Hey College Parents, Today’s Weed is Not Your ’80s Pot

“They’re just smoking a little pot, right?”

Listen up, parents, because today’s “WEED” is not your “POT”.

Back in the late 70’s and 80’s, smoking pot usually meant passing a joint or bong around a circle of friends with half-closed eyes and mellow vibes (thanks, Cheech&Chong). The nicknames were endless- pot, dope, grass, marijuana, MJ, Mary Jane, reefers, roaches, etc, and the concentration of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive part) ranged from 2-5%. With these low THC concentrations, there was no recognized withdrawal syndrome and therefore pot was not considered addictive.

Today’s “weed” in the United States- legal or not- routinely … Read more

Spring Break 2023: The Good, The BORG & the Ugly

What college students need to know about Spring Break

It’s Spring Break Season! Parents, if you’re nervous about your college student’s pending #SB2023, you’re not alone. Although spring break partying is nothing new, the cultural normalization of over-the-top alcohol, drug and sexualized excess has taken things to a new level, exponentially magnified across social media. Let’s jump in with a few tips that can hopefully save your favorite young adult harm or heartache.

First, however, let me reassure you that roughly 20-30% of college students happily choose NOT to drink (or have sex or use drugs for that matter), AND approximately a third of college students drink quite … Read more

Why Doesn’t My Kid Love College (Yet)?

College life by ncgrimes

I sincerely hope your college student is already having an AMAZING experience, but if your “kidult” is struggling, please know they are NOT alone! This “Fall Frenzy” hits every year, especially for freshmen and transfer students. Realities of college are setting in, from suboptimal (or truly awful) midterm grades to social struggles. Some students party way too much, coping with anxiety by blackout drinking, using weed and/or other drugs. Other students hole up in their dorm rooms, escaping reality with video games. Along with these academic and social struggles, many students begin to question if they should change their major, … Read more

Packing for College? Don’t Forget These 8 Items!

Excitement and anxiety are in the air as students across the country prepare to fly the nest and head off to college. Universities provide useful shopping lists for dorm necessities, while Pinterest and TikTok will add more mini-lights, tapestries and pillows to your list than you can count! So why am I adding to your list? Because as both a college mom & a college physician, I know the most common items that students forget or simply don’t think to pack…till they actually need them.

1. Prescription Glasses: if your student wears contacts, PLEASE be sure they take a pair … Read more

How to Make Birth Control Pills More Effective

People take birth control pills for many reasons- to help control painful periods, to reduce heavy bleeding, to help with acne, and of course, to prevent pregnancy. If you are taking birth control pills for contraception- these tips are for you!

The SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT tip is to take your pill at the EXACT SAME TIME EVERY DAY! I recommend either setting an alarm on your phone or watch, or consider using an APP like KnowYourMeds that will send you a text notification every day at the same time to remind you to take your pill. Why is this important? … Read more

Best Way to Treat a STYE in Your EYE

????Tip Tuesday Time!

????Styes are “eye pimples” that form when the tiny oil glands at the base of your eyelashes get clogged up with debris (leftover mascara, makeup, or simply dead skin cells).

????The treatment is MOIST HEAT & here is the TIP:
“It’s not the DEGREE but the DURATION” of heat that is important!

????One method that retains moist heat longer than wetting a washcloth is making a RICE SOCK. Place roughly ½ cup of UNCOOKED RICE into a clean sock, tie a knot in the sock (to keep the rice inside) & microwave for roughly 30 seconds, which … Read more