Dear Straight Talk: I'm in 8th grade and my best friends are
starting to smoke weed. One is getting it from his parent's
supply and they are doctors. I don't want to smoke it but they
say everyone does it and our parents did, too, and there is
nothing harmful about it. What do you make of their claims? —
"James," Lodi, Calif. Editor's Note: The Dunedin Study followed
over 1000 New Zealand youths born in 1972, testing them starting
at age 13 before any had started smoking pot, and concluding the
study when they were 38. The study ruled out changes in IQ that
might be due to educational differences, alcohol and other
drugs. Those who smoked four times a week starting as teens
showed an average 8-point decline in IQ that didn't rebound
after they quit as adults. This has huge ramifications for our
schools, both public and private. With fewer adolescents
believing that pot use is harmful, use has been driven younger
and younger, into our middle schools. Daily use among teens is
at a 30-year peak. A 2011 survey by