Coalition Receives Award for Countering Marijuana Influences

The National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors awarded the Southern Calif.-area based North Coastal Prevention Coalition's "Countering Pro-Marijuana Influences" initiatives one of its four 2010 National Exemplary Awards for Innovative Substance Abuse Prevention Programs, Practices, and Policies.

Underwritten by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the award marks more than 20 consecutive years of recognizing local, creative, and effective programs working with the community to prevent substance abuse.

“Countering Pro-Marijuana Influences,” developed by the North Coastal Prevention Coalition – is a community- based prevention effort to address marijuana within the cities of Carlsbad, Oceanside, and Vista in San Diego County. Their campaigns have resulted in changing policies to restrict the sale of drug paraphernalia, restricting marijuana dispensaries, reducing pro-drug merchandise at street fairs and outdoor events, and reducing pro-drug merchandise from national retailers doing business in the community. These campaigns were developed in partnership with San Diego County’s HARM Initiative (Health Advocates Rejecting Marijuana).

Since the program’s inception, drug paraphernalia shops have been reduced. The local Chamber of Commerce, as well as local street fair promoters, have adopted policies prohibiting the sale of related paraphernalia at annual street fairs and other outdoor events. And, the number of retailers selling pro-drug merchandise declined.

As the coalition continues its prevention efforts, the climate has been ablaze with controversial Proposition 19 — the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010—on the California ballot in November. If passed, the Golden State would become the first to legalize pot for recreational use, allowing each city and county in the state to decide whether it wants to approve and tax commercial sales of the drug. And regardless of what local jurisdictions do, any Californian older than 21 could possess up to an ounce of marijuana, use it in private or at licensed establishments, and grow a small amount for personal consumption.

“Our youth are bombarded with messages that marijuana is harmless, that it's a medicine, and catchy political ads that suggest marijuana can fix California’s severe fiscal woes,” wrote John Byrom, a NCPC prevention specialist who is in recovery himself, in a local newspaper commentary last spring.
 

In 1996, California became the first state in the nation to legalize marijuana for medical use. Although the coalition didn’t address medicinal marijuana specifically, it did attempt to counter the social norm that marijuana was a “soft” or “just a gateway” drug in all of its related campaigns that earned them the NASADAD award.

Coalition program manager Erica Leary and her staff studied past 30-day use of marijuana and noticed that among high school freshman and juniors, marijuana use had surpassed cigarette use, a trend that began in 1999. For 7th graders, the trend appeared in 2007.

At the time, developing community-level environmental prevention strategies to address marijuana was a relatively new concept. NCPC’s first success came in 2002, working with the City of Oceanside, to adopt an ordinance restricting the location of smoke-shops, which commonly sold drug paraphernalia under the guise of it being for tobacco use. In 2004, NCPC staff worked with their prevention colleagues throughout San Diego County to develop a county-wide initiative to counter pro-marijuana influences. This initiative, HARM, is comprised of various community sectors throughout San Diego County to help coordinate, support, develop, and implement marijuana prevention efforts in regions and communities throughout the county.

NCPC has successfully implemented multiple prevention campaigns at the local level to counter pro-marijuana influences. These campaigns have resulted in the adoption of private and public policies to restrict the sale of drug paraphernalia and pro-drug merchandise, ordinances to prevent the proliferation of marijuana dispensaries, and continued growth of an annual event to counter the ‘unofficial marijuana holiday’ of April 20.

Long-term data from local school surveys indicated slight but steady declines in reported past 30-day use of marijuana from 2003 to 2007. Unfortunately, the most recent local survey data from 2009 indicate rates are going up, which mirrors trends across California and the United States.

As the well-supported pro-marijuana movement continues to gain momentum, the coalition plans to keep up with the pace and address anticipated problems with legalizing the drug That may occur in their region.

“Our efforts to counter pro-marijuana influences have always tried to address access, availability, and marketing whether it’s through our special event outlets or dispensaries. NCPC focuses efforts to counter pro-marijuana influences at the local level, in our little pocket of the state, and have achieved some success.

Our prevention colleagues throughout San Diego County and across the State and national level are also doing tremendous work to stem the rising tide of marijuana use by youth,” Leary said. “If Prop 19 passes, we would modify our strategies and respond accordingly in our region, and continue to work with our prevention partners.”

Award winning programs received a $1,650 unrestricted grant and showcased their work at the 23rd annual National Prevention Network Research Conference held this month in Denver, Colo. Leary said the coalition plans to apply some of the money toward supporting one of their signature anti-marijuana events, “420 Remix,” a celebration of sober and drug-free life choices that offers youth the opportunity to enjoy a fun, safe and healthy afternoon as an alternative to smoking marijuana. High school youth help market and manage the event for middle school youth, Leary said.

In marijuana users’ culture, “420” is a term that was coined in the northern part of California standing for the time to smoke pot, 4:20, and the date 420, April 20th, has become their unofficial marijuana smoking holiday. The idea has been perpetuated by radio DJs, and in youth-oriented movies and music genres.

Three other programs received the Exemplary Award nationwide. Those programs include the previously mentioned Inhalant Abuse Prevention Initiative, developed by the Substance Abuse Free Environment in Chesterfield, Va.; the Connect-Immunity Project, developed by the Council on Prevention Education: Substances in Louisville, Ky., a prevention effort that addresses substance use among adults released from prison; and the Medicine Education Program, of Gardena, Calif., developed by Behavioral Health Services Inc., a prescription drug misuse prevention program for older Latino adults, ages 55 and above, in Los Angeles County that uses health promotion educators, or Promotoras de Salud as a strategy.