Marijuana and kids

[luvsJack]

Marihuana smells. Maybe those that think it doesn't have, to quote those Febreeze commercials, gone "nose blind" lol.

Lol I don’t smoke it so no nose blind here.

Yes it has a smell but unless she is smoking a bag a day it’s not going to linger in the house or on clothes or whatever. And it’s isnt going to be smelling up the child’s clothing.

DS smoked in his younger days. If he smoked it right before walking in the house, maybe we would get a whiff. Lingering on his clothes? No.

 

[Colleen27]

I would explain it. Your daughter is old enough to understand some grey areas, IMO, and the fact that a helpful medication is illegal for dubious and politicized reasons is a pretty good place to start teaching that the world isn't a black and white place. It sounds like your father is also there and not partaking, so I don't see why your daughter shouldn't be able to continue to have a close relationship with her grandparents over this.

I have no reason to doubt the medicinal benefits of marijuana. From what I understand though, the pain relief/anti-nausea properties are separate from the intoxicant. Can someone please explain why whatever chemical compounds produce the positive effects can't (or haven't yet) been extracted and standardized into pill form like most other medications? Would this not eliminate the entire issue? What about this am I missing?

In a word, cost. Or profitability, if you prefer. Pot is cheap. A pill created from pot, which has to go through the FDA approval process and all the other R&D and testing costs of the pharma pipeline, would have to be priced high enough to recoup those costs and turn a profit while simultaneously competing with cheap and readily available pot for market share. With medicinal pot now legal in more states than not, I don't imagine many execs want to bet on there being a significant patient base interested in the benefits of pot but willing to pay more for a pill to avoid smoking it or consuming edibles.

My brother smokes weed on a regular basis and at times his clothes can smell like it. It doesn’t last long though since he smokes outside. Usually only for 5-10 minutes after then it goes away. If he smoked in the house i think it would smell a bit more and linger a bit more. He pays good money for his weed so it doesn’t have that skunky funk to it.

I agree with this. My BIL has a med card and while you can occasionally smell pot on him if he's just been smoking, I've never smelled it on his wife or son (who don't smoke). It really doesn't linger like cigarette smoke does.

 

[kimblebee]

I think there may be some confusion on the smell of weed. I don’t think that anyone would argue that it doesn’t smell while it’s being smoked..of course it does.

I think (at least for me) what’s being disputed is the fact that marijuana smoke does not linger on clothes, skin, and in the house for a long time afterwards. My friend comes over often to watch hockey and hang out and he will occasionally spark up. Within half an hour you would never know it had taken place in the house. He definitely doesn’t smell when he leaves and I don’t either (from second hand smoke). It dissipates quickly.

Hopefully that clears things up.

 

[Summer2018]

Street thug drug dealer

You’d be surprised who these drug dealers are. They’re far from thugs.

You probably know the ones high up the food chain that deal in the suburbs. I know the actual inner city dealers. They are the birth parents of my students who live in the foster care system because DCF removed them from their homes. They are gang members who are in and out of jail. I have sat across from them at parent/teacher conferences too high to keep from nodding off when I’m trying to talk to them or too hopped up on meth to sit still and instead are pacing back and forth. I know exactly who drug dealers are. I have to deal with them and their poor children every single day.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

You probably know the ones high up the food chain that deal in the suburbs. I know the actual inner city dealers. They are the birth parents of my students who live in the foster care system because DCF removed them from their homes. They are gang members who are in and out of jail. I have sat across from them at parent/teacher conferences too high to keep from nodding off when I’m trying to talk to them or too hopped up on meth to sit still and instead are pacing back and forth. I know exactly who drug dealers are. I have to deal with them and their poor children every single day.

I grew up in the hood. I’m well aware of the ins and outs. I lived on blocks with active drug sets.

I’m sure no one in this thread buys their weed from a street thug drug dealer. We’re talking weed. Not meth, crack or heroin.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

It would never cross my mind to roll up to my old neighborhood, roll up on an active drug set and buy a $20 bag of weed from the closest hoodlum. If they even sell weed on street corners anymore. I heard they stopped that since there’s no money In selling weee in small quantities on street corners. Money is in opioids and heroin.

Everyone i know gets home delivery. From someone who leaves their desk job and brings them the product.

 

[kdonnel]

My wife works as a parapro at an elementary school.

The smell definitely lingers. Kids come to school reeking of pot. It oozes from their clothes, backpacks, and hair.

