®

Marijuana—

Debunking the Myths
Marijuana—

Debunking the Myths

Developed by Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America® 

and the Office of National Drug Control Policy

INTRODUCTION

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit

drug among America’s youth today, according to the 2001 National Household Survey

on Drug Abuse, and kids are smoking it at a

younger age than ever before. Moreover, the

strength of the drug has increased in the

past two decades, and adulterants are often

added to increase its effects.

Yet many kids think marijuana is harmless.

References to marijuana abound in movies,

in popular music and on TV, “normalizing”

and trivializing use of this pernicious drug.

Parents admit to being ambivalent about the

drug and unaware of its risks to young users.

Moreover, prevention advocates are up

against well-financed and organized campaigns to promote marijuana for medicinal

purposes and to legalize it.

Marijuana is a serious, harmful drug, yet

because of the folklore and false information

that surround and support it, many people

do not perceive marijuana to be a problem.

Since the 1990s, surveys have shown that marijuana use among youth has increased as

perceptions of risk and peer disapproval

among youth have declined. Focused on other

issues, the prevention field has largely avoided

addressing the issue of marijuana use directly.

As the front line in substance abuse prevention, coalitions must take a public stance that

it is not just marijuana, and that use of any

illicit drug is dangerous and unacceptable

behavior.

Community and parental complacence about

marijuana are based on common misconceptions, including:

Myth 1: Marijuana is harmless. 

Not so. Marijuana is more potent than

ever and can lead to a host of significant

physical, social, learning and behavioral

problems at a crucial time in the lives of

young people. 

“The risks associated with marijuana have been trivialized and our

kids are getting the wrong message. It is time to dispel the myths

about marijuana. The facts are compelling, but we must arm

parents, teachers, community leaders and our children with the

truth. Outdated and false perceptions about the drug are putting

today's kids at risk.” 

—John P. Walters, director, 

Office of National Drug Control Policy
Myth 2: You can’t get addicted to marijuana.

Despite popular belief, scientific research has

shown that marijuana use can indeed lead to

dependency and addiction. 

Myth 3: Marijuana won’t hurt you — it’s just a plant. 

A significant body of research has identified the

consequences of marijuana use, including changes

to the brain, problems with learning, effects on

mental health, and lung and respiratory damage.

Myth 4: Marijuana doesn’t make you lose control. It

just makes you mellow.

Marijuana affects many of the skills required for safe

driving and other tasks, and these effects can last

up to four hours. Research has also shown a link

between frequent marijuana use and increased

violent behavior.

Myth 5: Marijuana isn’t as popular among youth

today as other newer drugs like Ecstasy.

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug

in the United States. 

Myth 6: There’s not much parents or anyone else

can do to stop youth from experimenting. 

Parents are the most powerful influence on their

children when it comes to drugs. Two-thirds of

youth ages 13-17 say losing their parents’ respect

is one of the main reasons they don’t smoke marijuana or use other drugs.

At present, pro-marijuana messages dominate information available on the Internet, and community norms

tend to tolerate marijuana use. Well-organized campaigns promoting marijuana’s medicinal uses, decriminalization and legalization frequently make the

headlines. There is an urgent need to actively challenge

the myths that support and sanction marijuana use by

providing accurate scientific information

and working to change the attitudes of

youth, parents, influential adults (doctors,

nurses, educators, journalists) and the

broader community about marijuana.

Coalitions need to tell young people — and

parents — the other, factual side of the story on

marijuana. 

After recording significant progress in the campaign

against marijuana use in the late 1970s, the prevention

field as a whole has largely focused its energies and

resources elsewhere; very few current prevention

efforts specifically target marijuana use. Great strides

have been made in alcohol and tobacco prevention.

Marijuana use must receive the same kind of focused

attention. 

Keeping communities drug-free and healthy means coalitions must overcome complacency about marijuana and

implement strategies to prevent and reduce youth marijuana use. 

That goal might seem difficult, but marijuana can do

great damage to young people’s futures, and parents

and youth need access to accurate information. Coalitions are well positioned to begin turning the tide

against the apathy toward marijuana use in our

communities. 

Prevention interventions must build on reaching out to

youth — and parents — with up-to-date scientific

evidence on the significant health, social, learning and

behavioral effects of marijuana on young users.

Coalitions have the opportunity and the obligation to

speak out and take a stand against youth marijuana use.

