I have seen first-hand the negative impact that early marijuana use has on the adolescent brain, life, and family. Our substance used disorder journey with our son started with alcohol and marijuana experimentation when he was 15-years-old. He struggled with ADD and anxiety, saying that marijuana helped his brain slow down so he could think straight and that "smoking was the only thing that helped him feel normal". Therefore, his experimentation moved quickly from dependence to abuse. As a result of his substance use disorder, he did not develop coping skills and additional life skills because he was self-mediating and escaping the opportunities to develop these important skills. If you want to learn more about our family story, check out the blog post to access that recording.
Early intervention is prevention, meaning the earlier we intervene we can hopefully stop the the progression of experimentation from moving to addiction. We have access to more information and resources in today's world than we did when we went through this with our son. Please reach out if you want help. Meantime, please share the attached flyer with other families to help them navigate the new laws in Virginia. It takes a village to keep our youth safe.
Here are a few great resources for additional information on this topic: