How young is too young to smoke?

It depends on his ability to comprehend and cope with things.

If he becomes a stoner and starts smoking weed all day everyday it could ruin his daily routines and schooling ability. If he can quickly cope and get used to keeping up with "real life" and "stoned time" its all good. My brother started around that age, he got his first dank from myself. He smokes more weed now but hes getting into ciggarettes now and that pisses me off.

Edit: I smoked the first time at like 10 lol, from my dads stash, liked it but didnt start smoking again until 14 and became a stoner shortly after.

 

idk, age doesn't really matter...i think it's maturity level..and i guess people around 17 or 18+ are usually mature enough to handle it. i can't speak for everyone, but i was at that time i suppose

 

My field of employment is in education. I have seen cannabis help a 7th grade ADHD student focus enough to bring his grades up to (barely) passing. I've also seen it make a lazy kid into a real slacker! You will have to keep on his tail about grades. If they fall, you lose all chance of convincing your parents that this can be a good thing!

About the depression, my brother was clinically depressed at age 5 - but there were no anti-depressants back then. My hubby was also depressed as a child (10-ish). My brother is on anti-depressants and uses cannabis occasionally. My hubby does not do well on the pills, but cannabis works. There are many studies and articles about depression and cannabis in my List (that 1st link in my sig). Here's a couple-


Marijuana chemical may treat depression (news - 2007)
Study: Marijuana chemical may treat depression



Good News For The Medical Marijuana Movement: Pot Proliferates Brain Cells And Boosts Mood (news - 2005)
[FONT=&quot]Good News For The Medical Marijuana Movement: Pot Proliferates Brain Cells And Boosts Mood

This one may keep baby brother from overdoing it-

[/FONT] Cannabis: Potent Anti-Depressant In Low Doses, Worsens Depression At High Doses (news - 2007)
Cannabis: Potent Anti-depressant In Low Doses, Worsens Depression At High Doses

Keep him off tobacco-

Teens who use only cannabis appear to function better than those who also use tobacco (news - 2007)
Teens who use only cannabis appear to function better than those who also use tobacco

Characteristics of Adolescents Who Use Cannabis But Not Tobacco

(news - 2008)

Join Together | The Partnership at Drugfree.org


Be a good role model- use responsibly. Make sure his friends aren't too stupid. Clue them in, if they are that dumb. Introduce him to a vaporizer- fewer health issues and keeps him toking at home where it's safer! Smoking does damage the lungs and his body is still growing, so vaping or edibles would be wiser.

Start educating yourself for the day when your parents find out- they will eventually! Kids screw up, just because they are kids! He will leave a baggie in a pocket, or a bong on the table and all hell will break loose! Be prepared!

Knowing the medical facts, and having the MMJ studies/articles from my List to back you up, is a good start in calming your parents down. Print up a list of the side effects of the anti-depressants your brother takes (just run a search on the names). Do your parents really want him to risk all that? Especially when there is a safe, natural substitute? Cannabis is a far safer than even aspirin!

OK, hon, click that first link in my sig and scroll through the sections- you'll know when to stop! Educate yourself!


Granny

 

Its all on how mature he is and as far as I know most thirteen year olds don't meet that qualification, I'm a hypocrit considering I started daily at fourteen but I don't look at it as a mistake, more of an early start.

If you decide to smoke with him theres a few things to keep in mind, you may be sheltering him from some sketchy kids that might end up pressuring him to do stupid things (rip up mail, piss on things you know.. Normal thirteen year old stuff) but that one session isn't a permant solution to that, also I can see quite a bit of imaturity just through the fact he asked for you to smoke him and his FRIEND down. Also, if your brother gets caught your going to be in more trouble then he is on the basis that you were the one that condoned it enough to smoke with him... And i'm sure you'll parents will know after a while whether its overhearing a converstation of your brother telling his friends he smokes with you or he might just crack under presure and rat you out

There are positives though, he could get it off you and avoid getting shorted or being dumb enough to front someone that in turn runs away with his money and of course the bonding expierence aspect. Its your choice in the end man just remember there are consequences if the little one can't keep his shit on the DL

