Seattle Magazine: What's being done about the rise in marijuana use among teens?

"What's being done about the rise in marijuana use among teens?" asks an article in this month's Seattle Magazine. The article features interviews with Prevention WINS current and former members. Here are a few excerpts:

Local kids are being pummeled with messages that pot is now OK, says longtime KING-TV reporter Roberta Romero, now director of development at Residence XII, a substance abuse program for women based in Kirkland. Romero, in recovery for alcohol addiction herself and the parent of twin teenagers attending Seattle’s Roosevelt High School, worries that the recent years’ barrage of local pot promotion isn’t being offset by prevention education for youth. 

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 But increasing availability for adults also means that youth are likely to have more access to pot. According to the state’s most recent Healthy Youth Survey, 10th graders who live with a marijuana user are more than five times as likely to report regular pot use. When kids ingest or smoke pot, it can lead to a slew of health-related issues, says Leslie R. Walker, M.D., the chief of Seattle Children’s Division of Adolescent Medicine. 

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Although hundreds of Seattle students were caught using or possessing marijuana last year, Seattle Public Schools has not made broad changes to student programming or curriculum to address Washington’s new legal environment for marijuana. However, the district has incorporated information on the risk of new marijuana products into existing curriculum, says Lisa Davidson, manager of prevention and intervention for Seattle Public Schools. Evidence-based drug prevention programs used by the district include the Project Alert program, used in many middle schools, and Project SUCCESS, in high schools. There’s also more staff training and parent education pertaining to issues such as the marijuana law and new products, she says. 

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In prevention circles, “perception of harm,” or the idea that a substance is harmful, is a key indicator. “As perceptions of harm around a substance go down, we see the use go up,” says Liz Wilhelm, drug-free communities coordinator for Prevention WINS.

Underage Marijuana Use Prevention Toolkit now available online

An Underage Marijuana Use Prevention Toolkit was recently launched by the Washington State Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery to help educate people about the new law and the risks associated with adolescent use of the drug.  The toolkit is available online and includes several posters, including these two.

Since no current funding exists for a full scale educational campaign, DBHR is relying heavily on community-based organizations, including coalitions and their partners, to use the toolkit to educate parents, youth, and the wider community about the new law and how marijuana impacts adolescent health.  

Marijuana, teenagers, and the law

This week I am taking a closer look at the many misperceptions about teenagers and marijuana that are included in a recent Seattle PI Pot Blog post.  Today, let’s look at the statement that teen marijuana use prevention has been stymied by “Fear of the law.  Fear of the consequences." 

Marijuana is still illegal for teenagers.

First of all, the law hasn’t changed for people under the age of 21.  If "fear" of the law decreases among teenagers post-legalization it will be because the law regarding minors is not enforced. 

Most teenagers think they will not get caught by police.

Among Seattle 10^th grade students, 29% report that they think they would be caught by police if they used marijuana, according to the 2012 Healthy Youth Survey.  Statewide, 33% of 10^th graders report that they’d be caught. Most Washington high school students do not fear getting caught by police if they use marijuana. 

Teenagers don’t go to jail for marijuana possession.

In King County, teenagers caught with marijuana are referred to a juvenile diversion program.  They do not go to jail.  In fact, Seattle Police cannot bring them to the precinct.  The diversion program requires that teenagers obtain an assessment from a community agency and that they follow assessment recommendations.  Most of the time, teenagers are referred to a one-day drug education class.  Sometimes, when the assessment identifies a chemical dependency problem, teenagers are referred to treatment to get the help they need.

The enforcement of laws affect teen drug use.
Community norms are the attitudes and policies that a community holds about drug use and are communicated to teens several ways including through laws, policies, and their enforcement.  When underage marijuana laws are not enforced, teenagers hear conflicting messages.  While parents and school-based prevention programs may teach them that marijuana use is to be avoided, key institutions may teach them that the community thinks teen marijuana use is acceptable by turning a blind eye.  These conflicting messages make it difficult for teenagers to decide which norms to follow.

Therefore, to be most effective, youth substance use prevention must include multiple activities conducted by multiple individuals and organizations.  We know that parents are the primary influence on their children, so they have a significant role to play.  We know that schools can provide evidence-based prevention programs.  But it is also important for law enforcement and juvenile justice systems to back what parents and schools are doing and send clear messages to teenagers that marijuana and other drug use will not be tolerated by the community.  

As perception of risk decreases underage marijuana use increases

Yesterday, I started to address common misperceptions about adolescent marijuana use included in a recent Seattle PI Pot Blog post.  Today let’s take a closer look at the statement that recent media stories “. . . give the impression that marijuana will suddenly become a big issue for kids.  Well, maybe legalization will have the opposite effect, even with kids’ attitudes about the dangers of marijuana slipping toward the ‘not so dangerous’ side." 

