cannabisnews.com: Educating Girls About The Risks Of Marijuana Use 





Educating Girls About The Risks Of Marijuana Use 
Posted by CN Staff on November 14, 2002 at 12:33:35 PT
Press Release
Source: PRNewswire 
Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy's National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign (Media Campaign) have joined forces to educate girls across America about the risks of marijuana. The collaboration will focus on teaching girls ages 5 through 17 nationwide about the significant health, learning and behavioral problems linked to marijuana use and help them build skills to reject illicit drugs. 
GSUSA and the Media Campaign have developed In the Zone: Living Drug Free, a set of research-based, age-appropriate drug prevention workbooks for girls ages 5 through 17 and for adults who work with them. The books offer creative activities to teach kids to reject illicit drugs, and Girl Scouts who complete the activities receive an In the Zone: Living Drug Free patch. The activities include decision-making, problem-solving, communication and critical-thinking skills. The GSUSA partnership with the Media Campaign also includes the "High on Life" badge for girls ages 8 through 11, which has proven widely popular -- 62,000 Girl Scouts have earned the patch in just one year. "Marijuana use among 8th graders has doubled over the last ten years. Many kids don't understand the risks of marijuana use, and don't have enough information to make healthy decisions about drug use. The resources from this important partnership with the Girl Scouts will help reach pre-teens and teens with the facts about marijuana that they need and want," said Dr. Andrea Barthwell, Deputy Director for Demand Reduction at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). "We expect this joint project to help young people grow strong by giving girls and young women the information and skills they need to reject drugs and foster a lifetime of healthy living," said Verna Simpkins, Director of Membership and Program Initiatives for Girl Scouts of the USA. As part of a larger marijuana prevention initiative launched by the ONDCP this fall, the partnership between the Media Campaign and the Girl Scouts will reach more than 2.7 million girls and 860,000 volunteers with resources, facts and the latest research about the negative effects of marijuana use: More kids use marijuana than cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and all other illicit drugs combined. In fact, approximately 60 percent of young people who use illicit drugs use marijuana alone. The number of 8th graders who have used the drug has doubled in the last decade from one in ten to one in five. Studies also show that kids who use marijuana don't do as well in school. Research has found that young people with an average grade of "D" or below were more than four times as likely to have used marijuana in the last year than those with an average grade of "A." Young marijuana users are more likely to engage in risky behavior, such as having sex, getting in trouble with the law and experimenting with other illegal drugs. Kids ages 12-17 who use marijuana weekly are five times more likely to steal and nearly four times more likely to engage in violent acts than those who don't. In 1998, with the bipartisan support of Congress and the President, ONDCP created the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, an effort designed to educate and empower youth to reject illicit drugs. Counting on an unprecedented blend of public and private partnerships, non-profit community service organizations, volunteerism and youth-to-youth communications, the Campaign is designed to reach Americans of diverse backgrounds wherever they live, learn, work, play and practice their faith. More information about the effects of marijuana use and its signs and symptoms, as well as advice for parents on keeping kids drug-free, can be found on the Media Campaign's Web site for parents at -- http://www.TheAntiDrug.comParents can also call the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 1-800-780-2800 for free resources. Information for kids about marijuana can be found by visiting -- http://www.Freevibe.comTo order In the Zone: Living Drug Free workbooks, call 1-800-221-6707. Activities for youth meetings and events can be found in the Group Activity Guide on -- http://www.mediacampaign.org For more information on the ONDCP National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign visit: http://www.mediacampaign.org -- http://www.freevibe.com or http://www.theantidrug.comSource: White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Source: PRNewswire Published: November 14, 2002Copyright 2002 PRNewswire Website: http://www.prnewswire.com Contact: http://www.prnewswire.com/news/ Related Articles:Major Airlines Take Anti-Drug Message to the Skies http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14743.shtmlAnti-Drug PSA's Must Be Identified http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14693.shtml Inside The White House Drug Office Tanglehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14056.shtmlDrug Czar & Safeway Team Up http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13024.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by Jose Melendez on June 15, 2003 at 12:55:38 PT
contact
From: http://www.results.gov/leadership/bios/barthwella.htmlAndrea Barthwell -- Office of National Drug Control Policy 
Deputy Director for Demand Reduction, Office of National Drug Control Policy Prior to her current appointment, Andrea Barthwell was the Executive Vice President of the Human Resources Development Group, the President of Encounter Medical Group and the President and CEO of BRASS Foundation, an addiction and treatment Center in Chicago, Illinois. Andrea is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut and received her Medical Degree from the University of Michigan. Contact: 202-395-6751 
 
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Comment #9 posted by BigDawg on November 15, 2002 at 06:18:45 PT
It's called creative statistics.
