Marijuana Prevention
With the passage and implementation of Prop 64, marijuana legalization sends mixed messages to youth, including the concern that marijuana use for young people is safe. Research shows that 1 in 6 young people who start using marijuana during the teen years can become addicted. And the teen brain can also be impacted, in ways that go beyond recovery.
The Sacramento County Coalition for Youth has created and implemented the Future Forward campaign, designed to encourage young people to look ahead to their future, consider their plans and goals, and understand that using marijuana will deter them from the future they imagine. The goal is to educate the Sacramento Community, offer information and resources, and provide an opportunity to get involved in creating change to protect young people from increased accessibility to marijuana in our community.
Get the Facts:
- One in six teens that use marijuana can become addicted.
- If you are not 21 years or older, the purchase and recreational use of marijuana is illegal.
- Teens who use marijuana are less likely to graduate from high school.
- Regular marijuana use can cause long-term damage to a teen’s developing brain.
- Four out of five high school students do NOT smoke marijuana.
- 65% of high school seniors disapprove of regular marijuana use.
- Teens that don’t use marijuana are healthier and more successful.
Tips for Teens:
Marijuana use can affect a teen’s life now AND later. Here’s how:
- It makes school even harder: studies have found that marijuana use during a teen’s formative years can decrease IQ and is associated with lower grades and higher dropout rates.
- College is more difficult: students who have grants, scholarships or financial aid to help pay for college could put that funding in jeopardy by using marijuana. Schools that rely on federal funding don’t allow marijuana use, sale or possession on campus. And collegiate sports programs drug test athletes as well.
- Marijuana use could jeopardize your dream job: studies have found some employees who use marijuana have more absences, are late to work, and have an increased number of workplace accidents, workers compensation claims and job turnover rates.
- Marijuana and driving don’t mix: vehicle accidents are the number one cause of death for young drivers, and most are caused by substance impairment. Marijuana can affect coordination, reaction time and critical thinking skills, all of which are necessary to operate a vehicle. And legal consequences can result in thousands of dollars in fines, jail time, and license suspension.
- Marijuana use is associated with lower rates of employment and lower annual incomes – one study found over 50% of heavy users experienced downward socioeconomic mobility and another study found that heavy marijuana users were more likely than non-users to report an annual income of less than $30,000.
Helpful Links:
- National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens
- Stay True to You
- Heads Up: Real News About Drugs and Your Body (100k PDF)
- The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA):
