Colorado is launching a major state campaign to educate residents and tourists about how to responsibly use recreational marijuana, which has been legal in the state for the past year. Instead of telling people not to use pot, state health officials are taking somewhat of a different approach: Helping the public get educated about the facts so they know how to use the drug responsibly.
The new “Good to Know” campaign marks the first statewide public education effort about recreational marijuana. Colorado’s health department is spending $5.7 million dollars to roll out fact sheets, radio spots, and community training sessions. The campaign uses colorful graphics and folksy music to teach people about the regulations related to the drug — one of the taglines, for instance, warns that “public space is not the place,” referencing the state’s law against smoking weed outside.
“Good to Know” is primarily targeting people who may not realize the potential effects of using the drug, like tourists and pregnant women. Health officials also want to dissuade people from driving a car after smoking, as well as discourage them from sharing their pot with teens, who are prohibited from using marijuana.
The campaign stands in sharp contrast to previous efforts to reach teens in Colorado. Last year, the state attempted an ad campaign to combat underage smoking that used giant rat cages. The idea was that kids shouldn’t be “lab rats” by experimenting with marijuana, since scientists aren’t sure whether it has an effect on developing brains. The lab rat ads were widely criticized for pushing an overly negative message, particularly since previous research has found that anti-drug campaigns that rely on scaremongering aren’t particularly effective among young people.
This time around, Colorado is doing things a little differently. Dr. Larry Wolk, the state’s chief medical officer, insists that “Good to Know” is “not an aversion campaign.” And proponents of legal marijuana agree that the materials strike an appropriate balance between education efforts and facts about safe pot use.
“I’ve always said we need to start treating marijuana like the drug it is, not the drug some fear it to be,” State Rep. Jonathan Singer (D), who has spearheaded some of Colorado’s marijuana legalization laws, told USA Today. Singer said it’s important to recognize that marijuana has been used safely for decades.
Over the past year, there have been questions about how Colorado’s health officials should effectively educate people about using recreational marijuana, particularly when it’s sold in edible forms. The issue made national headlines this past summer, after New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd ate too much of a pot-infused candy bar and wrote about her bad trip. She said that she was unprepared to know how to handle the candy, as someone who doesn’t regularly use marijuana. (One Colorado resident who gave Dowd a behind-the-scenes tour of the state’s pot industry, however, said he told her how to safely use edibles.)
So far, Colorado has opted to regulate recreational marijuana similarly to the way that states handle alcohol. The state has banned it for people under 21 years, implemented regulations on driving under the influence, and leveled a sales tax on the product. According to a recent report from the Drug Policy Alliance, Colorado made $40.9 million from recreational pot sales between January and October of last year, $2.5 million of which will help pay for hiring more school health care professionals.