News & Views
Past-month, adolescent marijuana use: CO v. U.S.
To learn more about the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health, click here and here.
Ultra Potent Pot: Growing risks and impacts
Smart Colorado, a nonprofit organization focused on protecting youth from the harmful effects of marijuana use and legalization, has produced a video featuring perspectives that often don't make it into news coverage. In Colorado, marijuana use among adolescents has...
Meet the Natural High 2017 Video and Essay winner, finalists
We're big fans of Natural High, a California-based nonprofit organization that is rooted in sound prevention science and provides free resources to help guide youth "to reach their fullest potential and say no to drugs." Through the powerful and personal storytelling...
Patrick Kennedy: ‘Mental health the Civil Right issue of our time’
Former Congressman Patrick Kennedy knows well the damage that can come from harboring family secrets about mental illness and addiction. Son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and his first wife, Joan; nephew of President John F. Kennedy and former U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy,...
NIDA: ‘Insufficient evidence’ that marijuana lessens opiate use, death
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that there is insufficient evidence to support claims that marijuana use will reduce opioid use and overdose deaths. The federal agency wrote: Some preliminary studies have suggested that medical marijuana...
Dear Dr. T: ‘I’m ready to go home’
Dear Dr. T: My mom and I just can’t seem to get along. Whenever I’m home, we always get into arguments around the stupidest stuff. Neither of us will let up, so I usually end up going over to a friend’s house for the night. I’ve been living at one friend’s...
How parents can help their adolescents not use drugs
The most important thing parents can do for their adolescent with a substance problem is to maintain a positive, warm and loving relationship with him or her because this is the most important tool parents have to shape their child's values and future directions. This...
Parents don’t have to accept youth substance use
These are common questions: If so many teens are using addictive substances such as alcohol, tobacco and marijuana, what's the big deal? Isn't it normal to experiment like this? After all, teens will be teens -- and a lot of parents had their own flings with smokes...
American psychiatric society review: Clearing the Haze ‘commendable effort’
The May 2017 edition of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry includes a review of our book, "Clearing the Haze: Helping Families Face Teen Addiction." Dr. Christopher Hammond calls it "parent-friendly" and writes: "Thurstone and Tatum...
Dear Dr. T: ‘I’m late to graduate’
Dear Dr. T: I’ve been hiding a secret from all of my friends. I’m a senior, and I’m not graduating from high school this year. It’s a long story, but I didn’t pass a lot of my classes. I’m not sure how to tell my friends, and I feel like graduation is a ticking time...
Read the book
Clearing the Haze is a guide designed to help parents determine whether their child may have a substance problem and, if so, how to begin to address it. This book includes the voices and insight of experts in substance abuse counseling, young people in recovery, and parents who have lived the nightmare of adolescent addiction.