Lit_Match

Teens who smoke pot but not tobacco function well
11-05-07|CTV.ca

Teens who smoke pot but not cigarettes appear to be more likely to get good grades, play sports and live with both parents than those who also use tobacco, finds a surprising new study from Switzerland.

What's more, the study found that teens who smoke pot were more likely to have a good relationship with their friends than teens who smoked neither tobacco nor pot, found the study published in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

To conduct the study Dr. J. C. Suris and colleagues at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, analyzed data from a 2002 national survey of almost 5,300 Swiss students aged 16 to 20 years. Of the group, 455 smoked marijuana exclusively, 1,703 smoked marijuana and tobacco, and 3,105 abstained from both substances.

The survey also found that, compared with students who used both substances, students who smoked marijuana only were more likely:

- to be male (71.6 per cent vs. 59.7 per cent),
- to play sports (85.5 per cent vs. 66.7 per cent),
- to live with both parents (78.2 vs. 68.3),
- to have good grades (77.5 vs. 66.6).

As well, the researchers noted that students who smoked marijuana only were less likely:

- to have been drunk in the past 30 days (40.5 per cent vs. 55 per cent),
- to have started using cannabis before the age of 15 years (25.9 per cent vs. 37.5 per cent),
- to have smoked marijuana more than once or twice during the previous 30 days (44 per cent vs. 66 per cent),
- to use other illegal drugs (8.4 per cent vs. 17.9 per cent).

Those who smoked marijuana only used it less often than those who smokes both cigarettes and pot. About half of the tobacco-and-marijuana group had used pot 10 times or more in the previous month, compared to about half in the marijuana-only group who had used the drug only once or twice in the same time period.

Compared to teens who abstain from smoking pot or cigarettes, pot-only smokers are more likely to skip class, but still have the same level of good grades. And although they were more likely to report having a relationship with their parents, they are not more likely to be depressed than abstainers.

The study did not explain the reasons behind any of its findings.

The authors note that although teens who smoke both marijuana and tobacco seem to have more psychosocial problems, those who smoke marijuana only should be monitored closely too. They note as well that marijuana use has increased in recent years among teens in Switzerland and other European countries.

"The situation of those adolescents who use cannabis but who declare not using tobacco should not be trivialized," the authors conclude.

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steakii

I agree completly with nearly everything that was said.

In high school, i only smoked marijuana, now i did smoke it everyday not once or twice a month but i still had all of the other characteristics that they listed.

I gradurated with honors (above a 3.5 gpa)
I had about 10 people i considered my best friends, all of them smoked with me on the weekends.
I played on the school's soccer team
I drank about once every 4-5 months
I started smoking a month or 2 before my 17th birthday
I did other illegal drugs one time, and i dont plan to do them again (maybe a psychoactive one somewhere down the line)
I lived with both of my parents, even though i didnt really talk to them
I skipped classes often, but never a whole day just a class here or there.

Im glad there is a study out there that show that pot-only kids can still do well in school. I do not know how many times i was told otherwise.

elgrande

What does this do to the "What about the children" lament of marijuana prohibitionists?

I like these "surprising" new studies. They confirm what cannabis users have always known from personal experience. They would find comparable results with pot-only adults if they bothered to look.

Buzzby

What I don't like about news articles like this is that they are so open to misinterpretation. Hardcore stoners will probably disregard the fact that the majority of marijuana-only users, the ones who did well, were very occasional smokers, not the people who showed up stoned to school everyday. This study simply shows that people who care about their health and avoid tobacco are smarter in other ways as well.

My daughter teaches high school. She tells me that there are some kids who show up stoned in her classes every day and that they're a complete waste of space. Unless you've got ADD or ADHD or need it for other medical reasons, the only reason to be stoned in school is because you don't care about learning anything.

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