This Strategizer will:

• Provide accurate, scientific information about

the specific harmful effects of marijuana,

discuss research-based information on the

myths and misperceptions youth and adults

hold about marijuana and suggest ways to

address them;

• Equip coalitions with strategies to reduce and

prevent youth marijuana use;

• Share reports from the field about how other

coalitions are reducing or preventing marijuana use.

“Make no mistake, marijuana is a harmful, addictive

drug that is readily available to our children in

communities across the country. Teenagers who are

smoking marijuana today are using a drug more

potent than what was available in the 1960s.”

—Louis Z. Cooper, M.D., president, 

American Academy of Pediatrics 
MARIJUANA — DEBUNKING THE MYTHS

THE NEGATIVE EFFECTSOF MARIJUANA

The facts about marijuana use are compelling and

effective tools for prevention advocates. Here is information that you can use in your coalition’s campaign

against marijuana:

Marijuana is Addictive

• Research has now established that marijuana

is addictive. In fact, more youth enter treatment with a primary diagnosis for marijuana

dependency each year than for all other illicit

drugs combined. 

• Sixty percent of teens currently in drug treatment have a primary marijuana diagnosis. 

• Today’s marijuana is more potent and its

effects can be more intense. 

Marijuana Hurts Young Bodies and Minds 

• The brain. Smoking marijuana leads to changes

in the brain similar to those caused by

cocaine, heroin and alcohol. 

• Lung damage. Regular marijuana users often

develop breathing problems, including

chronic coughing and wheezing. Smoking

marijuana makes lung conditions such as

asthma worse. 

• Mental health. For young users, marijuana can

lead to increased anxiety, panic attacks,

depression and other mental health problems. 

• Risky behavior. According to the 2001 National

Household Survey on Drug Abuse, adolescents age 12 to 17 who use marijuana weekly

are nine times more likely than non-users to

experiment with other illegal drugs or alcohol,

five times more likely to steal and nearly four

times more likely to engage in violence. 

Marijuana Affects Learning and Academic

Achievement and Impairs Driving

• Researchers have found that heavy marijuana

use impairs the ability of young people to

concentrate and retain information. 

• Marijuana affects alertness, concentration,

perception, coordination and reaction time,

many of the skills required for driving and other

tasks. These effects can last up to four hours

after smoking marijuana. 

Marijuana Today is Stronger Than Ever

• Marijuana is much stronger and more addictive than it was 30 years ago. The average 

THC level rose from less tha 1 percent in 

the late 1970s to more than 7 percent in 2001.

• Sinsemilla potency has increased, rising from 

6 percent to 13 percent. THC levels of 20 

percent and up to 33 percent have been found 

in samples of sinsemilla. 

Marijuana Users Are Younger Than Ever

Before

• Every day in 1999, more than 3,800 youth ages

12-17 tried marijuana for the first time. That’s

more than tobacco.

• The number of eighth graders who have used

marijuana doubled between 1991 and 2001,

from one in 10 to one in five. 

• Scientists now know that humans undergo a

second major spurt of brain development in

their early teens: Marijuana use at this age

could pose great risks for the health and

development of young people.

• Research reported by NIDA shows marijuana’s

effects on the brain can cause cumulative

deterioration of critical life skills.

• Young marijuana users often introduce other

youth to the drug, according to a January

2003 report in the Journal of the American

Medical Association.
STRATEGIES COMMUNITY COALITIONS CAN USE

The dissemination of accurate, scientific

information about marijuana is key to

challenging myths and changing

complacent attitudes by raising awareness of the drug’s hazards. Engaging all

segments of the community, from the

media to schools and the medical community, as

well as parents and young people, is the comprehensive approach that’s required. 

Many of the programs and environmental interventions

coalitions currently use to change community norms and

promote behavioral change can be applied to marijuana

prevention/reduction efforts, especially if they are

focused on marijuana issues and specifically address the

myths and realities discussed earlier in this Strategizer.

For many coalitions, the important issue is to make sure

that marijuana is addressed as intensely and consistently

as other illegal drugs, such as Ecstasy and cocaine.

Interventions that seek to increase perceptions of risk

are often the most successful. Such interventions, which

must be science-based, generally include school- and

community-based programs for youth and programs

and media campaigns for parents and others who influence young people. 

In some states, coalitions will be using these interventions to change community norms to counter pro-legalization efforts. In these states, advocacy strategies may

need to be added to the mix. In all cases, it is important

that coalitions tailor the message to the appropriate audience: The information that parents need to hear, for example, is different from the message that teens need to hear.

Begin with an Assessment

For coalitions to realize measurable outcomes from

their efforts, the first step, as with all interventions, is

to conduct a needs assessment and determine the

extent of the problem in YOUR community. National

surveys and even state data are useful only for revealing

broad trends; what is important to your community is

the prevalence and incidence of marijuana use. 

Without baseline data showing you specifically if and

where marijuana is a problem in your geographic area of

responsibility, you will have no idea where to target your

efforts, and your interventions will likely fail. Once you

have that baseline data, you will be able to measure the

results of your efforts and evaluate your success.

Local needs assessment data also is critical to gaining

support of key stakeholders in your community who may

not feel that marijuana use is as serious as some other

drugs. While national headlines are important, it is local

data that will convince local stakeholders and funders.

The second most important step is to make sure that

prevention/reduction efforts targeting marijuana are

comprehensive and broad-based. The work of community coalitions is most successful when communities

employ multiple strategies across multiple sectors. 

The Idea Sampler that follows identifies many of these

sectors. Others who need to be involved include the

faith community, law enforcement, local government,

the business community and all other stakeholders

who share an interest in drug-free youth. For more

tools, ONDCP has developed an online Marijuana

Awareness Kit full of materials to help you bring this

important prevention message to your community. 

IDEA SAMPLER: 

Strategies for Addressing Marijuana Use

ENGAGE PARENTS — Help parents move past their

ambivalence by giving them accurate information to

use as they talk with and monitor their children.

Research consistently shows that parental attitudes

are a primary factor influencing youth drug use. 

The Sussex County Coalition for Healthy & Safe Families

(Newton, NJ) addresses marijuana use with a widely

distributed pair of newsletters, one tailored for parents

“Marijuana is not a rite of passage but a dangerous 

behavior that could have serious health consequences.

Parents must realize that what they tell their children

about drug use makes a difference.”

— Richard Carmona, M.D., U.S. surgeon general 
PARENTS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

• Parents are the most powerful influence on

their children when it comes to drugs. Twothirds of youth ages 13-17 say losing their

parents’ respect is one of the main reasons

they don’t smoke marijuana or use other

drugs. 

• In 2000, 31 percent of youth whose parents

did not strongly disapprove reported use of

an illicit drug in the past month. 

• Parents who perceive little risk associated

with marijuana use have children with similar

beliefs. 

Research shows that many parents:

• Are ambivalent about marijuana, considering

it to be relatively risk-free; 

• Neglect to refer to marijuana use when talking

to their children about drugs;

• Are more concerned about so-called “hard”

drugs and the dramatic increase in use of

Ecstasy and other club drugs;

• Do not fully appreciate the specific dangers of

marijuana today — drawing on, in some cases,

their own experiences with the drug;

• Do not realize how young children are when

they start to smoke marijuana.

The Message

Parents need to specifically understand that: 

• Marijuana is not an “outdated” drug — it is by

far the most widely used illicit drug among

youth today;

• Marijuana is not relatively “risk-free” — it is a

harmful, addictive drug that can increase risktaking behaviors that can jeopardize a young

person’s future (e.g., pregnancy, car crashes,

CHALLENGING THE MYTHS

losing a job or scholarship, and criminal

behavior);

• While people of their generation may have

“experimented with pot,” the increased

potency of marijuana today means far

greater risks for their own children, who

typically are trying it at much younger ages; 

• Marijuana is often adulterated with other

substances (e.g., sometimes a marijuana joint

is dipped in embalming fluid, then PCP is

added), increasing the risks and hazards; 

• They are the key to fostering a serious attitude

about marijuana in young people. The best

thing parents can do is talk to their children

about drugs, including marijuana, and carefully

monitor their activities.

ADDRESSING YOUTH’S FALSE BELIEFS

Since the 1990s, marijuana use among youth has

increased as perceptions of risk and peer disapproval have declined. Young people’s attitude is

often: “If marijuana was bad for me I would have

heard about it.” The trouble is a lot of stories,

myths and false anecdotal information about marijuana circulate unchallenged.

The Message

• Provide factual information about the drug. It

is important to be honest and not to exaggerate or create more myths.

• Discuss “short-term” effects, such as losing

control and doing something stupid or that

the teen may regret, which young people

relate to better than long-term, future consequences, such as lung cancer.

