Marijuana affects more than just a teen’s developing brain and health. Frequent use of the drug can have long-term effects on a teen’s life goals.
Daily marijuana users were 60 percent less likely to graduate high school and college, than students who never used the drug, according to a study published last week in The Lancet Psychiatry, a journal covering health research.
“Dropping out of school is a big deal for a kid and that really changes someone’s life,” says Keith Humphreys, a psychiatry professor at Stanford University.
The same study also found that daily teen users were seven times more likely to attempt suicide.
But convincing teens that marijuana use is dangerous is especially difficult today, says Humphreys, who is also a former White House adviser on drug control policy.
“Kids are less likely to use any substances that they perceive as harmful, and now we have very loosely regulated medical marijuana in a lot of states so it is much more accessible,” he says. “It is pretty hard to persuade kids that it is dangerous when it is given away as a medicine.”
High schools are trying some of the following ways to prevent their students from using marijuana — and dealing with it once they have.
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1. Drug prevention programs: Programs that focus on strengthening communities and that target risk factors that get teens into trouble for all kinds of things, can be effective in preventing abuse of many illegal substances, not just marijuana, says Humphreys.
Communities that Care, for example, is an organization that helps parents, teachers and others work together to make teens feel connected in their communities, he says, which has been shown to curb smoking, drug and alcohol use among teens.
“There is no evidence that a speech you give about marijuana makes any kind of difference,” he says.
Programs that teach students life skills that they can use in risky situations involving drugs are effective as well, says Robert LaChausse, a psychologist and professor at California Baptist University, who has done research on the topic. But prevention programs need to start early.
“Each year that you delay drug use among teenagers you increase the odds that they will never use drugs,” he says.
2. Zero tolerance policies: Most schools have a “zero tolerance” policy regarding drug and alcohol offenses, according to the National Association of School Psychologists.
This generally means that if students commit any drug offenses, such as bringing drug paraphernalia on school grounds, they receive a predetermined punishment, no matter the circumstances.
Punishments tend to be harsh, ranging from suspension to expulsion.
“Certainly there has to be natural consequences for kids breaking the law, we know that that is very important for child development,” says LaChausse. But, he says, schools should focus instead on implementing drug prevention programs that work.
The association says that research has shown zero-tolerance policies are ineffective in the long run.
3. School-based marijuana treatment programs: Most programs in high school tend to focus on drug prevention, not early-stage intervention, says Humphreys, the former White House adviser.
But one high school in Colorado is trying to change the status quo and offer treatment to marijuana users in school. Adams City High School in Commerce City, Colorado piloted a program last spring called Encompass, which uses a cognitive behavioral therapy model, according to an article in The Denver Post.
Students found using or under the influence of marijuana at school could enroll in the program, instead of facing the consequences.
“Integrating mental health and substance abuse treatment for adolescents is essential, because if you’ve got one, you’ve got the other,” Paula Riggs, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado–Denver and executive director of the program, told the Post.
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But Humphreys says that preventing marijuana use among teens is an uphill battle.
“I think getting kids to take it seriously is, at the moment, probably the biggest problem,” he says. “In fact, they never want to take it seriously.”
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3 Ways High Schools Are Combating Marijuana Use originally appeared on usnews.com