Sign up for Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter to get essential news about NYC’s public schools delivered to your inbox.In the five years since New York legalized cannabis, educators across the city have seen an uptick in student marijuana use spilling into the school day and grappled with how to respond.As smoke shops proliferated, teens had more access to potent products, and some used cannabis to self-medicate mental health challenges that spiked in the wake of the pandemic, educators previously told Chalkbeat. Many educators said they felt ill-equipped to respond to students using cannabis during school or showing up high to class.Now, a new set of educational resources developed by the state’s Office of Cannabis Management could help fill that gap.“What we heard when we brought together everyone from school nurses to superintendents to assistant superintendents, to principals, to teachers … everyone asked for resources,” said Lyla Hunt, the director of public health and education at the state’s cannabis management office. They wanted to understand the cannabis landscape post-legalization, saying, “‘We need that information in order to better serve the people we serve.’”The education program, called Cannabis Honestly, is geared toward young people and trusted adults in their lives trying to navigate a murky cannabis landscape. The resources, released on Monday, are based on 23 listening sessions with roughly 450 young people and caregivers throughout the state who shared their experience with cannabis and what kind of information they wanted.Researchers found that many teens were still confused about some basic facts, with roughly a third incorrectly guessing the legal age of cannabis consumption in New York. (It’s 21.) Both young people and adults also expressed confusion about how to distinguish between sanctioned cannabis products and illicit ones. The materials point out that legal shops will have a QR code near the door to verify the store is licensed and will have the state logo on product packaging.When asked why young people were turning to cannabis, youth participants overwhelmingly pointed to mental health challenges, with 85% of the young people surveyed raising it as an issue. Roughly 60% said they believed cannabis served a medicinal purpose, the listening sessions found.More than half of the teens who participated also said they wanted a clearer understanding of how cannabis affects the brain and body. And they were clear in telling researchers that an education campaign that came across as too-heavy handed or moralizing would fall flat.The educational materials include sections directly aimed at youth through a mix of comic-style graphics with frequently asked questions and blurbs, along with short videos. A section called “Weed 101” explains that using products with a higher concentration of THC can raise the risk of “greening out,” or getting so high that it triggers intense anxiety and physical side effects.Other sections address the myths that people can’t get addicted to cannabis and that most teens are using the drug. In fact, roughly 17 of 20 teens across the state say they’re not using weed, according to the guidance.The materials also include a choose-your-own-adventure-style interactive guide for how to have a conversation with a teenager about cannabis and resources designed specifically for parents who use the drug themselves. The resources are available in English and Spanish and are available in print versions for free at the state’s cannabis education library. Hunt said these are exactly the types of materials that school counselors can have on hand when they have to call a parent about student cannabis use. “When the parent goes home, they can continue to have the conversation,” Hunt said. “But also to support [the counselor] as they’re having that conversation as well.”Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Michael at melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org.
