Marijuana, also considered pot or weed, is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant. Pot affects the parts of the brain responsible for memory, learning capabilities, attention, decision-making, coordination, emotions, and reaction time. 48.2 million people in the United States have tried marijuana at least once in their life, and Aaron is one of them.

Imagine watching your son as he changes from a lively and sociable guy to someone who is sluggish and lazy. Mrs. Jones (a pseudonym), a staff member at Day Creek Intermediate experienced this after she discovered that her son, Aaron (also a pseudonym), started smoking pot at a young age, which began as the result of peer pressure.

“He told me he started smoking pot when he was fifteen, [Aaron] went from being a really fun, friendly, outgoing guy, to just laid-back, lazy…didn’t want to do anything,” said Mrs. Jones

As time passed, Aaron began smoking more frequently. His grades dropped drastically, and he began to associate with a different crowd of friends. His personality continued to change, and his mother often found herself in conferences with his teachers regarding his grades and behavior in class. It was a bitter pill to swallow for Mrs. Jones, as she watched her son become more and more lethargic.

“Some of his friends wanted to do really well in sports, [but] he lacked the motivation, so his [friend group] changed. He became less involved in school, less involved in activities, and ended up not graduating,” said Mrs. Jones.

Whenever Aaron works, he only works for quick money. He collects things to sell, or works door to door. He’ll fix people’s yards or help with yard sales. 

“Whenever he gets in a crunch, he tries to sell things. I don’t know if he steals it; I don’t know where it comes from, but he finds things to sell,” said Mrs. Jones.

As a result of his laziness and a lack of a high school diploma, Aaron struggles to maintain a consistent job, but still works from time to time. He wrestles with apathy when it comes to trying his best.

“He still lacks motivation to even find a job,” said Mrs. Jones. “He is a good worker when he wants to, when he needs money, but he [is just] really [lazy towards having] any [career].”

Aaron continues to smoke pot, but his drug use has lessened over time. Previously, Aaron could go through an entire pack a day. Today, he has bad days and good days, but tries his best to improve. 

“When I see him, it seems like his drug use has really tapered down, but it has affected his desire to work [and] to get ahead in life,” said Mrs. Jones. “If I talk to him now, he’s probably down to a couple times a week.”

Currently, Aaron lives with his girlfriend and her ten-year old son. He also takes care of his grandmother. They struggle to get by, and his girlfriend’s son’s life is affected by Aaron and his girlfriend’s drug consumption.

“The school really helps [their son] out quite a bit, giving him Chromebooks, free lunches, knowing he comes from a pretty rough background,” said Mrs. Jones. 

Aaron continues to have a lack of communication with his family, as his grandma is the only family member he keeps in contact with.

“He has very, very minimal contact with [his cousins]. Every now and then, he’d write on their social media pages and say ‘hi,’ and that’s about the extent of getting in contact with family,” said Mrs. Jones. 

Mrs. Jones continues to have hope, and appreciates the effort her son is making to break the cycle of addiction. 

“To [stop] doing drugs you have to be a lot stronger, and you really have to like yourself, because when you start drugs you don’t really love yourself,” said Mrs. Jones.

She understands that her son is on a tough journey, and is ecstatic about his progress. “For those of you who are doing drugs, [stopping is] a journey and it’s something that you can’t work on overnight. But there’s always hope, that’s the one thing that keeps me going as a parent. Always hoping and praying that he’ll get his life back together,” said Mrs. Jones.