Either that or the 5 year olds are lighting up just moments before coming to school.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I have no reason to doubt the medicinal benefits of marijuana. From what I understand though, the pain relief/anti-nausea properties are separate from the intoxicant. Can someone please explain why whatever chemical compounds produce the positive effects can't (or haven't yet) been extracted and standardized into pill form like most other medications? Would this not eliminate the entire issue? What about this am I missing?

They have. Three were approved in 2017 and several more are on the way. But the toke it up Pot head lobby doesn't want to hear it and the media doesn't seem to care.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

There is a HUGE difference between having a beer or glass of wine, and being intoxicated. It doesn’t sound like the OP’s mom is unable to care for an 11 year old.

And at 11, she should be able to pick up the phone and call mom if she feels unsafe and needs to be picked up, or if she feels safe but grandma isn't doing well, to take care of herself overnight until mom comes the next day.

 

[Domo]

Prof. Robin Murray studied Marijuana extensively and floated the idea of constructing an "allergy test" for the drug, in the hopes of screening ravers before they put their mental health at risk of having an allergic reaction to a potentially dangerous drug. I believe he came up with a blank, but never gave up hope. It would be nice

 

[shoney]

I work in a school and some of the staff reek! I actually have had to ask a para to take his bag out of my classroom because it stunk! Weed today is so potent it smells without burning it! People call me a bloodhound because i smell it from a mile away. I don’t smoke myself but know many people who do including close family and friends. All recreational.

 

[disykat]

It feels weird "liking" the posts about smelling it on children, but I'm agreeing that it is true.

Just like anything else, people smell differently. I can be practically choking and gasping from perfume smells and DH doesn't even notice it. He's getting better at noticing it, but usually notices the change in my voice as I'm struggling from allergic reaction first and then takes enough notice to identify the excessive fragrance.

We stayed in a hotel recently and I went into the room after housekeeping had been in there and it smelled like pot. I'm sure they weren't smoking in there - it was residual.

 

[mjkacmom]

And at 11, she should be able to pick up the phone and call mom if she feels unsafe and needs to be picked up, or if she feels safe but grandma isn't doing well, to take care of herself overnight until mom comes the next day.

The OP said her mom is disabled and can’t take care of her Dd, but her dad can.

 

[ronandannette]

What on earth? You can smell alcohol too - on people's breath. Most teachers have 30 minute lunch breaks and generally stay on school grounds due to time limitations. You really think they're going out and drinking???? I can't even imagine how fast they'd be fired!

I'm with all the others who say marijuana has a very strong smell. I can smell it on people who are walking around town - just like I might smell perfume or cigarettes or whatever else they smell like. Legal/not legal doesn't change that. Legal/not legal also doesn't change the possibility of impairment from usage. If legal, it becomes like alcohol in terms of when/why/where to use it.

I'm in a state where marijuana is legal. That doesn't mean it isn't still considered drug use and is a fire-able offense for most of us whose jobs have drug policies. My BIL's company had random drug testing a few months back and ended up sending home a bunch of people who tested positive for marijuana. They had to figure out what to do and ended up laying them off until they were able to come back and pass the drug test. The law had changed but the companies drug policy had not.

My company doesn't drug test now, with the exception of extremely random annual tests required to maintain our OH&S status. We've not been informed of any changes planned to that policy. I doubt it would be useful in our situation anyway because I imagine (but am open to correction) that marijuana smoked during off-hours could register on tests. Anyone being caught in violation will be detected by the smell - or you know, they won't - if there's actually no discernible odor.

 

[disykat]

My company doesn't drug test now, with the exception of extremely random annual tests required to maintain our OH&S status. We've not been informed of any changes planned to that policy. I doubt it would be useful in our situation anyway because I imagine (but am open to correction) that marijuana smoked during off-hours could register on tests. Anyone being caught in violation will be detected by the smell - or you know, they won't - if there's actually no discernible odor.

I'm not following your post well. Marijuana smoked during off hours does register on your tests if that was your question. Marijuana actually stays in your system quite awhile - my understanding is that it attaches to fat cells, so overweight people are especially vulnerable to having it show up - for weeks after use. In the case I referenced, the company did drug testing because illegal drugs were found on the premises. All of a sudden they had this issue of legal drugs that were still technically against the company's drug policy showing up. This company hadn't drug tested in years prior to the incident and it was a huge surprise to everyone that this issue occurred.

Smell could most certainly be detected if it is in their clothes and bags, but wouldn't be if it wasn't. ??? No one is saying that everyone who smokes marijuana always smells like marijuana. It's just a fallacy to say it doesn't smell because we often smell it.

