On Youth and Teens Today with Vanessa Van Petten

It has finally be reported that Heath Ledger died of an accidental drug overdose. According to CNN, Ledger had unknowingly mixed prescription drugs into a lethal combination. This is a terribly sad story and many of the teens I work with have wanted to discuss it with me, because he truly was an actor of our generation. I think that in remembering his legacy, it is also a good time to talk to kids and teens about prescription drug use.

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In my post: Parents Step Up! What Do Teens Do on the Weekends? I discussed this video:

I really think that many of my friends started to do drugs and throw parties because they were just plain bored.  There was nothing better for us to do so we created our own activities that our parents would not have approved of.  We also would ’spice up’ the every weekend boring activities (watching movies, bbq at a friends) so they were more exciting (hook-up and watch a movie, play drinking games at the BBQ).

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Reasons why ____ is more popular:

This is a question I get ALL THE TIME from parents: “which is more popular?” “If my kid is drinking does it mean he/she is also smoking?” Of course, it is different depending on the area and the school, but for the most part I think that both pot and alcohol are extremely prevalent amongst teens today. And as I mentioned in my Warning Signs Your Teen is Doing Pot post, our generation does not really think the consequences (health, legal and otherwise) are a very big deal…which is a problem.

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There is often nothing to do on the weekends as a teenager, I think parents should try to think of and encourage other activities for teens.

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I have gotten a lot of questions about my “Warning Signs your Teen is Doing Pot” post. I will be posting a series of articles on this topic because I know it is a hotly contested and important issue.

In this video, I just want to emphasize the idea of experimentation. Teens do pot to experiment and test their own boundaries, but they are also doing it to test their friends limits. The weed smoking culture that teens have developed (not much different from the drug culture of the 60s I would think) has its own set of labels, norms, habits and unspoken rules.

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