I spent a week once with someone who was prescribed Adderall (sp?) when I didn't think they needed it (it made them act hyper and wierd, really like an unattractive nutcase when on it, it also made their eye's look wierd, like someone on cocaine). It made them very skinny. I can see where the college kids would be attracted to it but there was a definite trade-off, be skinny and act like a nutcase. I'd rather be plump and not have people looking at me like I'm a freak when I'm talking to them. The problem is the doctors give out this prescription just if you request it "I can't concentrate on my schooling." Here you go, this will help. There is no way to actually test if someone really has ADHD (what I learned from surfing ADHD sites after my disturbing visit with that person).
I also know someone who's college daughter was given an "ecstacy" pill at a Rave (all night party in San Francisco). She was catatonic for three days and the doctors told the parents they didn't know if she would ever "come back". My poor friend was actually looking at having a conservatorship done for her daughter because she thought she was going to be a zombie forever. She did finally kick the effects of the pill she took - they still don't know what it was. Come to think of it I had a client who was "lost" forever this way. She is like the living dead. She is alive but is unable to speak, her mind is fried from the drugs she took. She is in her late twenties and living in a retirement home, bedridden. This is what kids need to know can happen. I know kids think it won't happen to them, but by the time kids get to college and have lost a friend or two to car accidents or other tragedies, they need to see a video or police department video of this happening because it does happen.
I hope my kids never grow up wanting to do drugs. But I must say of the list of all the drugs listed I would be the least concerned about pot, (1) not physically addictive, (2) no one has ever died from pot (3) symptoms are gone within hours and (4) I was a total stoner for years (now I'm allergic to it) and know the friends I hung out with who were JUST stoners were less likely to be trouble-makers than the kids who drank alcohol or did other worse drugs. For example, I went to Reggae on the River two years in a row in Northern California - pot was everywhere, for that weekend the cops in Humbolt turned their head to it. It was 3 days of camping by the river enjoying reggae music. Not one fight, not one overdose, the only thing that happened which everyone heard about is that someone who actually took acid, not pot, went around stealing small items from the various camps and then he sat in front of his tent on a blanket surrounded by all his stolen loot (he was on a wierd trip). Unfortunately, that was in the early 90's and then Reggae on the River got invaded by people who brought in ecstacy, meth and other drugs and the whole vibe changed. When it was just pot it was actually a very friendly and happy weekend. At least that's how I remember it. The one thing to keep in mind is this, if addiction runs in the family, it doesn't matter what it is, the kid is more likely to have a problem with it. Someone who has the alcoholic gene is not going to be content just doing pot for long, that person will move up to alcohol, then soon it's meth and they are in huge trouble. By the grace of God I did not have a problem with addiction so when I was done with pot, I was done, no withdrawals, no wishing for it, it was just something I used to do. People who have addiction problems aren't so lucky. Worse, a kid might be that 1 in 500 who takes a pill at a party and ends up in a hospital in a coma, that is the realistic risk that kids need to be aware of. I believe having open conversations with your kids about this helps. I speak openly with my nieces about my stoner past and I do have bad stories associated with smoking pot and that is what I tell them, because someone could have a bad reaction to pot. But I believe by being open about it, answering their questions about it, actually makes it less intriguing, because its something their middle-aged aunt did, it's just not as cool. I'm okay with them thinking that.