Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
The state of Oregon last week launched the first steps of a campaign aimed at preventing marijuana use among youth.
It's about time, although this is only a pilot campaign aimed first at youths in the Portland metro area and two counties in southern Oregon, Josephine and Jackson.
The small-scale rollout is by design: Legislators allocated about $4 million to the Oregon Health Authority to develop, pilot and evaluate a youth marijuana use prevention campaign in a rural and an urban area of the state. There likely was little doubt from the first that the Portland area would be the urban area selected, and it makes sense to run the program in Jackson and Josephine counties, near the state's so-called "Golden Triangle" of marijuana-growing operations.
The Legislature approved the prevention campaign in the wake of the statewide vote to legalize recreational marijuana. One point on which both legalization supporters and foes agreed during the lively election campaign on legalization is that kids shouldn't be using marijuana. The medical evidence to date is reasonably clear that marijuana use can have an outsized effect on developing brains.
But how to get that message out to young people who likely have picked up on the fact that recreational pot now is legal in Oregon?
The Health Authority says it conducted audience research and convened 28 focus groups in Portland, Bend, Medford and Pendleton with 260 youths and young adults between the ages of 14 and 20.
The campaign, which has been saddled with the nondescript name "Stay True to You," includes some interesting parts that suggests that Oregon's youth are approaching the issue of marijuana with at least a little bit of thought. The campaign includes:
The bulk of the advertising will take place on digital and streaming video. Other campaign elements include mall and movie theater ads, a social media presence (#StayTrueOregon), a website (StayTrueToYou.org), radio advertising, and outreach to organizations where youths gather.
The Health Authority plans a secondary campaign aimed at parents, teachers and school administrators in the fall. The trial campaign will be evaluated twice for effectiveness in November and May 2015, with reports due to the Legislature next year.
The campaign's success will hinge on its credibility and even-handed tone: If kids start to question the accuracy of the information or sense that they're being preached at or condescended to, that will be a fatal blow - and it won't take long for that word to spread on social media.
But even if "Stay True to You" fizzles in this trial, we still should be able to learn something important from failure. And the message we want to get out about marijuana use and youths is so important that it merits continued efforts to get the word out in a way that its target audience finds persuasive.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: State Targets Youth Use Of Marijuana
Author: Staff
Contact: 541-926-2211
Photo Credit: Anibal Ortiz
Website: Albany Democrat-Herald
It's about time, although this is only a pilot campaign aimed first at youths in the Portland metro area and two counties in southern Oregon, Josephine and Jackson.
The small-scale rollout is by design: Legislators allocated about $4 million to the Oregon Health Authority to develop, pilot and evaluate a youth marijuana use prevention campaign in a rural and an urban area of the state. There likely was little doubt from the first that the Portland area would be the urban area selected, and it makes sense to run the program in Jackson and Josephine counties, near the state's so-called "Golden Triangle" of marijuana-growing operations.
The Legislature approved the prevention campaign in the wake of the statewide vote to legalize recreational marijuana. One point on which both legalization supporters and foes agreed during the lively election campaign on legalization is that kids shouldn't be using marijuana. The medical evidence to date is reasonably clear that marijuana use can have an outsized effect on developing brains.
But how to get that message out to young people who likely have picked up on the fact that recreational pot now is legal in Oregon?
The Health Authority says it conducted audience research and convened 28 focus groups in Portland, Bend, Medford and Pendleton with 260 youths and young adults between the ages of 14 and 20.
The campaign, which has been saddled with the nondescript name "Stay True to You," includes some interesting parts that suggests that Oregon's youth are approaching the issue of marijuana with at least a little bit of thought. The campaign includes:
- Testimonials from adults who had experience with marijuana as youth and young adults. (The Health Authority says that the most common request from focus group participants was to hear from real people who had used marijuana and could talk about their experiences; an encouraging signal that youths weighing marijuana use want to hear from credible sources.)
- A message to older youths that their actions regarding marijuana might provide a role model for younger children, including siblings.
- Facts on brain development and marijuana's effect on learning, based on reviews of the current science by the Health Authority's Retail Marijuana Scientific Advisory Committee.'
- Questions and answers about marijuana use.
The bulk of the advertising will take place on digital and streaming video. Other campaign elements include mall and movie theater ads, a social media presence (#StayTrueOregon), a website (StayTrueToYou.org), radio advertising, and outreach to organizations where youths gather.
The Health Authority plans a secondary campaign aimed at parents, teachers and school administrators in the fall. The trial campaign will be evaluated twice for effectiveness in November and May 2015, with reports due to the Legislature next year.
The campaign's success will hinge on its credibility and even-handed tone: If kids start to question the accuracy of the information or sense that they're being preached at or condescended to, that will be a fatal blow - and it won't take long for that word to spread on social media.
But even if "Stay True to You" fizzles in this trial, we still should be able to learn something important from failure. And the message we want to get out about marijuana use and youths is so important that it merits continued efforts to get the word out in a way that its target audience finds persuasive.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: State Targets Youth Use Of Marijuana
Author: Staff
Contact: 541-926-2211
Photo Credit: Anibal Ortiz
Website: Albany Democrat-Herald
