Only 26 percent of high schoolers think marijuana offers risk of harm. In other words, about three quarters of high schoolers think marijuana is, to use their words, “No big deal.”
You’ve probably heard the arguments.
“It’s very helpful for treating medical conditions.”
“Name just one person who overdosed.”
“Alcohol is worse.”
All common arguments that we could try to dispute…but don’t need to…because none of them are even relevant. In fact, only one thing matters: the developing brain.
Bottom line: Most experts agree that marijuana use disrupts brain development.
How long is the brain developing, you ask?
For guys? Until your mid-20s. So for a teenager, now is not the time to be marinating your noggin in psychoactive ingredients!
So forget for a moment any argument about legalization, medicinal uses or the fact that Post Malone uses it…and consider just one risk factor. When young people use marijuana it messes with your brain, affecting memory, problem-solving skills, learning and attention (which means we should probably end the list here or they’ll tune out). This results in impaired driving, poor academic performance, higher dropout rates, increased welfare dependence, greater unemployment and yes…even “lower life satisfaction” (and that’s not even bringing up the recent studies connecting marijuana use to the risk of mental illness or the increased probability to move on to other harmful drugs like opiates).
That’s quite a list!
No other arguments are even relevant.
Here’s how I address it in my chapter titled, “Safe” in my new book, The Guy’s Guide to FOUR BATTLES Every Young Man Must Face:
I’m not even going to argue whether it’s safe for everybody (I could raise that question…but I won’t). Instead I’m going to ask a different question:
