How Colorado teens are teaching each other about drugs

On a sunny summer day in 2025, Vivian Sprouse stopped by the Delta Library to admire its new mural. The soon-to-be high school freshman glowed with pride as she looked over the 8-by-25-foot painting, depicting a colorful hot air balloon soaring over western Colorado’s Grand Mesa.

Rightfully so, since the mural was inspired by a similar drawing she had done for a sticker contest hosted by Rise Above Colorado, a youth-focused drug prevention organization. It was one of the winning designs and earned her the opportunity to adapt the sticker into a piece of public art.

“I think it inspires kids to give out their creativity and use their voices to say what they’re proud of,” Sprouse said at the mural reveal. “Balloons rise up, and if you see someone out there doing drugs, help them, be a support system for them, show them that they’re able to rise up.”

Rise Above’s art projects aim to engage youth in community initiatives that foster personal relationships and give them a sense of belonging, two factors that studies show are linked to lower rates of substance use. The nonprofit promotes positive social norms to debunk the myth that teen drug use is pervasive and help young people cultivate healthy behaviors, said executive director Kent MacLennan.

In 2024, Rise Above Colorado surveyed kids ages 12 to 17 and found that youth who choose to abstain are the majority, not the minority. “Our focus has really been (to) change the narrative, show the data from these surveys that are legitimate that show most youth aren’t using,” MacLennan said.

Nonprofits like Rise Above Colorado and Western Colorado Area Health Education Center offer activities and events that aim to engage teens outside of classrooms and help them develop a sense of purpose. From documentary screenings and naloxone trainings to youth-built drug information resources and even mural projects, organizations seek to equip young people with science-based facts and enable them to become experts among their peer groups. Recent state-level public health campaigns, too, have focused on the facts instead of fear, in hopes of illuminating new research on substances like marijuana.

This is the final story in The Denver Post’s three-part series examining how drug education has evolved alongside the legalization and normalization of substances like cannabis and psychedelics. Previous stories focused on how the general public has begun warming to harm reduction ideals in light of the opioid crisis and how local schools are navigating drug education in the era of drug reform.

“We have always wanted to focus on some of the root causes and what are the things that youth are doing that make life worthwhile,” MacLennan said. “So, celebrating all of that, yet at the same time making sure that youth understand the risks, the consequences. That they understand adolescent brain development and the importance of all the years that you cannot use are formative for the brain and dramatically reduce your risk of addiction later on in life.”

Today, these organizations are also filling in for state agencies that often lack the resources to lead educational campaigns.

After becoming the first state to permit recreational marijuana sales in 2014, Colorado funded several campaigns to inform both residents and tourists about its new laws as well as the health effects of cannabis use.

However, neither the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment nor the Department of Revenue currently has funding to do the same for psychedelics, which were legalized and decriminalized in 2022.

Representatives from both publicly funded agencies declined to be interviewed for this story.

One exception is the Colorado Department of Transportation, which recently launched a website to educate folks about the effects and legality of driving under the influence of psilocybin, including those who microdose.

Some of Colorado’s early government-led cannabis campaigns targeted teens with varying levels of success.

In one notorious flop, the Colorado Department of Law and the Governor’s Office spent $2 million on an initiative called “Don’t Be A Lab Rat.” Launched in 2014, the campaign suggested that Colorado was a testing ground for the consequences of marijuana legalization — and that teens would be the test subjects if they chose to consume. (It’s worth noting that the messaging targeted adolescents under the legal age to purchase and consume cannabis, which is 21 years old.) In addition to TV and movie theater ads, campaign organizers installed human-sized rat cages around Denver, which were promptly mocked and vandalized.

The state health department — which was not involved in “Don’t Be a Lab Rat” — later developed several youth-targeted campaigns, such as Protect What’s Next in 2015, which encouraged kids to set goals for their lives and then cautioned that marijuana use could get in the way of those; and Forward Together in 2020, aimed at inspiring teens to build more connected relationships. (While not specifically for teenagers, a 2015 campaign called Good To Know showed some effectiveness in educating pregnant women, parents and tourists about Colorado’s marijuana laws.)

The only state-led initiative that still exists today, however, is called Responsibility Grows Here. Rolled out in 2018, it is essentially a website that features guidance on how to consume and store cannabis responsibly, as well as information related to adolescent use and use during pregnancy.

