Cannabis Honestly initiative aims to educate New York youth

From gummies and vape cartridges to dispensaries on Main Street, cannabis over the years has become more visible in New York. Now, state officials want to help parents and teens talk about the drug. 

After a year of research involving hundreds of residents, the New York State Office of Cannabis Management launched Cannabis Honestly, an education campaign designed to help young residents, ages 11 to 17, and adults navigate today's cannabis landscape.

“There is a real need for fact-based information for young people," Jeffrey Reynolds, president of the Family and Children's Association, said. He was also the Long Island representative of the cannabis education advisory panel. “Especially in an environment where cannabis use has expanded and become more accessible."

Lyla Hunt, OCM’s director of public health and education, talked about the program ahead of Monday's launch in a virtual meeting on Friday.

“New York's cannabis landscape has changed dramatically over the last several years," Hunt said. “That means products have evolved. The marketplace has evolved, and the questions people have today are different than they were just a few years ago."

Cannabis Honestly is launching after a year of research and development. Through 23 separate listen-and-learn sessions across 11 counties, the state heard from more than 450 New Yorkers, which included 300 young residents and more than 150 adults. Additionally, the state created a ‘cannabis education advisory panel’ that not only brings together state departments, but also experts in public health, education, community engagement and people’s real life experience.

“What we heard when we brought together everyone from school nurses, to superintendents, to assistant superintendents, to principals, to teachers, to those in the classroom versus more on the administrative side; everyone asked for resources," Hunt said.

The state's goal is for residents to use the campaign resources in whatever way "best supports their communities," Hunt said.

The office recognized through their research that residents of all ages want to understand the drug as a way of navigating those difficult to start conversations. What they found was many do not know where to start, which led to a key component on the website; an interactive and personalized cannabis conversation starter tool.

“It is important that parents look for ways to ease into those conversations in a way that is non-judgmental and keeps the door open for subsequent conversations," Reynolds said.

New York is one of the country’s more progressive states regarding cannabis law, but this does not exclude the cultural biases that occur regarding the drug.

“The term marijuana is racially charged. So talking about that, breaking that apart, lifting that up, making sure there's cultural representation in the campaign, not just towards one particular demographic,” Hunt said. “That's the reason why we need to do this sort of educational work is to really make sure that people are coming from a place of fact and understanding, because that helps cut through some of that long held stigma."