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Need for social marketing campaign to combat teen marijuana use
Written Assignment #1
Sara Quale
5/11/14
MPH 588/Marketing in Public Health
Lea Pounds
Colorado’s legalization of marijuana has mainstreamed the drug. Newspapers write daily
about the marijuana; Fodor’s Travel carried a March 2014 featuring with advice on traveling to
the state’s 160 licensed pot stores (Fodor’s Travel, 2014). The drug is widely accepted for
recreational use for adults over 21, but remains illegal for youth. Colorado needs a social
marketing campaign to ensure that the increase in the availability of marijuana and increase in
acceptance of the drug does not lead to increased use by the state’s youth.
Epidemiology Nationally, the use of marijuana had decreased in the past decade, but has
steadily risen in youth since 2007, which follows efforts to legalize the drug for medicinal and
recreational use in several states (National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2013). A report showed that
as perceived harm of occasionally smoking marijuana went down, the use of marijuana
increased. In 1993, 35.6% of 12th graders surveyed said they saw great risk in smoking marijuana
occasionally, and 26% reported that they used marijuana (National Institute of Drug Abuse,
2013). In 2013, 19.5% perceived harm and 36.4% reported using (NIDA, 2013).
The National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) surveys ninth through 12th graders
every two years about health behaviors that contribute to leading causes of death, disability and
social issues (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). In 2011, 39.9% of students
surveyed said they had used marijuana at least once in their lifetime, up from 36.8% in 2009, but
down from a high of 47.2% in 1999 (CDC, 2011). The survey reported 23.1% used marijuana
one or more times during the 30 days prior to the survey, up from 20.8% in 2009 and down from
a high of 26.7% in 1999 (CDC, 2011).
Prevalence and incidence in Colorado In Colorado, an average of 19% of children 1217 reported using marijuana in the past year (SAMHSA.gov, 2012). An average of 10.72% of
people age 12-17 said they had used marijuana in the past month in 2010-2011, and 27.26% of
people age 18-25 reported using in the past month (SAMHSA.gov, 2012). Nationally, only
7.64% of people age 12-17 and 18.78% of people age 18-25 reported using marijuana in the past
month (SAMHSA.gov, 2012).
The percentage of people 12+ in the United States who had a perception of risk for
smoking marijuana once a month was 32.32% and in Colorado was 21% (SAMHSA.gov, 2012).
To recap, a higher percentage of people in Colorado smoke marijuana compared to the total U.S.
population; a lower percentage of people in Colorado perceive a great risk from those actions.
Consequences/impacts Marijuana is the most common illegal drug in the United States
(NIDA, 2013). The leaves, flowers, stems and seeds of the plant have a psychoactive chemical
called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2013). Smoking or
ingesting marijuana allows THC to pass into the bloodstream and to the brain where it acts on
cannabinoid receptors found in high amounts in the areas of the brain that influence pleasure,
memory, thinking, concentration, time perception and coordination (National Institute of Drug
Abuse, 2013). This is what creates the high.
Marijuana has multiple health effects including impaired brain development. One study
showed that people who used marijuana as adolescents lost an average of 8 points of IQ between
the ages of 13 and 38, and after they quit using marijuana, they still didn’t fully regain cognitive
abilities (National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2013).
Other health effects include respiratory problems similar to those experienced by tobacco
smokers, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, personality disturbances and lack of motivation
as well as higher risk for heart attack because of accelerated heart rhythms immediately after
smoking (National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2013).
References
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, (2012). 2010-2011 National
survey on drug use and health:model-based prevalence estimates (50states and the
District of Columbia), Retrieved from
http://samhsa.gov/data/NSDUH/2k11State/NSDUHsae2011/ExcelTabs/NSDUHsaeTable
s2011.pdf
National Institute of Drug Abuse (2013). Monitoring the future 2013, Teen Drug Use. Retrieved
from http://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/infographics/monitoringfuture-2013-survey-results
http://samhsa.gov/data/NSDUH/2k11State/NSDUHsae2011/Index.aspx
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (2011). Trends in the prevalence of marijuana,
cocaine, and other illegal drug use, National YRBS: 1991-2011. Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/yrbs/pdf/us_drug_trend_yrbs.pdf
National Institute on Drug Abuse, (2014). Drug facts: marijuana, The science of drug abuse and
addiction. Retrieved from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana
Fixler, K., (2014). Pot tourism: how to buy marijuana in Colorado, Fodor’s travel. Retrieved
from http://www.fodors.com/news/pot-tourism-how-to-buy-marijuana-in-colorado10403.html