Pot and the teen brain: Risks are real, experts say

Mark smoked his first joint when he was 12, under a bridge in Terrebonne.
He had a lot of problems back then, with his parents’ impending divorce and the bullying at school, but few friends. So when someone wanted to hang out with him, he didn’t really care why. He wanted to be wanted.
But one joint led to another, then onto harsher drugs, and soon Stoner Mark became Junkie Mark.
He dropped out of school, went in and out of jail — for dealing, and repeatedly trying to break int