Pictured here with a rough draft of one of the new materials that will be unveiled next week as part of a new anti-drug campaign ‘64% YOUth Decide’ are Vanessa Ocampos, Gamaliel Garcia, Coordinator Emanuel Burgos, Andrew Colon, Leslie Soto, Coordinator Stephanie Rodriguez, and Lilly Claudio.
The reality of marijuana use among Chelsea teens stands in sharp contrast to widespread perceptions about the issue. A recent survey on marijuana usage among Chelsea High School (CHS) students demonstrates this disconnect – revealing that the majority of teens are not smoking pot, contrary to common assumptions.
Armed with this data, Amy Harris and Chelsea ASAP (Chelsea Mobilizing for Change) have launched an initiative to combat misconceptions about marijuana usage and address the confusion surrounding recent drug-related legislation.
The public information campaign, developed by Harris alongside coordinators Stephanie Rodriguez and Emanuel Burgos, is scheduled to roll out on Sept. 26, with plans to reach residents throughout the city with their message discouraging marijuana use.
“With the decriminalization of marijuana a few years ago and now with medical marijuana, there has been a trend among young people that marijuana has the perception of a low-risk drug,” Harris explained. “National statistics show that there is a direct correlation between the perception of low risk and increased usage. Nationally, use has gone way up.”
This is precisely the issue they aim to confront in Chelsea.
According to a recent survey of 300 CHS students in grades 9-12 conducted in partnership with the schools, 64 percent of young people reported no marijuana use in the past 30 days.
Many observers anticipated a significantly lower figure, given prevailing assumptions about drug use among urban youth in Chelsea. However, the survey indicates otherwise, as Harris pointed out.
What complicates this positive finding is that among those same 300 CHS students, misperceptions were widespread both inside and outside school. Survey respondents estimated that 78 percent of students were regular marijuana users – a gap of roughly 40 percentage points between perception and reality.
Adding to these concerns, 56 percent of surveyed young people believed marijuana posed only minimal or no health risk.
“That’s the perfect storm between the misperception of those using and the fact that more than half believe marijuana poses slight to no risk,” Harris noted. “That’s building up a very risky situation for pro-use. It ends up building social norms that promote usage where it actually isn’t happening.”
According to Rodriguez, the campaign will emphasize factual information showing that marijuana use among Chelsea youth remains limited, with regular users representing only a small fraction of the student population.
The group has also assembled health information about marijuana’s effects on young people. Working from a poster designed by ASAP youth members, they plan to distribute materials highlighting these facts throughout the city – in locations including City Hall, schools, medical offices and other public spaces.
The materials note that smoking one marijuana blunt exposes users to tar equivalent to 20 tobacco cigarettes – a significant factor in the early-onset lung and bronchial problems many young smokers experience.
Youth members involved with ASAP have produced video public service announcements scheduled to air before morning announcements at CHS.
These PSAs feature personal accounts from young people who have made positive choices and are “part of the 64%” that does not use marijuana.
Burgos also noted that business owner John Falzone of John’s Pizza has agreed to participate by placing campaign stickers on every pizza box leaving his establishment.
According to Harris, all these efforts combine to form a comprehensive response to marijuana use.
“The national data says if you attack the perception of risk and the misperceptions of usage – the use will go down,” she stated.
The group plans to conduct a follow-up survey in June to assess whether the campaign has produced measurable changes in how CHS students perceive marijuana use.