• Provide evidence that marijuana is addictive.

Discuss the facts of dependency and withdrawal symptoms when the drug is stopped.

• Make it clear that marijuana can end up

controlling the user — not the other way

around.
Medical Marijuana

Young people often interpret the pro-marijuana

messages of medicinal use and legalization

campaigns in the media as meaning that marijuana

is harmless or even beneficial in some way.

Disturbingly, interviews with teens found that

some believe that marijuana can cure cancer and

other serious diseases.

Prevention efforts must be sure to dispel these

sorts of myths. Note that:

• Research has NOT demonstrated that smoked

marijuana can be helpful as medicine;

• Marinol, a prescription drug approved by the

FDA, is a medicine — smoked marijuana is not;

Myths Youth Believe About Marijuana

Myth: Marijuana won’t hurt you, it’s just a plant.

Fact: Cocaine comes from coca plants, heroin from poppy plants and both are

harmful.

Myth: Marijuana is not addicting.

Fact: Marijuana can be addictive, like any other psychoactive drug.

Myth: Marijuana is allegedly used for medicinal purposes, so it can’t be bad for you.

Fact: Cocaine and opiates are used for medicinal purposes too, and they can be

dangerous.

Myth: Marijuana doesn’t cause you to lose control; you know what’s going on

around you.

Fact: Marijuana can impair your judgment, causing you to do things you'll regret

(e.g., having sex and increasing your risk of STDs, unplanned pregnancy, driving with people who are high or intoxicated or putting yourself in any other

vulnerable position).

Myth: Marijuana smoke isn’t all that dangerous to the lungs.

Fact: Marijuana smoke contains toxic chemicals that can cause lung problems,

including cancer.

• Smoked marijuana contains more than 400

chemicals and increases risk of cancer, lung

damage and pregnancy complications.

Coalitions should know that some drug legalizers

may use “medical marijuana” as a red herring in an

effort to advocate broader legalization of drug use.

The Institute of Medicine conducted a comprehensive study in 1999 to assess the potential health

benefits of marijuana and its constituent cannabinoids. The study concluded that smoking marijuana

is not recommended for the treatment of any disease

condition. In all instances, there are approved drugs

available to treat medical conditions believed by

some to be relieved by smoking marijuana.

CHANGING PERCEPTIONS OF RISK
MARIJUANA—DEBUNKING THE MYTHS

and other adults and one specifically aimed at youth.

According to Rebecca Carlson, coordinator, the biggest

problem in Sussex County is trying to make parents

who grew up in the 60s and 70s understand that today’s

marijuana is not the drug they may have once used.

“We want them to know of the devastating effects that

marijuana can have,” Carlson explains as the rationale

for launching the parents’ newsletter.

ENGAGE YOUTH AND THE SCHOOLS — Find out

more about the local drug education/prevention

curriculum in your area schools. What is being taught

regarding marijuana prevention? Contact the local PTA

chapter to co-sponsor a “Prevention for Parents Night.”

Provide parents with the facts on youth marijuana use.

Be sure to have a Q&A session and invite the press.

Include role-playing exercises to demonstrate how

parent/adult caregivers can talk to

youth about the dangers of marijuana use. Enlist the student council,

school newspaper staffs, theater

groups and school art departments

to deliver the anti-marijuana

message. Engage young people.

Survey them to learn more about

their attitudes and behavior. Involve

them in delivering the messages:

peer-to-peer communication is a

powerful tool.

The Northern Berkshire Community

Coalition (North Adams, MA) targets

marijuana use through school-based

social norms marketing campaigns,

according to coalition spokesperson

Elena Traister. A group of students in

each middle or high school (those

participating in the UNITY youth

program of the Northern Berkshire

Community Coalition) decided which substance to

target (alcohol, cigarettes, or marijuana). At the

conclusion of the campaign, according to Traister,

each UNITY group evaluated their efforts. They

surveyed their peers to find out how many had heard

the message and how many could now correctly estimate the percentage of their peers who did not engage

in the target activity (smoking, drinking, or smoking

marijuana). The results were displayed on posters,

which were presented to the public at the UNITY yearend reception. All schools marked a significant improvement in their peers' ability to correctly estimate non-use.