 

[Domo]

I'm not following your post well. Marijuana smoked during off hours does register on your tests if that was your question. Marijuana actually stays in your system quite awhile - my understanding is that it attaches to fat cells, so overweight people are especially vulnerable to having it show up - for weeks after use. In the case I referenced, the company did drug testing because illegal drugs were found on the premises. All of a sudden they had this issue of legal drugs that were still technically against the company's drug policy showing up. This company hadn't drug tested in years prior to the incident and it was a huge surprise to everyone that this issue occurred.

Smell could most certainly be detected if it is in their clothes and bags, but wouldn't be if it wasn't. ??? No one is saying that everyone who smokes marijuana always smells like marijuana. It's just a fallacy to say it doesn't smell because we often smell it.

I also understand that drug taking stays in the system - I remember that it actually stays in hair follicles for a VERY long time. I actually heard that it was through this way of sampling that enabled us to understand that the Egyptians took drugs on a regular basis. Of course, this could all be my imagination!

 

[disykat]

One of BIL's friends was still out of work (unpaid) 6 drug free weeks later because he still couldn't pass the test to come back. He was a big guy, everyone else had tested clear within days or weeks. I think he gave up and got a job elsewhere.

 

[luvsJack]

My wife works as a parapro at an elementary school.

The smell definitely lingers. Kids come to school reeking of pot. It oozes from their clothes, backpacks, and hair.

Either that or the 5 year olds are lighting up just moments before coming to school.

Funny that so many would have different experiences. I ran a child care center for 12 years and there were a few parents that I knew smoked. Never once did their kids smell like marijuana. Now I did have a couple that smelled strongly of cigarettes and I am a smoker and definitely could smell it.

Dd was friends with a girl for about 10 years. Her mom smoked pot heavily. She never smelled like it.

 

[kimblebee]

Funny that so many would have different experiences. I ran a child care center for 12 years and there were a few parents that I knew smoked. Never once did their kids smell like marijuana. Now I did have a couple that smelled strongly of cigarettes and I am a smoker and definitely could smell it.

Dd was friends with a girl for about 10 years. Her mom smoked pot heavily. She never smelled like it.

My ex is as heavy a pot smoker as there is. His apartment NEVER smelled and my daughter never came home smelling of weed either. Yes, he smoked it when she was around, no, I’m not getting into it.

 

[bcla]

In a word, cost. Or profitability, if you prefer. Pot is cheap. A pill created from pot, which has to go through the FDA approval process and all the other R&D and testing costs of the pharma pipeline, would have to be priced high enough to recoup those costs and turn a profit while simultaneously competing with cheap and readily available pot for market share. With medicinal pot now legal in more states than not, I don't imagine many execs want to bet on there being a significant patient base interested in the benefits of pot but willing to pay more for a pill to avoid smoking it or consuming edibles.

Like I said, there is a pill. However, it's basically synthetic THC and inert ingredients. If there's anything more complex in marijuana that alleviates symptoms then the pill isn't going to provide it.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/does-the-pot-pill-work/

"Marinol provides standardized THC concentrations, does not contain the other 400 uncharacterized substances found in smoked marijuana, such as carcinogens or fungal spores, and is not associated with the quick high of smoked marijuana," said Neil Hirsch, a spokesman for Marinol manufacturer Solvay Pharmaceuticals.

But Marinol is not the same thing as traditional, smokable marijuana. It is a less complex substance lacking both some of the good components found in traditional marijuana (such as cannabidiol, which has been found to have anti-seizure effects) and the bad or not-yet-fully-understood components (among them potential carcinogens) that can also come with the drug.

Ken Trainer, a 60-year-old Massachusetts resident who has battled Multiple Sclerosis for 25 years, said he has long been smoking marijuana to deal with the regular tremors he gets in his arms and legs.

"If I smoke a joint, the tremors go away most times before the joint is gone," he said. "It makes my life a little easier." Marinol, by contrast, "didn't really do much of anything for me," he said.​

I do remember there was a kid who was on some isolated resin from marijuana that was still illegal in her home state. I heard the family moved to Colorado so she could legally get access to that. And not the only family to do so. I read other articles on it that said it wasn't specifically THC but some other resin that they could specifically separate. Even though it was in a purified form, it was still illegal under state law in Texas because it came from marijuana.

http://kdvr.com/2017/11/09/colorado...ral-to-legalize-medical-marijuana-nationwide/

But a pediatrician did mention an out-of-state option: Medical marijuana.

Shortly after moving to Larkspur, Bortell's family began using a strain of cannabis oil called Haleigh's Hope.

A drop of liquid THC in the morning and at night has kept her seizure-free for 2 1/2 years.​