Education: The Pot Problem

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What does concern parents, administrators and doctors is the possibility of psychological habituation. Chicago Child Psychoanalyst Ner Littner, who compares marijuana with such fads as goldfish swallowing, argues that for the emotionally stable youngster, its use is just part of "the developmental phase of being a college student." But University of Chicago Psychiatry Professor C. Knight Aldrich points out that "the emotionally susceptible person can get psychologically dependent on anything —caffein and coffee, nicotine and cigarettes, alcohol or marijuana." And of these, pot leads to the worst possibility: that the student may take to stronger, crippling drugs. On balance, says U.C.L.A. Neuropsychiatrist Keith Dit-man, "pot is something to be concerned about. It's more frequent than many people realize. But I don't think it's anything to panic over."