Awareness, Perception of Risk and Behaviors Related to Retail Marijuana Among a Sample of Colorado Youth

Abstract

Youth marijuana use is a growing concern with increasingly permissive views towards marijuana use. Little is known about attitudes and beliefs toward marijuana use among youth in the context of legalization. This study describes youth attitudes and beliefs about health risks associated with marijuana use, social norms of peer use, conversations with parents about marijuana use, and knowledge of recreational marijuana laws, using a venue-day-time sampling approach with diverse Colorado youth (n = 241) post-legalization. We considered demographic (gender, racial/ethnic and geographic) differences in knowledge of laws and perceptions of risk using bivariate and multivariate analyses. While many youth are knowledgeable about retail marijuana laws in Colorado, males were 2.12 times more likely to be familiar with laws compared to females. While 40 % of the sample perceived a moderate to high risk from weekly marijuana consumption and 57 % from daily consumption, fewer males perceived these risks. Over ¾ of the sample indicate they discuss marijuana with parents, but many fewer indicate discussing consequences and health effects of use with parents. Results suggest opportunities for parents and clinicians to influence youth attitudes and behaviors towards marijuana use. It may be worthwhile to target educational campaigns to different demographic groups, and to offer training and capacity building for parents to discuss marijuana with their teenaged children.

Cannabis health knowledge and risk perceptions among Canadian youth and young adults

“…Individuals who perceive a substance such as cannabis to be high risk are generally less likely to use it, and vice versa [ 34 ]. When young people are made aware that use behaviors are not normative and their misperceptions about how many of their peers actually use substances are corrected, substance use behaviors tend to decrease [ 40 , 41 ]. However, existing work from US contexts that have legalized medical and/or nonmedical cannabis are less clear, and the relationship between perceived risk, health knowledge, and use behaviors remains poorly understood with respect to cannabis [ 42 , 43 ].…”

The Lived Experiences of Addiction Counselors After Marijuana Legalization

“…This finding parallels the reports of counselors of increased incidences of psychosis, cognitive impairment, and other adverse consequences of cannabis use. Additionally, some researchers (e.g., Bull et al, 2017; Cerdá et al, 2017) have found a growing perception, especially among youth, that marijuana is not harmful. For this reason, the counselors in this study may have perceived greater resistance from clients regarding their marijuana use.…”

The Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines’ (LRCUG) recommendations: How are Canadian cannabis users complying?

“…Irrespectively, these risk behavior rates are high and disconcerting overall. They are likely facilitated by multiple factors, including common beliefs about non-existent, or only very limited ‘impairment’ effects of cannabis, as well as a low likelihood of apprehension under current enforcement for cannabis-impaired driving ( Bull et al, 2017 , Davis et al, 2016 , Goodman et al, 2019 , Watson et al, 2019a , Watson et al, 2019b ). These circumstances urgently require intensified targeted education and enforcement efforts.…”