Medical marijuana products at school

Cannabis Quencher Strawberry Lemonade was confiscated from a high school student by Seattle Public Schools staff earlier this month.  District staff shared photos:

This product was likely sold as medical marijuana since the label does not meet Liquor Control Board standards for recreational marijuana products.  If sold as recreational marijuana and regulated by the Liquor Control Board it would contain 8 servings.  (1 serving = 10 mg of THC)  

Board of Health urged to ban marijuana edibles that appeal to children and teenagers

Several Seattle community members testified before the King County Board of Health last week asking that they ban medical marijuana edibles that are attractive to children and teenagers.  They spoke about the many medical marijuana stores in their communities, a spike in marijuana poisonings in our state, and provided personal stories about losing a child to drugs.



The Board of Health was also briefed about the implementation of the secure medicine return program which was adopted in 2013 as a way to reduce prescription drug abuse among teenagers.  The program is moving forward despite pharmaceutical companies suing the county in an effort to block it.

Easy access to medical marijuana among teenagers

On Saturday, the Seattle Times published two pieces about the unregulated medical marijuana system in our state and how it plays out in Seattle.  

"How I learned it's ridiculously easy to buy pot at medical marijuana dispensaries without a 'green card'" is written by a reporter who, apparently, looks young for her age.  After easily purchasing fruit-flavored strains of marijuana in two out of three medical marijuana dispensaries without showing ID or an authorization, she wonders, "Why did these guys have to make it so easy, especially if they thought I looked too young? What if I were an underage kid?"  


Prevention WINS coalition members representing schools, parents, juvenile probation, and drug counselors have been reporting how easy it is for teenagers to get medical marijuana for a few years.  This became especially true once Seattle started licensing medical marijuana dispensaries as businesses and they started popping up along north Seattle arterial roads like Lake City Way and Aurora.  One student at a north end high school was caught many times sharing and selling medical marijuana to friends that he bought from a nearby dispensary.  Five students from another high school required medical attention after eating high potency medical marijuana edibles last year.  A middle school drug counselor complained to police about students coming to school with marijuana they purchased at a medical marijuana dispensary on Rainier Avenue.  All of these reports were apparently ignored by public officials.

An accompanying editorial, "Unregulated medical-marijuana market is creating a hazy future", calls on the City of Seattle and the state legislature to do something about medical marijuana.  They state that there is "no excuse to ignore existing authority, including criminal charges against black-market dealers masquerading as dispensaries."

Mayor prepares to make zoning recommendations for medical marijuana businesses

During the medical marijuana symposium hosted by the Mayor's Office last month, the Seattle Department of Planning and Development shared maps of possible scenarios for medical marijuana business zoning.

Two possible scenarios would create 500 foot buffer zones between medical marijuana businesses and places where children congregate including schools, playgrounds, daycare centers, parks, and libraries.  One of those scenarios measures the buffer zones according to "how the crow flies" and one according to "common path of travel" - the shortest walking distance.  This is what the two scenarios look like in NE Seattle:

As the Crow Flies

Yellow = estimated areas for medical marijuana businesses
Gray & pink = medical marijuana businesses not allowed
Red dots = existing medical marijuana businesses
Green dots: existing medical marijuana businesses that would be allowed

Common Path of Travel

If the City decides to use a 500 foot buffer, instead of the 1,000 foot buffer required "as the crow flies" around recreational marijuana businesses, city-wide187 (as the crow flies) or 210 (common path of travel) medical marijuana businesses would potentially be allowed to remain open.  This is in addition to 21 recreational marijuana retailers and an unknown amount of recreational marijuana growers and processors in Seattle.  

Marijuana business density is of concern for teen drug use prevention efforts because research has repeatedly shown that teens who live in communities with many tobacco and alcohol businesses have high rates of tobacco and alcohol use.  A study recently published in the journal of Drug and Alcohol Dependence found that "higher total density of medical marijuana dispensaries was related to greater likelihood of past year use of marijuana."  In other words, the more available a drug is, the higher use rates are.  

"Marijuana Mess"

City Attorney Pete Holmes, Reverend Harriett Walden, and City Councilmember Nick Licata recently appeared on City Inside/Out and discussed the medical and recreational marijuana systems in Seattle.

Councilmember Licata said that if the state legislature does not "fix" the medical marijuana law, Seattle likely will have to shut down marijuana dispensaries.

He noted that legal and regulated alcohol is more abused than marijuana and suggested that perhaps alcohol stores should not be located near churches if people disapprove of marijuana stores near churches.

When it comes to the illegal use of marijuana in public, the councilmember encouraged people to complain by calling 911 and asking for a quick response.  He stated that minors should not go to jail for alcohol and marijuana violations which echoes long-time city and county policy that refers minors to a diversion program, not jail.   

Prescription drug abuse prevention training now available to view online

Prescription drug abuse has steadily increased among NE Seattle middle and high school students since 2008.  Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of American hosted a webinar earlier this week about this nationwide problem.  It is now available to view online.




The webinar explored national prescription drug abuse trends, the types of prescription drugs adults and youth use non-medically, and how to gather local data on this issue to inform strategies and interventions. The webinar also provided a case study from a coalition in Kentucky that reduced prescription drug abuse by 80 percent.

The Prevention WINS coalition is currently planning to launch a public education campaign called Mind Your Meds encouraging NE Seattle residents to lock up medications in their homes as one way for preventing teen prescription drug abuse. 

