![\"0001-1\"](\"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/0001-1-1.jpg\")
<\/a>\n The chart above compares current California alcohol policy, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, and
\nCalaveras County\u2019s Measure D to best practice recommendations for policies to protect youth
\nfrom access to alcohol and marijuana and from the adverse effects of adolescent use of these
\nsubstances. <\/p>\n
County schools will host two educational sessions on the effects of marijuana on the adolescent
\nbrain, presented by Health Officer Dr. Dean Kelaita, 6-7pm, Thursday, October 13, 2016 at Bret
\nHarte High School Theater and 6-7pm, Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at Calaveras High
\nSchool Theater. Please join us.<\/p>\n
Marijuana use has been shown to have measurable negative effects on the developing brain. A
\ngrowing number of scientists have concluded that delaying onset of marijuana use by
\nadolescents is critical to protecting our young people\u2019s health.<\/p>\n
A white paper produced by Ventura County Behavioral Health includes a great deal of research
\nin this area. The article is titled \u201cWhat the Science Says About Adolescent Use of Cannabis\u201d by
\nLinda Gertson, Ph.D. The full article, and all citations, can be accessed via the Calaveras
\nCounty Office of Education website, ccoe.k12.ca.us. Following are some of the highlights.
\nA national survey done in 2015 found that 6.5% of eighth graders, 14.8% of tenth graders, and
\n21.3% of twelfth graders use marijuana. The Fall 2015 California Healthy Kids Survey indicated
\nthat in Calaveras County, 8% of ninth graders and 22% of eleventh graders had used marijuana
\nin the past 30 days. Fifty-five percent of our ninth graders and 75% of eleventh graders
\nconsidered marijuana \u201cfairly easy\u201d or \u201cvery easy\u201d to obtain.<\/p>\n
Research has shown that how young a person is when they start using marijuana is a strong
\npredictor of whether they will have a future substance use disorder. Kids who use marijuana
\nduring adolescence are two to four times more likely to have symptoms of dependence in the
\nfirst two years.<\/p>\n
Many scientific studies have shown a relationship between early use of marijuana and negative
\neffects on mental ability and educational achievement. A relationship has also been established
\nfor several psychiatric conditions, particularly schizophrenia. The brain does not reach full
\nmaturity until a young person is in their early twenties, and many complex brain functions are
\nstill developing during adolescence.<\/p>\n
Data from three studies involving more than 6,000 participants (Horwood et al., 2010) found that
\nrates of educational attainment were highest for those who had not used marijuana before age
\n18 and lowest for those who started using before age 15. The authors suggested that early use
\nof marijuana may negatively impact a young person\u2019s ability to obtain a high school diploma or
\nmove into higher education.<\/p>\n
In a study assessing the effects of marijuana use on verbal learning and memory, even
\nadolescents with relatively brief exposure to marijuana demonstrated similar memory loss to
\nthat reported in adult long-term heavy users. There was strong evidence of greater memory loss
\nthe earlier marijuana use started.<\/p>\n
The authors of several of the studies reviewed in the white paper emphasize the need for
\nprevention or delay of marijuana use in adolescence, and recommend efforts to ensure that
\nmarijuana legislation consider the potentially adverse developmental effects of this drug.
\nCurrent research has shown that it\u2019s critically important to keep marijuana away from children.
\nHowever, youth perception of harm from marijuana use has decreased in recent years. In
\nCalaveras County in 2007, 62% of ninth graders and 43% of eleventh graders thought that
\nsmoking marijuana once or twice a week carried a risk of great harm. In 2015, only 44% of ninth
\ngraders and 26% of eleventh graders felt that way.<\/p>\n
Supporters of Proposition 64, California\u2019s Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA,) argue that the
\ninitiative protects public health and safety generally, and potential risks to children and youth in
\nparticular.<\/p>\n
A policy report called \u201cThe 2016 California Marijuana Initiative and Youth: Lessons from Alcohol
\nPolicy\u201d prepared by James F. Mosher, JD, also for Ventura County Behavioral Health, analyzed
\nthe AUMA proposal and compared it to federal best practices developed as a regulatory
\nstructure for preventing youth access to alcohol. (Please see chart.) The full article, citations,
\nand an analysis of Measure D in this same context are also available via the CCOE website.
\nWhen voting on this or any other issue, we urge Calaveras voters to fully consider its impact on
\nour children.<\/p>\n
Kathy Northington, County Superintendent of Schools
\nMark Campbell, Superintendent, Calaveras Unified School District
\nMichael Chimente, Superintendent, Bret Harte Union High School District
\nDon Ogden, Superintendent, Vallecito Union School District
\nJulia Tidball, Superintendent, Mark Twain Union Elementary School District<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Calaveras County, CA…The school superintendents in Calaveras County have come together to share with the public our concerns for the youth of Calaveras County related to marijuana cultivation and accessibility. We believe it\u2019s important for voters to have as much information as possible in order to make the best decisions for our students and for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1599,"featured_media":25590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/0001-1-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1599"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}