A parent's guide to preventing underage marijuana use

This week, Prevention WINS released Now that marijuana is legal in Washington . . . A parent’s guide to preventing underage marijuana use. 

The booklet is written by Dr. Leslie Walker, Chief of the Division of Adolescent Medicine at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and Dr. Kevin Haggerty, Associate Director of the Social Development Research Group at the University of Washington.  Dr. Walker is a leader in adolescent medicine, especially adolescent substance abuse, and Dr. Haggerty is a leader in adolescent substance abuse prevention. 

The booklet includes information about:

~ Marijuana and teen health.

~ What parents can do to prevent teen marijuana use.

~ What the new law means for minors.

The goal of the booklet is to provide parents of children in grades 6-8 with tools they can use to prevent underage marijuana use.  Messages are prevention-oriented and are similar to what parents learn in Guiding Good Choices.  

The booklet is not a drug education resource.  It does not contain information about specific types of marijuana products.  A good source for drug education resources is the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute's marijuana website and clearinghouse. 

Page 8 of the guide includes a few resources that parents may access for more information.  It is by no means an exhaustive list and it focuses on NE Seattle.  It was intentionally kept short so that people could write in or affix stickers with their local resources.    

For more information about the booklet, please contact the Prevention WINS coordinator.