Marijuana

Mixed Signals

TO THE EDITOR:

Re “In Drug Fight, Erratic Cues for Teenagers,” (Well, Aug. 19): The antidrug advocate Steve Pasierb says “this generation of kids wants good brains” so as “to get into better schools,” and urges parents to talk to them “about whether marijuana use shaves a couple of points off their SATs, and they will listen to you.” One need not subscribe to Timothy Leary’s advice to “turn on, tune in, drop out” to recognize that the kind of hypercompetitive values espoused by Mr. Pasierb might actually make marijuana more attractive to many teenagers.

JOHN S. KOPPEL

Bethesda, Md.

The column drew more than 200 online comments. Here are a few.

All of this media attention about marijuana has made it much harder to convince my 13-year-old son that he should stay away from it. ... He’s fascinated: Wow, adults think this is good for you! When can I try it? Whatever we say to him about pot is nearly drowned out by all of the cacophony.

LEE, Yardley, Pa.

As an informed parent, I have never lied to my kids about the dangers of drugs, in particular alcohol. My message to them has been that the biggest danger of marijuana use is its illegal status and the tendency for our legal system to impose unreasonable penalties that truly can ruin a young life. The developing brain research is still questionable; the effects of a prison record are not.

MDSHAVER, New Jersey

Many of you hate to hear it, but marijuana is not a panacea. It is psychotrophic and does affect brain development — and not in a manner we’d usually call positive. Alcohol isn’t great for kids, either. [But] the argument that “x is worse for my kids” so “let them smoke pot” is a logical fallacy. Both can be bad for your children and for you; just because a toxin like alcohol is worse doesn’t mean everything less toxic is O.K.