How much weed is too much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our daughter has experimented with marijuana products throughout college, and even had some bad experiences. It was always in a party setting with her friends. I know that is pretty typical these days. But we have recently found out that she is now buying at the dispensaries 4-5 times per week. We don’t know what products she is buying, but I am guessing joints. She is mostly doing this with her boyfriend, but she might sometimes be doing it alone. I think it has become something she does to alleviate stress and anxiety. She doesn’t know that we know about this. We just aren’t sure if we should step in. As far as we know, she isn’t doing anything illegal.

Full disclosure, I have an aversion to marijuana. I know it is legal and all. It just scares me and always has. So, I know that I am very biased against it. That’s why I am asking others who are more open to it, maybe did it in college or have kids that do it. Are we at the point where we should intervene? She only has one more semester left, so should we ride it out and hope that it is just a college thing for her?
We are really worried, so any advice or insight would be much appreciated!

If this was my daughter, I would ask: 1) how are her grades and overall health? 2) is this legal in the state where she lives?

If her grades or health are declining, do something. If you’re paying for college, you can tell her you saved for ver education, not for her to get high. If her grades and overall health (including mental health) seem fine, I’d leave it alone.

If it is legal where she lives, and above is not an issue, and she’s not robbing a bank or skipping meals to pay for the weed, then it’s none of your business. She’s an adult and not doing anything illegal.

Can you read? OP is pretty clear in her second post that this has become a serious problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So much righteousness on this forum. I have a kid that has gone from unarguably too much weed use to virtually none…on his own. All of the ones telling you that you are on the road to doom are the ones who were binge drinkers in college 20 years ago.

No kid in college is making smart long-term financial decisions (“buy an eighth and roll them herself”) and it’s so tone deaf to pretend otherwise.

Keep you eye on her. try to talk to her about it. But my once weed-heavy and now less-so kid is doing just fine in college and trending toward being fully employed upon graduation.

Oddly, weed is their alcohol and, strangely, seeming less toxic than it was for us

Tell us you are an addict, without us smelling you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So much righteousness on this forum. I have a kid that has gone from unarguably too much weed use to virtually none…on his own. All of the ones telling you that you are on the road to doom are the ones who were binge drinkers in college 20 years ago.

No kid in college is making smart long-term financial decisions (“buy an eighth and roll them herself”) and it’s so tone deaf to pretend otherwise.

Keep you eye on her. try to talk to her about it. But my once weed-heavy and now less-so kid is doing just fine in college and trending toward being fully employed upon graduation.

Oddly, weed is their alcohol and, strangely, seeming less toxic than it was for us

Tell us you are an addict, without us smelling you.

+1. PP seems high while writing this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Yes, her motivation has gone downhill fast. She has trouble completing anything. She has always struggled to complete tasks in a timely manner, but it has gotten worse. Her mood is definitely off. She just looks strung out.
I will talk to her. I’m not sure it will do any good at this point, but this seems to be quite serious.

OP if she were my daughter she would not be going back to school next semester. No way.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone buying pre-rolls 4-5 times a week is a broke addict. If you're smoking that much, and buying from a dispensary, you'd be better served to get an eighth, a grinder and a pack of RAWs and learn to roll your own. But anyone smoking 4-5 times a week is courting a psychological issue worse than the financial issue. Weed is insidious. It doesn't usually slam you down to a rock bottom the way that alcohol and "harder drugs" might. By the time you start thinking you might have a problem, you'll likely have a really hard time stopping. Night sweats, insomnia, months of emotional dysregulating, including mood swings, paranoia, anxiety, rage... Even if she's functioning normally now, this isn't sustainable long-term

That's a LOT of cannabis use, far more than the occasional puff or two at a party. Please talk to your kid and figure out what they're doing. Curiosity and concern will go over a lot better than an intervention, and you don't want to piss them off so they shut you out.

https://marijuana-anonymous.org/the-twelve-questions-of-marijuana-anonymous/

Correct. We see it all the time in medical practice. It’s addictive and it is quite serious and life altering. No one who understands the pharmacology supports marijuana use outside of end of life care

[Anonymous]

This was my DS last year. He was using weed to deal with anxiety and once we got him to see a psychiatrist who prescribed anxiety meds his weed use went way down.