In informal discussions about marijuana with high

school youth, Schenectady (NY) County Substance

Abuse Prevention Partnership discovered that young

people believe that smoking marijuana and driving is

far less dangerous than drinking alcohol and driving. In

fact, they have deemed it the “designated-driver drug.”

Among the beliefs their comments revealed are:

• They feel there really is no legal consequence. If

Schenectady youth have to go to court on a charge,

they pay a $50 fine and nothing

more (police have difficulty getting

consequences to stick, and the

county has just one Drug

Recognition Enforcement Officer);

• They do not perceive marijuana

as harmful, believing it doesn’t

have the same potential for causing violence, date rape and

vandalism as other drugs; 

• They give little credence to the

results of brain research showing

the potential for physical harm

from marijuana use. 

To address this challenge, according to Nancy Jones, prevention

specialist/evaluator, Schenectady

has modified and strengthened its

educational approaches, environmental efforts and skills development for youth.

Jane Callahan, former executive director of the City of

Vallejo (CA) Fighting Back Partnership, says that marijuana is an integral part of the overall illegal drug abuse

prevention effort in Vallejo, including such strategies as

The Sussex County (NJ) Coalition’s 

newsletter targeting marijuana use.
implementing FAST (Families and Schools Together)

programs & FAST Works in all middle schools. Drug and

alcohol use among Vallejo students showed decreases

in almost every category, according to the results of the

2000-01 California Healthy Kids Survey, with decreases

in alcohol and marijuana use among 11th-graders

particularly impressive compared to 10 years ago.

The Irvine (CA) Unified School District, a 1998 Drug

Free Communities grantee, treats marijuana and

tobacco use similarly as health smoking hazards

through instruction in health classes and through a

social marketing campaign at one of the high schools.

reports Nancy Colocino, coordinator for guidance

resources. She is particularly concerned about perceptions of risk: In a survey of fifth graders, 98 percent

said cigarettes would be bad for a person's health, 75

percent feel alcohol would be bad, and just 73 percent

feel marijuana would be bad for a person's health.

Santa Barbara (CA) Fighting Back, has established a

system of care for young people that spans prevention,

intervention and treatment and includes targeted marijuana efforts within this framework. Collaboration with

local school districts has enabled the partnership to

institutionalize a comprehensive prevention program

(the Youth Service System) at all local secondary

school campuses. This innovative program provides

trained prevention specialists on each campus who

coordinate a variety of prevention activities, as well as

creating linkages to treatment from the schools. The

coalition also provides youth service specialists at a

community school for high risk youth, where marijuana use is very high. 

ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY — Team up with the local

Chamber of Commerce or other civic organization to

host lunch seminars for local businesses to educate

them about the dangers of youth marijuana use and its

impact on adults in the workplace. Consider sponsoring a community forum involving volunteer groups,

service organizations, faith groups and others to help

raise awareness about the dangers of marijuana and

the importance of drug prevention. Be sure to invite

the press! As you engage the community, make sure

that you have a collaborative relationship with law

enforcement and other key community stakeholders

(e.g., the faith community). 

David Morales, executive director of the DothanHouston County Substance Abuse Partnership in

Dothan, AL, has been fighting to change perceptions of

risk about marijuana for at least five years. That’s how

long his coalition has been focusing on adults who

seem to feel “that marijuana is not such a big deal.” “We

emphasize in our presentations to parents that kids

really do listen to them and when parents don’t speak

out, kids hear them even louder,” Morales says. “We

also target special messages to grandparents and

foster grandparents and to employees.” Morales

recommends that presentations be kept simple and

direct and include video or slides. “If you give clear,

concise information, people will listen.”

ENGAGE THE MEDIA — Make the media your ally, not

an adversary, in the campaign against marijuana. Use

press releases, op eds, fact sheets, letters to the editor

and meetings with the editorial boards of local newspapers in a collaborative effort to convey your

message. Examples ready for customization using local

statistics and quotes can be found in ONDCP’s

Marijuana Awareness Kit. Monitor local coverage of

drug-related articles and be ready to supply additional

information that casts a positive slant on prevention

efforts in the community. Engage the journalists who

regularly cover substance abuse issues and help them

design and adapt messages and materials for the

specific audience your interventions are intended to

reach. Distribute PSA scripts to public affairs directors

at local radio stations and encourage them to make onair announcements about your marijuana campaign.

Host a media briefing to highlight the dangers of marijuana use. Speakers might include local drug counselors, police, physicians or a child or parent with a

personal story about marijuana abuse. A slide presentation and video are available as part of the Marijuana

Awareness Kit.

ENGAGE THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY — Urge physicians, school nurses and other members of the medical

community to take a public stand on this issue, especially if your community has high emergency room

rates for marijuana-related incidents. (The American

Academy of Pediatrics has urged its members to

address marijuana with patients, focusing especially on

potency and behavioral issues.) 

ENGAGE COMMUNITY “STARS” — Is there an athlete or

other celebrity in your community that youth admire,

and is he or she a legitimate role model? If so, that individual would be a powerful addition to your campaign.
There are several national anti-marijuana campaigns

currently underway. These campaigns are good

resources for coalitions to secure materials and strategies addressing marijuana use.

NATIONAL YOUTH ANTI-DRUG MEDIA CAMPAIGN

The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, a

congressionally-funded initiative of the White House

Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), is a

multi-dimensional effort designed to educate and

empower youth to reject illicit drugs. To dispel myths

and misconceptions about marijuana, the most widely

used illicit drug among America's youth, ONDCP and

the Media Campaign launched a comprehensive marijuana prevention initiative in fall 2002 aimed at reaching youth, parents, and other influential adults. An

online Marijuana Awareness Kit offers a range of materials and tools to help coalitions dispel the myths

about the drug and bring important prevention

messages to their communities.

Web sites: www.mediacampaign.org

www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov

Campaign Online Resources:

FOR YOUTH

Freevibe

This National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign-sponsored Web site helps young people understand the

dangers of drugs and make responsible decisions with

their lives. The site features moderated bulletin

boards, role-playing games, media literacy tools, pop

culture news, and facts about marijuana and other

drugs. The Campaign maintains Freevibe with support

from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug

Information. 

Web site: www.freevibe.com

MARIJUANA — DEBUNKING THE MYTHS

LINK TO NATIONAL CAMPAIGNSFOR RESOURCE MATERIALS

FOR PARENTS AND OTHER ADULTS

The AntiDrug

The AntiDrug is a Web-based component of the

National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign that

provides parents and other adult caregivers with

strategies and tips on raising healthy, drug-free children. This award-winning site encourages parents to

help their children with these difficult issues by offering information from behavioral experts as well as

other parents. It also offers suggestions on how to

address sensitive subjects such as a parent's personal

history with drugs. Visitors can also register for a free

parenting tips e-mail service at this site. Information

from TheAntiDrug.com is available in Spanish at

www.laantidroga.com and in various Asian languages

(Korean, Cambodian, Chinese and Vietnamese)

through the homepage. 

Web site: www.TheAntiDrug.com

NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR ALCOHOL AND

DRUG INFORMATION (NCADI)

NCADI provides a wealth of free, valuable information

and resource material that parents and others can

share with young people about substance abuse. The

Clearinghouse offers research data and statistics and

an online catalog of resources as well as highlighting

prevention-related conferences, events and initiatives.

In addition, NCADI’s hotline is staffed by information

specialists 24 hours a day. NCADI is a service of the

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

Administration (SAMHSA), a division of the U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services. 

Web site: www.ncadi.samhsa.gov

NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE (NIDA)

NIDA supports more than 85 percent of the world's
research on the most fundamental and essential questions about drug abuse, including tracking emerging

drug use trends, understanding how drugs work in the

brain, and developing and testing new drug treatment

and prevention approaches. NIDA produces a variety of

timely, scientifically based and user-friendly educational materials about marijuana and other drugs that

are readily accessible to parents, young people and

educators on its Web site.

Web sites: www.drugabuse.gov 

www.marijuana-info.org

SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

ADMINISTRATION (SAMHSA)

SAMHSA is a government agency responsible for

improving the quality and availability of prevention,

treatment and rehabilitative services for substance

abuse and mental illnesses. Reality Check is a public

education initiative developed by SAMHSA’s Center for

Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) to educate adults

who influence teens about the health risks of marijuana

use. For Real is a companion program and Web site

created to speak directly to teens and their concerns.

Web sites: www.health.org/reality/

www.ForReal.org

NATIONAL PTA – DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE

PREVENTION PROJECT

The National PTA is a not-for-profit association of

parents, educators, students and other citizens active

in their schools and communities. The PTA site offers a

special section for parents on protecting their children

from drugs and alcohol and provides drug facts, positive parenting tips and family activities. 

