1 in 5 Washington 10th graders reported using marijuana in the past 30 days. Marijuana can change the way a teen’s mind and body perform, which affects memory, learning, mood, motivation, coordination, and judgment. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is relaunching a statewide campaign, Under the Influence...Of You, to encourage influential adults to visit https://www.starttalkingnow.org/ and talk to the teens in their lives about the risks and consequences of using marijuana. And we need your help.
5 Things You Can Do
Here’s what you can do to help influential adults prevent youth marijuana use in our state.
- Share campaign content on your organization’s social media channels. There are prepared posts below with messages, images, and videos to share on your social media channels, along with links to helpful resources and starttalkingnow.org, where adults can learn more.
- Distribute Under the Influence...Of You materials. Printed posters can be ordered at ADAI Clearinghouse. Put these up on bulletin boards or in windows. Place the flyers in waiting areas, and send them home with parents.
- Prepare your staff to talk about the campaign and the facts. Campaign talking points and a backgrounder are available below. Download these and send them to staff with a link to the rest of this toolkit or dedicate time during your next staff meeting to review them.
- Share the campaign through your organization’s newsletter. A drop-in newsletter blurb is available below. Your subscribers are already tuned in to your communications and are eager to help influential adults talk to youth about risks and consequences of marijuana.
- Show campaign videos in local theaters. We’ve made four theater-ready campaign videos available for your use. Local movie theaters often donate unused ad space to organizations to show public service advertising.
For more information or to request the password for this toolkit, please contact Nikki Meline, DOH, Nikki.Meline@doh.wa.gov.