[Anonymous]

She’s a stoner. I was a stoner at this age too. Looking back at it I wish I wasn’t. I now realize I was distracting myself from being socially nervous and apprehensive about post college life. There were some good times, but I would’ve accomplished more had I been more focused. All you can do is talk to her like an adult, she is one and will make her own decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This was my DS last year. He was using weed to deal with anxiety and once we got him to see a psychiatrist who prescribed anxiety meds his weed use went way down.

Can’t tell if serious…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So much righteousness on this forum. I have a kid that has gone from unarguably too much weed use to virtually none…on his own. All of the ones telling you that you are on the road to doom are the ones who were binge drinkers in college 20 years ago.

No kid in college is making smart long-term financial decisions (“buy an eighth and roll them herself”) and it’s so tone deaf to pretend otherwise.

Keep you eye on her. try to talk to her about it. But my once weed-heavy and now less-so kid is doing just fine in college and trending toward being fully employed upon graduation.

Oddly, weed is their alcohol and, strangely, seeming less toxic than it was for us

You're ignorant, and I hope you educate yourself before your kids smoke themselves stupid. If your kid made it to college without learning how to budget, that's on you, not the weed. Your "once weed-heavy and now less-so" kid doing "just fine" may still have cannabis use issues you don't know about, especially since you seem to think it's not a big deal.

Weed is not less toxic. It may seem that way, and that's a large part of the problem. But don't listen to people who know better. Just call them "self-righteous, blah, blah, blah.

OP, this clown probably doesn't even know what their kid is up to. If they're lucky, then great. That's not typical, and you're right to worry.

[Anonymous]

Your daughter needs help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Yes, her motivation has gone downhill fast. She has trouble completing anything. She has always struggled to complete tasks in a timely manner, but it has gotten worse. Her mood is definitely off. She just looks strung out.

OP this is what weed does.

People who did weed in college 20+ years ago were doing something different. Today, vapes are small enough to fit in a pocket and can be used all day long. It doesn't have to be social. There isn't a joint-rolling process to slow people down. It's easy to slip into pretty extreme using habits.

Also the drug is more potent.

Studies have confirmed the harmful effects on brain development for those under 25. IMHO, any marijuana is too much.

I don't understand why people don't realize how dangerous it is.

[Anonymous]

Talk to her. Figure out when and why she's using it. If it's in party or social settings like one might socially-responsibly use alcohol, I wouldn't be concerned about it. If she's using it to get through the normal course of the day, I would consider that a red flag. Recreational use aside, it's not a great thing to be stoned in life situations that require focus.

[Anonymous]

I work in GI. We see many young adults who use marijuana regularly and have a lot of symptoms. Many are using it to treat anxiety and depression. There are many studies showing the harmful effects to a still developing brain. Have her look at the studies.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like she's self medicating to treat anxiety or executive functioning issues or something else. I don't even know how you test for those at this point b/c how do you rule out what is a side effect from that much pot? She needs serious help at this point. I'd have her take off next semester and stay home and get her back on track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She’s a stoner. I was a stoner at this age too. Looking back at it I wish I wasn’t. I now realize I was distracting myself from being socially nervous and apprehensive about post college life. There were some good times, but I would’ve accomplished more had I been more focused. All you can do is talk to her like an adult, she is one and will make her own decisions.

Oh, please. No, that is not "all you can do." Parents like you are hopeless - just throw up your hands, walk away from the problem and hope for the best.

I assume OP is funding not only this drug habit, but college. She can start with the purse strings. There is no way my child would be back in college next semester under these circumstances.