How public marijuana use impacts children

Community norms are among the strongest predictors of youth marijuana use according to research conducted by the University of Washington’s Social Development Research Group.  Community norms are communicated to children through social practices, policies, and adult expectations.  An example of a social practice that is not uncommon in Seattle is the public use of marijuana. 

An opinion piece in today’s Seattle Times discusses concerns from parents about this norm.  The piece starts with a description of what recently happened to a parent at one of our city’s parks:

She took three kids — two 8-year-olds and a 7-year-old — for a quick mid-afternoon trip to Golden Gardens on Sunday. Pails, shovels and ice cream in hand, they set up camp… and were enveloped in a cloud of marijuana smoke from three adults sitting upwind just a few feet away.

He then goes on to share a personal experience:

Last winter, my son’s middle-school ultimate frisbee match at Cal Anderson Park came to a sudden halt when the kids turned their noses to the marijuana smoke wafting from the nearby skateboard park. I yelled at the tokers to put it out, and was ignored. I support Initiative 502 for the same reasons as Natalie, but left the park wondering what we’d actually done.

People who don’t see a problem with public marijuana use are going to say that parents need to tell their kids that marijuana use is for adults only.   They are right.  But as prevention science tells us, it takes a village to raise a child.  Parents alone cannot prevent adolescent marijuana use – they need the support of other adults who model healthy and responsible behaviors.  They need the support of policies that prevent the public use of marijuana.  They need community norms to support healthy youth development.   

Why an increase in teen drug use in NE Seattle? (Updated)

With the latest media attention, questions are being asked about how Roosevelt High School compares to other schools and why more students are attending school under the influence.

First, it is not just Roosevelt.  Other high schools are reporting an increase in students using/possessing marijuana and alcohol at school.  The difference is that Roosevelt High School administration decided to inform the public since teen drug use is a community problem.

Update: KPLU broadcast a story about an increase in marijuana use on middle and high school campuses throughout Seattle.

However, RHS students increasingly report recent drug use (despite alcohol use rates decreasing between 2006 and 2010).

Source: Washington State Healthy Youth Survey (HYS)

Roosevelt students report the second highest rates of alcohol and marijuana use among Seattle Public Schools high schools, behind Ballard High School students.  Nathan Hale and Garfield High School students are tied for the third highest use rates.

Why are substance use rates increasing in NE Seattle?

First the good news: Parental monitoring
Since 2006, the Prevention WINS coalition and community members focused a great deal of prevention activities on parenting.  Specifically, activities taught parents that they should monitor their teenage children to ensure that they are following family rules about not using drugs. According to HYS data, Eckstein 8th grade students* increasingly report that their parents monitor them.  Between 2006 and 2012, the percent of 8th grade student who reported that their parents know where they are and who they are with when they are not home increased from 73% to 92%.

Now the not-so-good news: Availability 

Between 2006 and 2012, the percent of Eckstein 8th grade students who reported that it would be easy to get marijuana increased from 11% to 29%.  Those reporting that it would be easy to get alcohol increased from 22% to 35%.

The other not-so-good news: Community laws & norms
As reported in an earlier post, the percent of 8th grade student who perceive community laws and norms that are favorable to drug use increased between 2006 and 2012 from 15% to 26%.

Since risk factors have changed dramatically over the past few years, the Prevention WINS coalition is currently conducting a new assessment to determine how to shift focus onto community risk factors when the coalition has been focusing on family risk factors.  The assessment will be complete by the end of the school year.

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*Eckstein Middle School 8th grade data is used because former Eckstein students compose the largest group -- but not the majority -- within the Roosevelt freshman class.  Eighth grade risk factor data can also inform onset of use between middle and high school, an important transition time.

Community laws & norms favorable toward drug use

Risk and protective factor-focused substance abuse prevention theory is based on the idea that to prevent youth drug use communities need to identify the factors that increase the risk of drug use starting and find ways to reduce that risk.  "Community laws and norms favorable toward drug use" is one risk factor identified by prevention researchers.

Community laws & norms
Community norms are the attitudes and policies that a community holds about drug use and are communicated to teens through laws and written policies, through social practices, and through the expectations adults have of young people.

"Another concern is conflicting messages about alcohol/other drugs from key social institutions.  An example of conflicting messages about substance abuse can be found in the acceptance of alcohol use as a social activity within the community.  The 'Beer Gardens,' popular at street fairs and community festivals frequented by young people, are in contrast to . . . the messages that schools and parents may be promoting.  These conflicting messages make it difficult for children to decide which norms to follow."  (From: Substance Abuse Prevention: The Intersection of Science and Practice, page 18.)

Hempfest
From this science-based approach to preventing teen marijuana use (which is still illegal despite I-502), let's think about Seattle Hempfest.

Here is a picture from a Tweet from the Seattle Police Department (a key institution in our city):

The young person  in the photo is holding a bag of chips that SPD handed out to Hempfest participants that included this sticker:

While SPD handed out chips to educate people about the law, KOMO News took photos of people who appear to be minors smoking pot in public.  

(Joshua Lewis / KOMO News)

Some argue that the stickers affixed to the chips is a good way to teach minors that marijuana use is still illegal for them (even though minors apparently ignored the SPD warning).  Others say that it is another example of community laws and norms favorable to marijuana use.  That SPD's approach to educating the public about the new marijuana law provides conflicting messages to teenagers making it difficult for them to decide which norms to follow.

NE Seattle

What does NE Seattle data say about community laws and norms favorable to drug use?  One of the Healthy Youth Survey questions that provides an answer asks students if they will be caught by police if they use drugs.  Since 2006, the percent of Eckstein 8th grade students who report that they would be caught by police if using marijuana decreased.  

Not surprisingly, the overall risk factor of laws and norms favorable toward drug use increased within that time, jumping by almost 10 percentage points between 2010 and 2012 among Eckstein 8th graders.