As the author recognizes, perception of risk is associated with marijuana use among teens.

While local data about teen marijuana use and perceived risk post-legalization won't be available until next spring, current Healthy Youth Survey data indicate that NE Seattle teens decreasingly think that marijuana use is risky.  Prevention WINS coalition members and others concerned with teen drug use report that teenagers increasingly hear from adults in the community that marijuana use is not risky.  Unless it turns out that trends dating back to 1975 are poor predictors of future youth use rates, it is reasonable to expect that more Washington teenagers will report regularly using marijuana in the years to come.  

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.

Media stories highlight increased acceptance of drug use among teens

KING 5 and Q13 also picked up on the story about Roosevelt High School's principal's letter to parents about a spike in the number of students attending school in possession and/or under the influence of drugs.

The KING 5 story includes interviews with students who report that their peers who use are no longer afraid to show that they use marijuana and/or alcohol.  They say that there is increased acceptance that marijuana/alcohol use is "just part of life" and "the normal thing to do."



The Q13 story highlights the fact that the younger a teenager starts using drugs, including alcohol and marijuana, the more likely they will become addicted to them.

Update: KOMO also broadcast a story and highlighted that the majority of Roosevelt students make healthy choices and do not use drugs.

More about the increase in students under the influence at school

Today, KIRO broadcast a story about the increase in drug-related disciplinary incidents at Roosevelt High School.

E-cigarettes used for more than nicotine

E-cigarettes have been in the news quite a bit, lately.

Seattle Times: Put heat on e-cigarettes and 'vaping'

New York Times:

• E-cigarettes, by other names, lure young and worry experts
• How can I 'talk to my kids about vaping' if I don't really know what it means?

KPLU: Candy flavors put e-cigarettes on kids' menu

KING 5:

• Growing teen use of e-cigarettes raising health concerns
• Tobacco-free e-cigarettes could face tobacco taxes

While most of the media coverage is about the use of e-cigarettes, a type of vaporizer, to ingest nicotine, it is becoming increasingly common for teen marijuana users to ingest the drug using vaporizers.  During the January Prevention WINS general coalition meeting, community members reported that vaporizers are increasingly confiscated at school and it is difficult for administrators to detect if they are being used for nicotine or THC (the part of marijuana that produces a high.)  Community members who work with NE Seattle teens report that those who use marijuana are increasingly using vaporizers with some people predicting that, for minors, smoking marijuana is becoming a thing of the past.

In the KOMO story about hash oil that was posted last week, a Liquor Control Board employee notes that vaporizing concentrated marijuana products seems to be preferred among teens who use.  Considering that people under 21 represent a quarter of current WA marijuana users, products that are consumed by vaporizing likely compose a large part of the marijuana product market.

Vaporizers are easy to buy online.  A snapshot from one online retailer (below) shows that vaporizers can be used for dried marijuana products, nicotine, and concentrated marijuana products ("wax".)

Central Seattle survey shows shift in student attitudes toward pot, alcohol

KOMO recently reported on findings from a survey conducted by the Central Seattle Drug Free Communities Coalition about student's changing attitudes about marijuana.  Communities throughout Seattle and the state are reporting similar changes in student attitudes.

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.

Seattle City Council briefed about new marijuana law

Mark Kleiman, whose company (BOTEC) provides the Liquor Control Board with advice about implementing I-502, briefed the Seattle City Council today.

He started by noting that Washington now has three marijuana systems: the I-502 recreational market, the medical marijuana market, and the illicit market.  All three systems play by different rules.  The question he posed is: How much of the marijuana consumed in our state will be obtained through the I-502 system?  Several times during the briefing Dr. Kleiman made it clear that he thinks only one system should exist.

Dr. Kleiman went on to point out that there is no money set aside in I-502 for state and local enforcement of the new marijuana law.  While in the long-run less enforcement of marijuana laws may be needed, in the short-run more enforcement is needed.  If consumers are to buy taxed marijuana, people selling un-taxed marijuana need to be pushed out of business.  The main way they will be pushed out of business is if police enforce the law.

Minors will continue to obtain marijuana under the new law, just like they now get alcohol.  Dr. Kleiman seemed to suggest that minor in possession laws should not be enforced because he says that kids are then thrown in jail.  However, in Washington, youth who are cited for minor in possession are not thrown in jail.  The majority of them enter into diversion agreements which require that they receive a drug assessment.  After the assessment youth are usually either referred to a few hours of drug education or referred to treatment.  In the end, the enforcement of minor in possession laws can provide an important pathway for youth who need help to get that help.

If unable to view the video above, the briefing may be seen through the Seattle Channel's website.