DR. WALLACE: I'm a 17-year-old girl who needs your opinion. Last weekend, after my parents went to bed, I snuck out of my house to meet my boyfriend. It so happened that my mother woke up with a headache and went into my bedroom to get an aspirin at 1:00 a.m.

When I got home at 2:30 a.m. she was sitting in my room waiting for me. I am now grounded for a month, and my parents will not allow me to go out with my boyfriend ever again. They said that if I am caught with him, I'll be grounded for one full year.

I can accept being grounded for one month, but I can't accept that I can't see my boyfriend again. After all, we care for each other very much, and it would be very difficult for us to stay apart. Please give me your opinion on what I should do. —Nameless, Vancouver, British Columbia.

NAMELESS: Don't discuss the situation with your parents until after you are off restriction. Then when they are in a good mood, bring up the subject. Tell them you and your boyfriend are sorry for breaking the trust they had in you. Slowly encourage them to give you and your boyfriend another chance. Remember, don't rush things! You and your boyfriend are both to blame for the stupid behavior, but you are more than him. You are old enough to accept responsibility for your actions.

I WANT TO MOVE TO CANADA

DR. WALLACE: We have a Canadian foreign exchange student attending our high school. He and I are good friends and discuss a lot of things that are different in our two countries. One thing that really caught my interest was our discussion regarding teen marijuana use. He said teens used a lot of marijuana products in Canada because the marijuana laws are very weak regarding pot. Is this a fact, or is he just trying to get me to move there because I enjoy puffing marijuana. If what he said is true, I might move to Canada after I graduate from high school in a couple of weeks. —Nameless, Tacoma, Wash.

NAMELESS: I suppose you will probably start packing your bags. According to a study conducted by the province of Alberta's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, marijuana use is more widespread among Canadian teens than tobacco.

The commission questioned 3,394 students in grades 7 through 12 about substance use. Among the findings, 27 percent had smoked marijuana and 16 percent had smoked cigarettes.

This study also found that older teens (in grades 10-12) were almost twice as likely to try marijuana than tobacco. The survey reported that 43 percent had smoked marijuana at least once over the course of a year, in contrast to the 24 percent who had puffed on a cigarette. Marijuana is no doubt more popular than cigarettes among Alberta teenagers because Canadian law regarding its use is far less severe than U.S. law.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.