City hosting medical marijuana symposium tonight

Tonight:

City of Seattle Medical Marijuana Symposium

Bertha Knight Landes Room at City Hall 

5:00 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. 

Medical marijuana businesses in Seattle and in jurisdictions across the state remain unregulated.  In March, a state court of appeals ruled that collective gardens (dispensaries) are not legal under Washington's current law.  

The Mayor's Office organized this symposium for those concerned about access to medical marijuana and the location of marijuana-related businesses in the city.  

“We are still looking to Olympia to enact broad medical marijuana reform next session, but we need to take action here in Seattle to address immediate concerns of patients, businesses and neighbors,” said Mayor Ed Murray. 

The symposium will feature panel discussions on a range of issues where medical marijuana businesses face a much more uncertain regulatory landscape than recreational marijuana operations governed by the state’s Liquor Control Board, including:

• Testing of marijuana products for purity and strength
• Best practices for manufacturing marijuana-infused products
• Packaging and labeling requirements
• The location of dispensaries and collective gardens

Poison Center reports spike in pediatric exposure to marijuana 

This event comes a week after the Washington Poison Center reported a spike in marijuana exposures among children and teenagers.  The report notes that with only a handful of recreational marijuana stores open in the state, the majority of exposures likely result from marijuana obtained at medical marijuana dispensaries. “The medical marijuana industry is largely unregulated and not subject to the scrutiny and oversight by the Liquor Control Board that recreational marijuana must go through”, says Dr. Garrard, Clinical Managing Director of the Washington Poison Center.

Overdoses among children

Marijuana overdoses in children have caused seizures, hallucinations, paranoia, breathing problems that sometimes require mechanical ventilation until breathing returns to normal, and extremely high heart rates.  Children may become lethargic, disoriented, intensely agitated, have difficulty walking and balancing, and be unable to respond to stimulation.  

Exposure among teenagers

Last year, five Seattle high school students overdosed on marijuana edibles while at school and required medical attention.  During this week's Prevention WINS coalition meeting, members representing schools and parents discussed the need for marijuana packaging and products that are readily identifiable as containing marijuana.  Right now, it is difficult to determine since some medical marijuana packaging and products mimic packaging and products that do not contain marijuana.

Teen drug use prevention resources

Looking for information about how to prevent teen drug use?  Below is a list of local, state, and national organizations that provide teen drug use education and prevention resources.

Community coalitions in Seattle

• Prevention Works in Seattle (Prevention WINS) serves NE Seattle with Seattle Children's Hospital acting as their grantee organization.  This blog is maintained by Prevention WINS.
• Central Seattle Drug Free Communities Coalition serves Central Seattle with Seattle Public Schools acting as their grantee organization.
• PEACE Coalition serves SE Seattle with Neighborhood House acting as their grantee organization.
• The Ballard Coalition serves part of NW Seattle.  They are currently unfunded and run by volunteers.

University of Washington

• Social Development Research Group (SDRG) within the School of Social Work is internationally renowned for their prevention research.  Communities That Care is an evidence-based prevention program developed by SDRG.
• Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute (ADAI) maintains a clearinghouse for prevention-related materials; local drug abuse trend data reports; and the Learn About Marijuana WA website.  

King County region

• Alcohol & Other Drug Prevention Program
• Mental Illness & Drug Dependency Program
• Puget Sound Educational Service District

Washington 

• Washington State Healthy Youth Survey
• Division of Behavioral Health & Recovery (DBHR)
• Department of Health
• Washington State Institute for Public Policy
• Washington State Liquor Control Board
• Office of the Superintendent for Public Instruction
• Washington Association for Substance Abuse & Violence Prevention
• Prevention Specialists Certification Board

National & federal

• Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America
• Center for Alcohol Marketing & Youth
• The Partnership for Drug Free Kids including the Medicine Abuse Project
• Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration including the Drug Free Communities grant program, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs & Practices, and the Inter-agency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking
• National Institute on Drug Abuse
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism
• Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention 
• Monitoring the Future
• Healthy People 2020
• Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center
• United States Surgeon General
• Office of Adolescent Health

Internet

• The Athena Forum is a website hosted by DBHR for sharing state prevention-related information
• Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development
• Guide to Community Preventive Services 
• Social Media Technology in Prevention
• Alcohol Policy Information System
• Above the Influence

Councilmember Licata discusses marijuana business licensing

Last week, Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata talked about the medical and recreational marijuana systems, among other topics, on the Seattle Channel.

The marijuana discussion starts at around 7:35 and lasts for about 3 minutes.  Councilmember Licata explained that while medical marijuana businesses are licensed in Seattle, they are not regulated.  The City does not receive excise tax revenue from either marijuana systems and, right now, recreational marijuana is "undersold" compared to medical marijuana.

Learn about advocacy during free seminar December 3

Seattle Department of Neighborhoods’ People’s Academy for Community Engagement (PACE) is hosting a 2014 Fall Seminar:

Democracy Needs You! Five Essential Advocacy Tools that will Shape Your World

Wednesday, December 3

6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

University of Washington School of Social Work
4101 15th Ave NE

Professor and long-time community activist Nancy Amidei will cover the basic functions of our three branches of government, how a bill becomes a law, and five effective advocacy tools. 

RSVP by November 21 to Wendy.Watson@seattle.gov.