In recent years, the state legislature has invested funds to support researching and educating the public about highly potent marijuana.

Lawmakers passed a bill in 2021 requiring the Colorado School of Public Health to perform a systematic review of the scientific research related to possible physical and mental health effects of high-potency cannabis concentrates, such as vape oils and dabs, and create a public health campaign based on the findings. The state allocated $5 million to the school — a partnership between the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus, Colorado State University and the University of Northern Colorado — to support this initiative over several years.

The result, called “The Tea on THC,” launched in 2024 with the goal of raising awareness about the risks of consuming high-concentration cannabis through podcasts, documentary shorts and social media content, including influencer partnerships. The campaign specifically highlights the potential health risks associated with consumption during adolescence and pregnancy, which researchers identified as the most critical periods for harm in their review of more than 650 scientific studies. (Researchers broadened their definition of “higher concentration cannabis” beyond concentrates to include flower with more than 10% THC and edibles with more than 5 milligrams of THC.)

While previous campaigns focused on helping people understand laws after legalization and risks of impaired driving, Tea on THC is the first to synthesize existing research about the potential health impacts, Greg Tung, associate professor of health policy at the Colorado School of Public Health, said by email.

“The campaign focuses on what’s changed versus repeating outdated messaging,” Tung said. “Our work draws attention to the fact that cannabis products of today are very different than those in years past, and we convey the distinction between these products and what they mean for people’s health.”

For example, messaging emphasizes that cannabis flower contains much more THC now than in decades past — often between 17% to 28% compared to around 3% in 1983, — while concentrates contain as much as 95% THC. The combination of higher-concentration marijuana and a high-concentration delivery method means users can access unprecedented levels of THC at unparalleled speed, the website states.

Still, the campaign’s objective is to discourage people from starting to use cannabis unless they have a valid medical reason, so the messaging leans heavily into potential risks, even though researchers found some evidence that concentrates can benefit individuals with preexisting mental health conditions. Acknowledging the risks is important since legalization has propelled the perception that marijuana is effectively harmless, which is not the case, Tung said.

Youth messaging talks about short-term effects like problems with memory and concentration, a risk of psychosis and acute vomiting, as well as the potential for long-term issues like cannabis use disorder, breathing problems and increased risk of mental health conditions like schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety.

The Tea on THC has likely been the most visible state-funded campaign with more than 56 million viewer impressions between social media, paid media, billboards, and other forms of advertising. The website now exceeds 40,000 monthly visits, the school said, and has reached 62 of Colorado’s 64 counties.

Instead of relying on top-down drug prevention initiatives, some nonprofits and local health agencies are entrusting young people to lead the way.

The city of Broomfield’s Youth for Youth group, for example, takes part in an advisory coalition that helps shape health initiatives, such as drug prevention and mental health programming. The city pays middle and high schoolers for their time and expertise, and puts them at the helm of a podcast called “Sincerely, Teens,” which touches on a range of topics, including drugs.

Rise Above Colorado recruits students from across the state to be part of its Teen Action Council, which does peer drug education in a variety of ways. The council receives training on positive social norms so members can act as ambassadors within their communities and also leads digital projects that seek to disseminate critical drug information to others their age.

In 2023, for example, the council collaborated with Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office to develop a website called Connect Effect intended to spread awareness about opioids and reduce the risk of misuse. It details facts that teens can share with their friends, like the majority of fake pills out there are laced with fentanyl and that ingesting just 2 milligrams can be fatal. It also offers guidance on how to use naloxone and where to find resources such as free counseling. Connect Effect was produced using $750,000 from the state’s opioid settlement funds.

Additionally, in 2017, the Teen Action Council created a “drug facts” website that provides robust information about various substances, including psilocybin, fentanyl, meth, marijuana and more. Pages include a brief history of the drug, its common names, descriptions of the high, its long and short-term effects on the brain and body, and the legal consequences of possession. Each one includes links to the information sources, so that teens who find the page can use it as a resource if they are interested in learning more.

MacLennan isn’t concerned that the website contains information that could be considered positive or focused on harm reduction.

“Hopefully, youth can understand: what is the high like, why does that potentially make it addictive, and then what are the repercussions? So that ultimately they make informed decisions,” MacLennan said. “We would rather that than, ‘Oh well, I just have to say no’ — it’s not that black and white. We need to trust them that we’re developing skills enough so they can make good choices.”

