The legalization of retail marijuana in the state of Colorado is anticipated to increase the availability of marijuana to underage youth. Marijuana use by minors can have immediate and lasting health implications, and many youth who engage in substance abuse develop or have underlying behavioral health needs. School health professionals are in a unique position to educate, assess, and assist youth who have substance abuse or behavioral health issues.

The Center for Disease Control's Healthy People 2020 recommends one school nurse for every 750 general education students. However, many school nurses in Colorado are responsible for as many as 6,000 students, making it difficult to provide the social-emotional support necessary to students and staff. Individual awards for Education Providers will be granted funds from this program taking into consideration the number of health professionals added to their secondary schools, which will bring the student-to-school health professionals to recommended ratio(s).

This funding opportunity is designed to provide matching funds to eligible Education Providers pursuant to the requirements of the Behavioral Healthcare Professional Matching Grant Program (C.R.S. 22-96-101 through 22-96-105). This program will enhance the presence of school health professionals in secondary schools (grades 7-12) throughout the state to facilitate better prevention education, screening for early identification, and referral care coordination for secondary school students with substance abuse and other behavioral health needs.

Effects on youth

 Youth are at special risk for harm

• Brain development isn’t complete until age 25. For the best chance to reach their full potential, youth shouldn’t use marijuana. 
• Youth who use marijuana regularly are more likely to have a hard time learning, problems remembering, and lower math and reading scores. These effects can last weeks after the last time they used marijuana.
• Marijuana is addictive. It’s harder to stop using marijuana if started at a young age.
• Youth who start using marijuana, alcohol or other drugs may be more likely to continue using later in life.

 
Marijuana use by Colorado youth

• More than 4 out of 5 high-school students don’t use marijuana. In 2015, 21.2 percent of Colorado high school students used marijuana in the last 30 days. It’s easier for youth to say no to peer pressure if they don’t think “everyone” is doing it.
• Of Colorado high-school seniors who have used marijuana, more than 1 out of 3 started before age 15. Be sure to talk early and often with youth about the risks of using marijuana. 

All information on the health effects of marijuana is taken from the Retail Marijuana Public Health Advisory Committee’s systematic review of available, high-quality research. For more information about its findings, review Monitoring Health Concerns Related to Marijuana in Colorado: 2016.

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