Truthfully, the best approach to children about marijuana is surprisingly simple, clear, and easy to understand for them. And it is very persuasive to convince them to rarely, if at all, use marijuana.
Tell them that there are indeed therapeutic benefits to some sick people, which is true, and yes, it is often used as a recreational drug. However, if you use it too much, or too often, you get nailed with its one big side effect.
It makes you stupid. Dull. Boring. It takes the edge off life and makes people drab. They no longer want to do fun things. They no longer have a sharp wit. Their creativity is muddled. They lose their initiative.
And, not ironically, if you ask them, they will admit to this.
One of the most effective anti-drug songs ever recorded was a cheery-sounding lament called “Because I got high”. In it, he complains of things, ordinary and important, he didn’t do because he was high on marijuana, and how it has ruined his life. (Some NSFW lyrics). This includes:
Not cleaning up his room.
Failing classes at school.
He lost a promising job.
He didn’t go to court so lost his entire paycheck to child support.
He ran from the police and was beaten and crippled.
He lost his car from not making payments.
He lost his girlfriend.
He lost his home and now sleeps on the sidewalk.
He says he is high now and is even screwing up his song.
If you lie to your kids they won't respect you.
>>>It makes you stupid. Dull. Boring. It takes the edge off life and makes people drab. They no longer want to do fun things. They no longer have a sharp wit. Their creativity is muddled. They lose their initiative.<<<
As you’ve been getting hammered here for this opinion, let me tell you that you’re correct. Sadly, I know this from personal experience after spending several years in the endless party that was the 1970s. But I also know it from observation, and if anecdotes aren’t sufficient, then I also know it from controlled studies that indicate marijuana slowing response time, impairing intellectual ability, and diminishing initiative.
Having said that, preventing marijuana use is a train that has long ago left the station. Pot has been illegal my entire life - I’m 58 - and except for the years before 1974, it’s been easy enough to get some just by asking around and keeping your eyes open. And I’m not a smoker; those who get high would no doubt have an easier time finding some. It is de facto legal here in Alaska, as it was in Oregon, Connecticut, and California when I lived there. That might be the only silver lining in the wave of legalization that is bound to sweep over most of the country - everyone who wants to get high is already getting high, and everyone who doesn’t care can already get it if they want, so my guess is that there won’t be a sudden surge of new pot smokers.
Not that it’s any good for you, and the argument that it’s not as bad as alcohol is like comparing different kinds of illness. The real comparison is between getting stoned and being sober. Sober is better.
Like any other kind of social change, there will be unforeseen consequences. No one was talking about fetal alcohol syndrome and second-hand smoke when I was a kid, and ubiquitous pot smoking will no doubt produce something surprising, and not in a happy way.
Happy trails.