The number of drownings increase with a rise in ice cream sales. There is correlation between the two, but there is no element of causation. Most people don't get the difference, so it makes good sound bites. Stats are meaningless if you don't know the research behind it.
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Comment #8 posted by krutch on November 14, 2002 at 16:08:25 PT:
It is DARE all over again
Feeding kids propaganda only increases curiosity. The logic of the arguments presented are flawed as usual. Consider this quote:"Studies also show that kids who use marijuana don't do as well in school. Research has found that young people with an average grade of "D" or below were more than four times as likely to have used marijuana in the last year than those with an average grade of "A"."This data does not demonstrate that kids who use MJ do poorly in school. It suggests that students who get D's are more likely to have used MJ than students who get A's. It does not imply that the drug caused the D students to get D's. It is also rigged because it examines the two extremes of grades while failing to discuss the middle ground.To demonstrate that kids who use MJ don't do as well in school you must follow a group of students who do smoke mj and a similar group of students who do not. You then must compare their grades.The data does not contradict the author's hypothesis, but it does not prove it either. An alternate hypothesis might be: Kids with difficult family lives are more likely to do poorly in school and also more likely to take drugs. This explains the data nicely.The argument to author leaps to is like saying "Kids who get D's are four times more likely wear old clothes than kids who get A's, therefore old clothes cause poor grades.I find it remarkable that the Bush Administration is so bad at analyzing data. perhaps a class in logic is in order.
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Comment #7 posted by drfistusa on November 14, 2002 at 15:58:59 PT
normal behavior has become "problem behavior"
sex is considered a problem here, "having sex" is now demonized, the kind of bad behavior you might exhibit from smoking devils weed. this is a religious belief as is the entire anti argument.
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Comment #6 posted by Sam Adams on November 14, 2002 at 15:19:39 PT
For the real reason...
behind this type of stuff, see the article on the judge who got busted by a snitching narc woman in Michigan. Most of these girls will realize that it's all BS by high school.However, this type of brainwashing will fortify the prudes and do-gooders with the moral imperative they need to narc on people for the rest of their lives. 
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Comment #5 posted by medicinal toker on November 14, 2002 at 13:53:33 PT
Dark Star
The Hitler Youth is what came to mind when I first saw this too. This too will backfire. You cannot build a nation on lies. Someday, like DARE students, these girls will grow up and figure out that their government and their troop leaders have been lying to them.Why not let them have a normal chiildhood instead of filling their heads with lies?
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Comment #4 posted by MikeEEEEE on November 14, 2002 at 13:53:10 PT
Grass
I was watching the movie "Grass" for the first time last night. For years the government has known they can't arrest every drug user, that's why they've heavily concentrated on propaganda. The idea being to the control niave minds, especially when they're young.These ideas are simply promotions of the prohibitionist philosophy.
Many of these girls when they grow older will remember the lies told to them, they'll realize they were in a vonerable stage (young), and who did it to them.Since 1937 the drug war has spent about a trillion dollars, and 40% of the US citizens now appear to want some kind of legalization. Consider the amout of money and the percentage of people against marijuana prohibition; they're failing big time. The only thing I see them doing is beating a dead horse.
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Comment #3 posted by Marivuana on November 14, 2002 at 13:21:39 PT:
Disillusionment
I toked for the first time when I was 43, which was five years ago. I beleived all the drug propaganda I heard.
They will do like I did. Speaking out at any and all opportunities, that the government is guilty of domestic violence and we, the people, must put an end to this war on drugs. 
Marivuana 
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Comment #2 posted by Ethan Russo MD on November 14, 2002 at 12:50:56 PT:
The Other Side
I have just published a 30 page article on the history of cannabis in obstetrics and gynecology with an assessment of risks. Please E-mail me if you would like a PDF file of the article.
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Comment #1 posted by Dark Star on November 14, 2002 at 12:49:12 PT
Sorry
I am sorry, but I see little difference between this and the Hitler Youth.These girls will make pledges, spout platitudes, and make the government proud. What happens, then, when they learn that they have been used and abused, lied to, and become complicit in the persecution of others?Disillusionment is a serious problem, as is distrust of your government. Welcome to our collective nightmare, girls!
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