How can you avoid downplaying or dramatising cannabis?

Staying factual means clearly naming the documented risks, without painting frightening pictures and without giving reassurance that the facts do not support. Parents who speak this way are credible to their children. Both extremes lose this credibility: anyone who downplays comes across as dishonest, and anyone who dramatises is no longer taken seriously.

Why both extremes do harm

Downplaying sounds like trust, but it is risky. If a child later hears something different from friends or has an experience that contradicts the statement, they also start to question the parents' other statements. Dramatising has a similar effect. Lines such as “One single joint makes you addicted” are not accurate. A child who notices this stops listening to the warnings that really matter.

The benchmark is therefore the state of the evidence. What is well studied is stated clearly. What is open is named as open.

What is well documented

The BIÖG prevention material and the pages of drugcom name several risks that can be addressed clearly:

• Dependence: According to the BIÖG, roughly one in eight people who use cannabis becomes dependent. The figure shows that most people who use do not become dependent. It does not show that nobody does.
• Psychosis: According to the BIÖG, people who use cannabis develop psychosis more frequently than people who do not. A study reported by drugcom puts the risk of psychotic symptoms at about twice as high for cannabis with high THC content.
• Brain and memory: The young brain is still developing. In the worst case, a school or vocational qualification is at risk, because memory works less well.
• Heart and circulation: According to the DHS, cannabis can increase heart rate. Existing heart problems can worsen in individual cases.
• Airways: According to drugcom, cannabis smoke damages the cilia in the airways.

What has to be said about psychosis

The risk of psychosis is a point where parents often exaggerate or play it down. The correct picture is this: it is a statistical association. The BIÖG explicitly points out that this association does not show that cannabis actually causes psychosis. Predisposition also plays a role. With an inherited tendency, according to the prevention website, even small amounts can be enough.

One sentence that covers both is factual: “The risk with cannabis is real, and it depends on how old someone is and how often they use.”

What is open

Being factual also means naming uncertainties. On the question of whether the brain of young people recovers after stopping, drugcom reports that it is not conclusively clear how this proceeds. A link between changes in the brain and starting use before age 18 is described, but the cause is not yet fully clarified. According to drugcom, there is no final conclusion yet on the risk of lung cancer from cannabis use alone.

This openness is no reason for reassurance. It helps you answer your child's questions honestly, for example with: “Nobody knows that exactly yet, but the precautionary principle applies to you.”

Typical mistakes in the conversation

• The line “Everybody does it”: It is not accurate. According to the BIÖG, cannabis use among 12- to 17-year-olds is in purely statistical terms relatively rare, with 1.3 percent using regularly. Even so, the risks for this age group are particularly high.
• The line “You get addicted straight away”: It is not accurate. According to the BIÖG, nobody becomes dependent immediately from a single joint. The longer and more often someone uses, and the younger they are, the greater the health risk. According to the BIÖG, the harm depends on age and how often a person uses.
• The line “It is all dangerous”: It hides the fact that there are differences. According to the BIÖG, the risks depend on age and how often a person uses, and for young people they are particularly high.
• Fear as an argument: Anyone who creates fear risks the child telling them nothing when something really goes wrong.

A factual formulation

A helpful sentence connects three things: the fact, the uncertainty and the consequence for the child. For example: “Cannabis can impair memory and concentration, especially in youth. Nobody knows exactly how strongly that would affect you. That is why I am telling you: wait until you are older, and talk to me if you are unsure.”

How parents check information

Many claims about cannabis circulate in videos, forums and chat groups. Not every one of them is correct, and not every source is trustworthy. A simple check helps: who published the claim, and is there a source that can be checked? The offers of the BIÖG, the DHS and drugcom are sources whose basis can be checked.

Personal accounts are understandable, yet they do not amount to a study. If you read a number, check whether it comes from a study and for which group it applies. A line such as “Everyone in my class has experienced that” does not replace a study, and a line such as “It is all harmless” replaces it even less. Tell your child how to recognise good information, and stay in conversation when they have heard something new.

What you can do now

1. Write down the three most important facts you want to pass on, and check them against the prevention website.
2. Say openly when you do not know something. That seems more credible than an invented figure.
3. Watch your choice of words. Terms such as “poison” or “harmless” take you away from the topic.
4. Use advice if you are unsure how serious a situation is. The Sucht & Drogen Hotline has the number 01806 313031.

A factual tone means being clear about what is known and what is not. It is the basis for your child asking you before making decisions. Further arguments for handling the topic are in How do you answer: cannabis is less harmful than alcohol? and in the topic section Prevention and youth protection.