Web site: www.pta.org/parentinvolvement/drugalcohol/

Publications for Parents and Other

Caregivers

Wake Up to the Risks of Marijuana: A Guide for Parents.

White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

National Clearing-house for Alcohol and Drug

Information, Publication No. PHD956. (800) 788-2800

or www.TheAntiDrug.com/pdfs/Risks_Marijuana

_Parent Guide.pdf. Free.

COALITIONSTO CONTACT

Al Bashevkin, executive director

Northern Berkshire Community Coalition

85 Main St, #332, North Adams, MA 01247

P: (413) 663-7588 E: abashevkin@nbccoalition.org

Becky Carlson, coordinator

Sussex County Coalition for Healthy & Safe Families

93 Main St., Newton, NJ 07860-2056

P: (973) 383-4787 E: becky@centerforprevention.org

Nancy Colocino, coordinator

IUSD Guidance Resources

5050 Barranca Parkway, Irvine, CA 92604

P: (949) 936-7980 E: ncolocino@iusd.org

Nancy E. Jones, prevention services and evaluation

coordinator, BOCES-CAPIT

6 British American Blvd., Latham, NY 12110

P: (518) 786-6421 E: njones@gw.neric.org

David L. Morales, executive director

Dothan-Houston County Substance Abuse Partnership

462 N Oates St Fl 3, Dothan, AL 36303-4513

P: (334) 677-4767 E: dhcsap@ala.net

Santa Barbara Fighting Back

232 Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara CA 93101 

P: (805) 682-6667 E: fbsb@silcom.com

Tim Tyler, public relations director

City of Vallejo (CA) Fighting Back Partnership

505 Santa Clara Ave., Vallejo, CA 94590

P: (707) 648-5230 E: ttyler@fight-back.org

Marijuana: Facts Parents Need To Know. National

Institute on Drug Abuse, U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services, NCADI Publication No. PHD712. (800)

788-2800; TDD: (800) 487-4889. Free.

Keeping Your Kids Drug-Free: A How-To Guide for Parents

and Caregivers, 2001. White House Office of National

Drug Control Policy. National Clearinghouse for

Alcohol and Drug Information, Publication No. PHD884.

(800) 788-2800. Free.
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America® is a membershipdriven organization put in place to give anti-drug and drug-related

violence coalitions technical assistance and support. The

purpose of the Strategizer Technical Assistance Manuals is to

provide step-by-step guidance on various topics relevant to the

work you do in your community each day. We know you are busy,

so Strategizers are designed to be easy-to-use guides that help to

streamline the planning process. 

Strategizers cover such topics as long-range planning, board

and staff development, development of media strategies,

marketing planning, fundraising for coalition operations and

programs, methods for engaging hard-to-reach populations,

and more. For a current list of Strategizer Technical Assistance

Manuals or for additional technical assistance on the topic

covered in this Strategizer, contact the CADCA staff by writing

to: 901 North Pitt Street, Suite 300, Alexandria, VA 22314, or

call toll-free: 1-800-54-CADCA.

Please notify CADCA regarding the technical assistance needs

you may have. Your coalition is on the front line against the

ravages of drugs, alcohol and violence. 

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adolescent Self-Reported Behaviors and their

Association with Marijuana Use, SAMHSA, 1998.

Based on data from the National Household Survey

on Drug Abuse, 1994-1996.

Initiation of Marijuana Use: Trends, Patterns and

Implications, Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Services Administration (SAMHSA), 2002.

Judith S Brook, Elinor B Balka and Martin Whiteman, 

“The Risks for Late Adolescence of Early

Adolescent Marijuana Use,” American Journal of

Public Health, October 1999.

“Kids & Marijuana: The Facts,” ONDCP Marijuana Tool

Kit, November 2002.

“Marijuana Abuse.” NIDA Research Report Series, 2002.

Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know. Revised, NIDA,

November 1998.

Marijuana Potency Monitoring Project, University of

Mississippi, 2000.

Monitoring the Future, 2001.

National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 2001.

National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 2000.

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

www.drugabuse.gov/Marijuana Facts for Teens.

NIDA InfoFax Marijuana 13551.

Partnership Attitude Tracking Study. Partnership for a

Drug-Free America, 1999.

Treatment Episodes Data Set (TEDS), 1994-1999:

National Admissions to Substance Abuse Treatment

Services. SAMHSA, October 2001.