Megan's Story

A female student from an area high school, Megan, was referred to the counselor for her admittance because a teacher knew she used marijuana and the teacher noticed that her grades and attendance were slipping. In addition, the teacher had observed Megan's sister call the school to allow the student to leave and smoke marijuana. Megan acknowledged that her grades were slipping and her participation in class was not meeting her own expectations. Upon meeting with the student for her evaluation, she shared that she knew smoking marijuana was wrong, but it helped with her headaches.

The counselor challenged Megan to do research on marijuana and the side effects of using it. She provided information during the next counseling session that she had learned that marijuana could affect her brain function and cause headaches. Megan then decided she was going to quit. During the remainder of her treatment, she had identified that her friends were still asking her to smoke despite her commitment to quitting, and that after a few weeks she no longer had any headaches. She also had established a goal of spending more time with her family. By the last session, Megan had boosted her grades, her attendance was near perfect, she spent most weekends and weeknights with her family, and had made new friends that did not smoke or drink.