Beyond the content, the most important part about the website is that it’s written for youth, by youth. Olli Hocker, who served on Rise Above’s 2024-25 Teen Action Council, considers it the organization’s most impactful initiative because of the service it provides.

“I know that I was looking things like that up when I was actively using,” Hocker said in a 2025 interview, proudly three years sober from using nitrous oxide. “I think it’s really important to have accurate and nonjudgmental information and it’s something that is hard to find other places.”

Lyndall Young, nurse and instructor at Western Colorado Area Health Education Center, echoed that peer-led initiatives are often the most successful she sees in the field.

Her organization acts as a resource hub, working to bring drug prevention and intervention to 15 communities across the Western Slope through a variety of initiatives both inside and outside of schools. Programming ranges from stocking naloxone vending kiosks and training educators to use the opioid reversal medication to facilitating classroom lectures about opioids and curating youth events, like documentary screenings and expert panels about substance use and addiction.

In Delta County, Young works with high schoolers to develop drug lessons that they then present to younger grades. The impact goes both ways, she said. Youth leaders become advocates and their message resonates profoundly with peer audiences.

“We’ve really found (younger kids) love the science behind it and they love it when it comes from a peer. So we really feel that has made a huge impact in our outreach to have those student stars,” Young said.

What exactly constitutes drug education has expanded over the last several years, Young said. While many think of classroom lectures, the work has broadened to become multifaceted and include wraparound services, such as housing, food and counseling support, that seek to address issues that often predate substance use and abuse. Young is heartened by this shift, as it personalizes services and education.

“One thing is not going to work for all the students. You have to hit it (from) different directions,” she said.

Risks of psychedelic use aren’t widely known; Colorado campaign hopes to change that

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Having access to science-based drug education isn’t just important for teenagers. Young adults also need to understand the perceived benefits and risks of any given substance so they can make informed choices once they turn 21, said public health expert Kristin Nash.

Nash is co-founder of the nonprofit Coalition for Psychedelic Safety and Education, which is dedicated to addressing the need for accurate, nuanced and science-based information in the burgeoning psychedelics space. Last year, the organization used Colorado to test a new digital campaign called Before You Trip, aimed at educating Gen Z about psychoactive substances and concepts like “set and setting” that can impact a trip.

As psilocybin mushrooms have become more normalized, use has risen. In 2023, about 1.7 million Americans ages 18 to 29 reported using the drug in the past year, marking a 44% increase from 2019, according to a study by Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Safety.

Before You Trip’s goal was to encourage young adults to “pause, learn and reflect” with a mix of social media ads, Instagram influencer content and a website with drug information and harm-reduction resources. While the campaign highlighted psychedelics’ potential risks and documented harms, its tone was intentionally nonjudgmental and content did not advocate for abstinence.

“We know that young people are already making the decision to use and engage with these substances. We also know that ‘Just Say No’ approaches turn young people off to the message, and to be fair, we also know a lot of people do get benefit from these,” Nash said. “We need to arm them with the best information we have around risk, contradictions and harm reduction strategies.”

Before You Trip’s pilot campaign ran for roughly six weeks and reached 860,518 unique individuals aged 18 to 30 in the Denver, Boulder and Aspen metro areas, Nash said. Instagram content clocked 5.1 million impressions among that demographic and the Before You Trip website received about 66,000 visits. Those who saw the campaign said it was informative, engaging and helpful.

For Nash, the feedback was reassuring. For years, she has advocated that state governments adopt comprehensive education plans as they seek to legalize and decriminalize psychedelics. But so far, that hasn’t happened. To fill the gaps, the coalition plans to expand Before You Trip into a sustained public health education program and develop toolkits that cities, states and college campuses can use to support safer decision making among young adults.

Nash’s mission is a personal one. In 2020, her son Will died while under the influence of psilocybin at 21 years old. The William G. Nash Foundation honors his memory by supporting harm reduction efforts on college campuses, raising awareness about psychedelic safety and advocating for reality-based substance use education across the country.

“We can wish our kids wouldn’t use these all we want… but to me, education is the front line safety net,” Nash said. “When we downplay the risk and we fail to have those important discussions, we put people at risk and we're failing at informed consent.”

This series was reported with support of the Ferriss-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship.

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