Talking with your kids and showing them you care are very valuable moments you can have with your teens. Even though you may think they aren't listening, they hear you! Here are some tips to help you talk to your kids: 
Your Child’s Views About Alcohol. Ask your young teen what he or she knows about alcohol and what he or she thinks about teen drinking. Ask your child why he or she thinks kids drink. Listen carefully without interrupting. Not only will this approach help your child to feel heard and respected, but it can serve as a natural “lead-in” to discussing alcohol topics.
Important Facts About Alcohol. Although many kids believe that they already know everything about alcohol, myths and misinformation abound. Here are some important facts to share:

• Alcohol is a powerful drug that slows down the body and mind. It impairs coordination; slows reaction time; and impairs vision, clear thinking, and judgment.
  
• Beer and wine are not “safer” than hard liquor. A 12-ounce can of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, and 1.5 ounces of hard liquor all contain the same amount of alcohol and have the same effects on the body and mind.
  
• On average, it takes 2 to 3 hours for a single drink to leave a person’s system. Nothing can speed up this process, including drinking coffee, taking a cold shower, or “walking it off.”
  
• People tend to be very bad at judging how seriously alcohol has affected them. That means many individuals who drive after drinking think they can control a car—but actually cannot.
  
• Anyone can develop a serious alcohol problem, including a teenager.
  

Good Reasons Not to Drink. In talking with your child about reasons to avoid alcohol, stay away from scare tactics. Most young teens are aware that many people drink without problems, so it is important to discuss the consequences of alcohol use without overstating the case. Some good reasons why teens should not drink:

• You want your child to avoid alcohol. Clearly state your own expectations about your child’s drinking. Your values and attitudes count with your child, even though he or she may not always show it.
  
• To maintain self-respect. Teens say the best way to persuade them to avoid alcohol is to appeal to their self-respect—let them know that they are too smart and have too much going for them to need the crutch of alcohol. Teens also are likely to pay attention to examples of how alcohol might lead to embarrassing situations or events—things that might damage their self-respect or alter important relationships.
  
• Drinking is illegal. Because alcohol use under the age of 21 is illegal, getting caught may mean trouble with the authorities. Even if getting caught doesn’t lead to police action, the parents of your child’s friends may no longer permit them to associate with your child.
  
• Drinking can be dangerous. One of the leading causes of teen deaths is motor vehicle crashes involving alcohol. Drinking also makes a young person more vulnerable to sexual assault and unprotected sex. And while your teen may believe he or she wouldn’t engage in hazardous activities after drinking, point out that because alcohol impairs judgment, a drinker is very likely to think such activities won’t be dangerous.
  
• You have a family history of alcoholism. If one or more members of your family has suffered from alcoholism, your child may be somewhat more vulnerable to developing a drinking problem.
  
• Alcohol affects young people differently than adults. Drinking while the brain is still maturing may lead to long-lasting intellectual effects and may even increase the likelihood of developing alcohol dependence later in life.
  
  Facts and tips from "National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism" 
  http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/MakeADiff_HTML/makediff.htm
  
  
  

​FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 19, 2015
 
Contact: Jeffrey Zinsmeister
jeff@learnaboutsam.org
+1 (415) 680-3993
 
[WASHINGTON, DC] - A prominent journal article about marijuana and health which resulted in media outlets reporting on marijuana's harmlessness has now been corrected. A recheck of the statistics has now found that the incidence of psychotic disorders trended toward a 2.5-fold increase in marijuana users, a difference that went beyond a trend to reach significance in a one-tailed statistical test. This degree of impact matches very well the results of many prior studies involving marijuana use and psychosis though falls short of the five-fold increase in psychosis risk for marijuana users seen with the high strength strains that are more recently available.
 
Dr. Christine Miller, a former schizophrenia researcher from Johns Hopkins University and now Director of SAM Maryland, first alerted the journal, Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, last December. Some media outlets have already corrected their original story. 



"We commend the Washington Post's Ariana Cha for now updating her story, and hope many more will follow her lead," remarked Dr. Miller. "The flaw in the original University of Pittsburgh report were certain correction factors applied to the raw data, factors which are strongly affected by psychosis rather than being causes of such a disorder. These inappropriate corrections overpowered the marijuana effect. We're glad the corrections have been made."



SAM urges other media outlets to correct their headlines and stories.



The new data comes on the heels of a major report released by the State of Vermont's Health Department which found that marijuana worsened conditions ranging from mental illness to motor vehicle accidents to negative pregnancy effects - and almost all of them are found to be worsened by marijuana:
 
 
For more information about marijuana use and its effects, see http://www.learnaboutsam.org.
 
###
About SAM
Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) is a nonpartisan, non-profit alliance of physicians, policy makers, prevention workers, treatment and recovery professionals, scientists, and other concerned citizens opposed to marijuana legalization who want health and scientific evidence to guide marijuana policies. SAM has affiliates in 31 states.
 
www.learnaboutsam.org 

Press Release by Smart Approaches to Marijuana:

The report also predicts a near 30% increase in emergency room visits due to marijuana if the state legalizes
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 12, 2015
 
Contact: Jeffrey Zinsmeister
jeff@learnaboutsam.org
+1 (415) 680-3993
 
[MONTPELIER, VT] - Today the Vermont Department of Health released a grim report on marijuana, Health Impact Assessment: Marijuana Regulation in Vermont, outlining health and safety issues related to the drug. The report's top-line findings are that marijuana negatively impacts most health and safety harms (p. 3) and that high school senior marijuana use would rise 6 points - or 10% - from 52% to 58% (p. 30). The report also predicted a staggering near-30% increase in emergency room admissions due to marijuana if the state legalized (p. 7), based on data from Colorado.

"Today's pot is not what Vermonters may have used in the 60s and 70s. The health impact is clear," remarked Kevin Sabet, President of SAM, Smart Approaches to Marijuana. "Governor Shumlin has been an outstanding leader on issues of substance abuse, with the glaring exception of marijuana. This report by his own department of health should be a wake-up call to any Vermont lawmaker mulling legalization," Sabet added. "This strategy will play into the hands of the increasingly well-financed marijuana lobby, which like Big Tobacco, seeks to put profits above public health."


 
In the report, several health and safety consequences are assessed - from psychosis to motor vehicle accidents to negative pregnancy effects - and almost all of them are found to be worsened by marijuana:
 



"Wall Street entrepreneurs are chomping at the bit to get into Vermont and sell things like marijuana-infused gummy bears and sodas," remarked Debby Haskins, SAM Vermont's Montpelier-based Executive Director. "The newly released health report specifically warns against edibles, but if the corporate special interests get their way and marijuana is legalized, all bets are off."
 
SAM-VT and SAM are not against all marijuana reforms. Both organizations urge Vermont lawmakers to adopt health, prevention, and treatment-related strategies toward marijuana. SAM does not support imprisonment for marijuana or hampering young people with unnecessary criminal records. Legalization and industrialization would, however, only make existing policies worse.
 
For more information about marijuana use and its effects, see http://www.learnaboutsam.org.
 
###
About SAM
Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) is a nonpartisan, non-profit alliance of physicians, policy makers, prevention workers, treatment and recovery professionals, scientists, and other concerned citizens opposed to marijuana legalization who want health and scientific evidence to guide marijuana policies. SAM has affiliates in 31 states.
 
www.learnaboutsam.org