Oregon Research Institute

Motivating Actions for Prevention (MAP): A Multimedia Web-Based Preventive Intervention for Parents of Youth at Risk for Marijuana Use

Researchers are developing a cost-effective program to help parents prevent underage marijuana use.

Details

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia (DC) have now legalized medical marijuana and 8 states plus DC have legalized recreational marijuana. The increased availability is associated with shifts in perceptions of risk among youth and adults. More adults and youth now think that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. With such changing norms and more adults openly using marijuana, youths’ positive attitudes of marijuana have been rising and their perceptions of marijuana’s harm or risk decreasing. Despite its availability to adults, marijuana remains dangerous for underage youth whose brains are still developing.

Adolescent marijuana use is associated with massive costs to society and linked to negative health and legal consequences, lower education attainment and income in adulthood, and subsequent illegal drug use and drug dependence. Youth who begin using marijuana at a young age show decreased cognitive functioning, memory, & problem-solving ability.

The goal of this research is to develop an innovative prevention product targeting adolescent marijuana abstinence that can be tailored to meet the challenges of families and communities where medical marijuana has been legalized. This is a subaward with LIFFT, Co. from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).