The state’s 2023 cannabis legislation that allows adult use of cannabis products includes a statute that schools are required to provide cannabis prevention for middle and high students starting in the 2026-2027 school year. A public health lesson from recent decades is that drug prevention programs have a positive impact on youth. The best effects occur when evidenced-based programs are delivered across the school years. Given the changing landscape of legalization of cannabis for medicine and adult use, the urgency is heightened for underage youth to be educated about the potential harms of cannabis use.
Members of Smart Approaches to Marijuana Minnesota (SAMMn) collaborated with the Minnesota Prevention Alliance Foundation (MPAF) to address this prevention need for Minnesota students. Funded by a contract from the Minnesota Department of Education, we reviewed the existing literature and identified model cannabis prevention programs.
Click on the attached report for a full description of the project and the three model cannabis prevention programs that were identified.