My brother smoked with me when I was 12 but I had no idea what that burning piece of paper was, my only question was "is it gonna hurt" and in the end it was always nice to know I could ask someone for help with my herb related problems, I even came back across the border (he lives in canda) with a few fat sacks

Hope that helped

 

if he says hes gonna smoke anyway then id want it at least to happen in my company. i wouldnt do it will a bunch of his friends thought b.c they might get caught and then blame it on you. id say tell him he can bring one or two of his best friends (kids that YOU actually know are cool) with him. school them on all the basic shit. get some mids and let them take a few hits and see how they like it. if one freaks out, your there to help them b.c one kid flippin out and 5 kids high as shit never makes for a good situation. finish out the night with some munchies and im sure theyll have a blast.

 

anyone who smokes under 16 has a chance of damaging their brain...

 

Oh?........

A preliminary DTI study showing no brain structural change associated with adolescent cannabis use (full - 2006)
A preliminary DTI study showing no brain structural change associated with adolescent cannabis use

Moderate cannabis use not harmful to the brain of adolescents, M R I study finds
(news - 2006)
[FONT=&quot]International Association for Cannabis as Medicine

[/FONT] Teens who use only cannabis appear to function better than those who also use tobacco (news - 2007)
Teens who use only cannabis appear to function better than those who also use tobacco


Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects (full - 2005)
[FONT=&quot]Journal of Clinical Investigation -- Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects

[/FONT] Marijuana might cause new cell growth in the brain (news - 2005)
Marijuana might cause new cell growth in the brain - health - 13 October 2005 - New Scientist

Granny

 

if hes already depressed, most likely he will make a problem of smoking weed . wait until his life lightens up a bit .

 

personally i would talk to him about it.. fill him in on what weed really is you know. teach him to stay away from dangerous way of smoking (be it smoking out of a crap piece, or smoking in sketch areas) then if he still wants to smoke have a smoke with him but not his friends because you dont want to get in trouble for that crap. shit i wish i had a brother growing up to do something like that for me

 

It's not age but when the person becomes mature enough mentally. I think physically it is probably too young to smoke before 13, but mentally the age is probably a lot higher for most people in my opinion.

 

When the person is responsible, or an adult. 18 years old is when a person should be allowed to legally smoke cannabis. I think the brain is still developing, but at 18 marijuana won't do any damage at all, surprisingly. There are studies that prove this, marijuana is actually quite harmless to the brain. It's neuroprotective and promotes the death of brain cells (autophagy). I think 21 is too long of a wait, since weed isn't very harmful.

 

you're right. shit, i didn't think certain things would have happened in my life that did, so life can definitely change and be worse off even if you dont smoke. so shit, what does a person like me have to lose anyway by smoking?

 

Eigthteen should be the prime age.

 

I think I started when I was 15 or 16. Kind of wish I started when I was 18 just because I wasn't nearly as responsible as I could have been. I would say 18+ also just because at 13-15, your not really that responsible, don't have a job or a decent income. At 18 you should at least have a job, some goals for the future and some money put away.

But I'm sure some people will disagree with me


EDIT: But one good thing can come of smoking when you are young. If you get caught it's usually only a misdemeanor and you can get it expunged. But when your 18 plus...

 

You should function as an adult for some time completely sober so you can make a rational, unbaised decision about drug use.

If you've never been a sober adult you have no idea the toll these drugs have on your life.

 

Forget about including his friends, just you + him. Take a while to educate him on the herb, and when it finally happens, take it hit by hit. Good luck man, we can help but only you know the right answer.

 

I tried it twice when i was 13 and started doing it a lot at 15 and I feel I was old enough to handle it but some people aren't :/ if its just like for him to try my a few times go for it

 

Age is just a number... it depends on their level of maturity. I know plenty of adults who aren't mature enough to smoke and yet I have a few relatives that are minors and can keep their shit together stoned all day. If you think him and his friend can handle getting high without acting like idiots (i know i did when i first started at that age) or getting caught it should be fine.