As a parent, if you're not sure what to believe about marijuana, how will you handle the subject with your child? Maybe you smoked pot as a teen, or you use marijuana today. Maybe you never tried pot, or you don't even know what it looks like. Maybe you're simply confused over conflicting claims about the drug whether it's addictive, how harmful it is, why some think it should be legalized. The best way for you to help your teen make healthy choices is to be informed. This much-needed book about America's most widely used illegal drug helps parents sort through the latest facts, the known risks, and the divergent perspectives on pot. The basic message? For teens, marijuana use equals risk. Your basic message? That's up to you.
Timmen L. Cermak is a psychiatrist and neurologist specializing in addiction psychiatry. He is the author of A Time to Heal and A Primer on Adult Children of Alcoholics and is president and a founding member of the National Association for Children of Alcoholics. Dr. Cermak heads the California Society of Addiction Medicine Task Force on Medical Marijuana and runs a psychotherapy center in San Francisco and in Mill Valley, California.