Adults Only!?
Youth Prevention in the cannabis industry has been a prevalent topic for us recently.
Our new clients, the Sacramento County Coalition for Youth (SCCY)
and the City of Sacramento, are providing our
Sell-SMaRT™ Responsible Vendor training for their local licensed dispensary employees to attend for free.
They emphasize that it is never their intention to prevent cannabis medicine for youth. In the Adult Use market, they are committed to keeping cannabis out of the hands of non-patients under 21.
Last week, Maureen McNamara participated in a group meeting where a concerned patient advocate was wary of using the word “prevention,” especially when we have young people using medicinal cannabis. These kids, many of whom rely on this medicine to survive, are feeling conflicted that their medicine is prohibited and therefore must be “bad/ unsafe” for them.
One of the (many) great things that sets the licensed cannabis industry professionals apart from the old school, aka “black-market” way of selling cannabis, is that trained employees check identification and ONLY sell to people who may legally purchase.
So how do we navigate the needs of younger patients and share generative information with curious youth about why it may be best to wait to try cannabis?
Check out what the Colorado Department of Education has created. These programs are for schools and consist of evidence-based, research-based and promising materials and curricula pertaining to marijuana use prevention.
Ashley Kilroy, the Denver Excise and Licenses Director, wrote an Op-Ed for parents.
21% of Denver High School students reported consuming cannabis in the past 30 days.
73% of youth think their peers are using cannabis. This gap shows it is not as prevalent as students think.
In Ashley Kilroy’s article, she mentions how important it is to talk with children about cannabis. Through extensive research and youth focus groups, they found out that kids want a straightforward approach to this discussion (from their parents and teachers).
To read the rest of Ashley’s article, check out: http://littletonindependent.net/stories/marijuana-education-helps-prevent-trouble,269419?
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