Parents, Kids and Pot

What do pot smokin' parents tell their kids? Here's a thought provoking article about how that conversation has changed over the years and what it is evolving into now.

Marsha Rosenbaum holds a doctorate in medical sociology from UC San Francisco and has researched drug issues for 20 years. Wherever the director of the San Francisco office of the Drug Policy Alliance holds workshops about teens and drugs -- Salt Lake City, Arizona, even at a national PTA convention in Columbus, Ohio -- at least one parent sheepishly asks Rosenbaum a version of the same question:

"I smoke pot once in a while. I have a good job, my marriage is strong and I'm in decent shape. It's never been a problem for me. So what do I tell my kid if I think they're smoking?"

Or worse, what do I say if they find my stash?

These parents aren't stoners, said Rosenbaum. They're not medicinal marijuana users or legalization advocates, either. They're lawyers. Land developers. Teachers. Homeroom mothers. They smoke marijuana occasionally -- socially, "like a glass of wine" is a common comparison.

Yet privately, these parents are asking for help with a dilemma that isn't addressed publicly in many places: How do I talk to my kids about their pot smoking when I still do it -- and don't have any intention of stopping? They're finding there aren't a lot of places to go for information, especially for those who don't want to feed their children a reheated version of the federal government's "Just Say No" anti-drug campaigns of the 1980s.SanFran Gate