Beyond sobriety: How teens are getting educated on drugs in Colorado

Colorado has been at the forefront of drug reform in the United States since 2014, when it became the first state to legally sell marijuana for recreational use. Eight years later, in 2022, it became the second state in the nation to offer legal access to psychedelic-assisted therapy, building on efforts to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms dating back to 2019.

As these drugs have become more culturally acceptable and legally accessible, schools have had to rethink how they approach talking about them. After all, how do you educate youth about substance use and abuse when you can’t tell them to ‘just say no’?

Colorado’s “local control” approach means there’s no standardization for drug and health education, and lessons vary widely throughout the state — from Denver where there are many types of prevention education and interventions to rural districts like Gunnison, which hired its first full-time staff member to oversee health programming in 2024.

In a three-part series, The Denver Post is exploring what youth drug education looks like in Colorado’s era of drug reform. We spoke with educators, public health experts, nonprofit leaders and local teenagers about how conversations about marijuana, opioids and other substances have shifted from being confined to abstinence-only messaging to include science-based information and, in some cases, harm reduction strategies like overdose prevention. We also observed classes and projects that help youth hone leadership skills, develop peer groups where they experience a sense of belonging and cultivate healthy habits as means to prevent substance use.

Here’s what we learned.

Americans have long relied on school-based curricula and fear-based educational campaigns to discourage youth use. But as the opioid epidemic unfolded over the last decade-plus, harm reduction emerged as a new philosophy to keep kids safe from fatal overdoses. Read more ►

Because Colorado is a “local control” state when it comes to education, drug and health programming varies by district. However, the educators we spoke with agree that prevention starts with addressing students’ mental and emotional wellbeing. When talking to students about drugs, they also said transparency and trust are key to making an impact, especially for a generation with the world’s information at its fingertips. Read more ►

Schools are not the only places that teens learn about drugs today. In fact, many nonprofits in Colorado provide essential drug information and training to local youth, effectively entrusting them to act as positive influences among their peers. Read more ►

Parents have a vital role to play when it comes to drug use prevention and intervention. We spoke to public health experts who offered practical tips for effectively building trust and communicating with teens about fentanyl, marijuana and more, so that they feel comfortable confiding in the adults in their lives. Read more ►

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

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