain marijuana.

That said - cannabis does affect brain development (like underage drinking) so there's many great reasons to explain why abstention is important until a certain age.