Recent youth survey data shows marijuana use in Putnam County significantly less common than many people perceive, reflecting a national trend of decreased youth substance use.
Power of Putnam Director of Youth Engagement Morgan Tate said the organization is highlighting these findings during National Marijuana Facts Week. Tate said it is important to combat misconceptions fueled by social media and popular culture.
“The actual numbers show that not nearly as many students are doing those things as they perceive,” Tate said. “So one of the things that we try and do is positive norms campaigns. So we let them know while it seems like all of your peers are doing something, or social media makes it seem like everyone’s doing something, here’s the actual numbers and they’re not.”
Tate said substance use among students has been trending downward for several years at the local, state and national levels. Tate said the most recent survey data for Putnam County indicates that only 4 percent of students reported using marijuana within the past 30 days.
“It’s really good to get the numbers about how low the use is out to teenagers so they know that they’re in the majority whenever they don’t use,” Tate said. “In a lot of songs and movies and socials, people scroll through and they see those things and whenever you have a perception of the things around you, it’s hard to get outside of that bubble.”
Tate said the data comes from the Tennessee Together student survey, which collects information from 8th, 10th, and 12th graders regarding substance use and perceptions.
Tate said the organization is specifically concerned with high-potency products such as waxes and dab pens, which are more common among youth than traditional marijuana or “bud”. Tate said these concentrated substances have been linked to serious health issues, including marijuana-induced psychosis and hyperemesis syndrome, which causes violent vomiting.
“There isn’t vast research about super high-potency marijuana products just because they haven’t been around as long as the things that people are more used to like flower and things like that,” Tate said. “With some students, they try it one or two times and they react poorly to it and they can go into a marijuana-induced psychosis and it’s really hard to come out of.”
Tate said introducing any substance to a developing brain can alter its development and negatively impact mental health. Tate said Power of Putnam utilizes resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute on Drug Abuse to monitor these trends when local data is not yet available.
“Mental health is one of those things that gets impacted whenever you introduce a substance to a developing brain,” Tate said.
Tate said the coalition works to reduce youth use by increasing barriers and reducing access through regulation and education. Tate said the organization provides tools like lock boxes for parents to secure legal products and focuses on primary prevention to reach students before substance use begins.
“It’s a lot easier for us to stop something before it happens than to try and fix it on the back end,” Tate said. “If you teach them how to say no in high-pressure situations, then that’s a skill that can apply to any substance, anything that’s a risky situation.”
