January 7, 2016
Ethos and The Maine Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services are looking for Maine Youth to help develop concepts and ideas to produce short videos about not using marijuana. The overarching theme is that marijuana can make it difficult to “be yourself, you’re not you when you use”.
Interested? Read on for the details.
Guidelines:
Video ideas/scripts will need to include at least one of the key messages listed below. Or feel free to use all four of the messages! Tell us how you might share that message with your friends. Why do you feel that it is important? If you had two minutes to share that one message, what would you say? What would you show? Give us your most creative, emotional, heartfelt or serious ideas! Ideas and scripts should be presented as a word document, and feel free to add descriptions of how or where you would suggest filming to make your story more real.
Timeline:
Submit your registration form (at the bottom of this document) and your ideas and scripts no later than February 26.
Send via email to Kim Laramy at Ethos
Don’t Forget!
Please also complete the registration form below – so we will know how to contact you and so you can let us know if you’re willing to be in the video!
Questions? Contact LeeAnne Dodge at .
Video Key Messages – Remember you must use at least one!
1 Save your Brain. You’re not you when you use. Be yourself.
Supporting information:
Marijuana interferes with attention, motivation, memory, and learning. The teen brain is still developing and is especially vulnerable to drug use. Regular heavy marijuana use by teens can lead to an IQ drop of up to 8 points.
Initiating marijuana use in adolescence leads to an increased risk of future dependence and of those who do initiate use in adolescence, one in six will go on to become marijuana dependent. Withdrawal symptoms can include: anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, appetite disruptions, stomach pain, and mood disturbance.
Marijuana can be addictive. It affects the brain’s reward system in the same way as all other drugs of addition and the likelihood of addiction increases for those who start young.
2 Feel Good. You’re not you when you use. Be yourself.
Supporting Information:
Research has indicated that acute adverse psychiatric reactions can include anxiety (with or without panic attacks) and psychotic symptoms.
Cannabis use has been implicated in an increased risk of schizophrenia and increases the likelihood that it will develop in at-risk individuals.
3 Take Control. You’re not you when you use. Be Yourself.
Supporting Information:
Drivers who consume cannabis within three hours of driving are 2.5 times as likely to cause a vehicle collision as those who are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The THC found in marijuana impairs the body’s immune system, making it harder to fight infections. These illnesses can spread to non-using others and in places like school, work, and grocery stores.
Marijuana smoke and tobacco smoke contain many of the same carcinogens. Regular, heavy smokers of marijuana report chronic cough and symptoms of chronic bronchitis. Most researchers agree that chronic, heavy use of marijuana increases cancer risk. Marijuana can cause increased heart rate and can raise it for up to 3 hours after smoking. This may increase risk for heart attack and those who are older or have heart problems may be at higher risk.
Marijuana intoxication is associated with impaired judgment, leading to risky behaviors like unprotected sex and driving. In 2005, nearly 242,000 people were admitted to emergency rooms suffering from marijuana-related problems.
Heavy Marijuana use by teens is linked to: Educational outcomes: lower grades and exam scores, less likely to graduate from high school or college, less likely to enroll in college. Life outcomes: lower satisfaction with life, more likely to earn a lower income, more likely to be unemployed.
4 Keep Relationships strong
Supporting Information:
Compared to nonusers, heavy marijuana users more often report the following: more relationship problems, lower life satisfaction, poorer physical health, and less academic and career success.
Information about You
Your Name______
School ______
Address______
City______Zip______
How best to reach you?
_____Call me at this number______
_____Text me at this number______
_____email me at this address______
Parent/Guardian Name:
Phone:
_____Yes! I want to be in the video!
_____No, I’m not interested in appearing in the video, I just want to share my ideas