So a couple of my friends have been smoking weed and I'm really worried for them and I want them to stop. Is there any way I can get them to stop smoking weed?
No, not really, especially since I assume they are around the same age as you. If it's something they want to do, they'll find a way to do it no matter what people say.
Why are you so worried? You should do some research into the actual affects of marijuana. And I don't mean from some BS website with no legitimate sources. I do think that 14 is a bit young to be smoking. Just because you smoke pot doesn't mean you're stupid or doomed to be a drug addict. If it's not for you, don't do it, but I don't think you should be trying to stop other people from doing something, which in reality, isn't that destructive. This is of course MY OPINION! I just think that it wouldn't be becoming legalised in a number of places if it were that harmful.
You can't really get them to stop, unfortunately. If it's not your cup of tea, do not smoke it, and likely you'll have to opt out of hangouts when they're smoking it. It's 100% your choice — remember that, and do not feel pressured to try it out. =]
Weed (or for that matter, any mind-altering drug) is really, really bad for developing brains of early and mid-teens for a whole variety of reasons. It affects developing dopamine pathways, it impacts creation and storage of memory, it can have other long-term impacts on emotional development. (This is well documented, not from "some BS website.") So you're smart to be concerned about your friends. Unfortunately, though, there's really nothing you can do. I was in a similar situation in high school, as my only group of close friend all started smoking weed and doing other things, which I had no interest in, and I had to make the really difficult decision to simply dump that group of friends, which meant, basically, I had no friends for a while, until I developed new ones. But that turned out to be a good decision, as my former friends basically all became really unproductive, ended up failing out of college, and now are stuck in uninteresting jobs. That's not entirely because of their drug use, but certainly the drug use clouded their motivation and thinking. So basically, you probably need to just let them go and find healthier friends.
I got $20 that says you either smoke or have smoked weed. This arguement is never made by people who haven't.
Yeah, not much you can do... except stay away from the stuff yourself Maybe try to make some new friends
Maybe you could try and explain to them the kind of legal trouble that they could get into for marijuana possession. 14 is a little young to have a record...
I don't think they'll be appreciative of you trying to make them stop, nor will information on the effects be much help as they have the power to look that up themselves. I would recommend just leaving them be and allowing them to do what they want; they're not looking for a third parent. If they were in serious trouble or involved in a deep substance (or other) addiction, then of course it is the right thing to do to step in. However, smoking some weed in moderation isn't a problem and as long as they're not blowing it in your faces or forcing you to smoke it, you don't need to worry. The patronising attitude of some people who like to announce frequently the fact they don't do drugs or drink or anything of that sort is an extremely irritating characteristic and it's one you don't want to pick up. I'm not saying you shouldn't care about it, but just make sure you don't shove your opinions down their throats and try not to get on a high horse about it. I'm not even saying that you do do these things, just recommending you avoid this habit.
