Episode #121 High Truths on Drugs and Addiction with Dr. Bonnie Halprn-Felsher and Mind over Marijuana Campaign

California Department of Public Health

Substance and Addiction Prevention Branch

 Youth Cannabis Prevention Initiative

• Cannabis use among youth is more common than either binge drinking or smoking tobacco
  • According to the California Healthy Kids Survey, 16% of 11th graders are current cannabis users.

• Today’s youth are in a season of self-discovery, seeking meaning, connections, independence, and learning how to regulate and manage their emotions.
  • Youth are increasingly turning to cannabis in this developmental stage to bond with friends and to cope with day-to-day stressors
• Under age cannabis use affects two key pillars of mental health:
• Social well-being – how youth socialize, bond, and make meaningful connections with others
• Emotional well-being – how youth cope with mental health challenges
• Cannabis use in youth is associated with:
  • Impairments in cognition including memory, learning, and attention
  • Increased risk of psychotic, mood, and addictive disorders
  • Increased risk of mental health issues
• In order to support and encourage local communities and partners to get involved in the campaign, CDPH will be hosting regular webinars – knowledge sharing opportunities to utilize campaign learnings and materials, and will provide other resources.
• CDPH will also put together educational toolkits for local communities and partners that provide accurate and actionable materials, such as conversation guides, fact sheets, youth mental health support resources, and more.

Dr. Halpern-Felsher is a developmental psychologist whose research has focused on cognitive and psychosocial factors involved in adolescents’ and young adults’ health-related decision-making, perceptions of risk and vulnerability, health communication, and risk behavior. Her research has focused on understanding and reducing health risk behaviors such as tobacco use, alcohol and marijuana use, risky driving, and risky sexual behavior. Her research has been instrumental in changing how providers discuss sexual risk with adolescents and has influenced national policies regulating adolescent and young adult tobacco use. As part of the Tobacco Center's of Regulatory Science (TCORS), she is the PI on an NIH/NCI and FDA-funded longitudinal study examining adolescents’ and young adults’ perceptions regarding as well as initiation, continuation, and cessation of current and new tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. Dr. Halpern-Felsher is also the founder and director of the Tobacco Prevention Toolkit, an online curricular aimed at reducing and preventing youth tobacco use. Dr. Halpern-Felsher’s research and committee work have been instrumental in setting policy at the local, state, and national level. In California, Dr. Halpern-Felsher’s research was cited in support of school-based tobacco education initiatives within California’s Tobacco Education Research Oversight Committee’s 2012 Masterplan, and again in their 2017 Masterplan. This Masterplan sets funding priority areas for research, education and intervention for California. Dr. Halpern-Felsher is also collaborating with the California Department of Education to develop, implement and evaluate new school-based tobacco prevention and education materials. At the national level, Dr. Halpern-Felsher’s research was highlighted in the 2012 Surgeon General Report, ”Preventing Tobacco Use among Youth and Young Adults,” and Dr. Halpern-Felsher contributed to the chapter on Clinical interventions: The role of health care providers in the prevention of youth tobacco use. Dr. Halpern-Felsher has been a member of five Institute of Medicine, National Academies of Sciences committees focusing on adolescent and young adult health risk behavior. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine and currently serves on the Council for the Society for Pediatric Research (SPR), and Co-Chairs the SPR Mentoring Committee. In 2007, Dr. Halpern-Felsher became one of the Program Directors for the NIH/NIDDK-funded Short-Term Research Experience for Underrepresented Persons (STEP-UP), High School Program. She has received two NIH 5-year grants to coordinate this program thus far. For this Step-Up Program, Dr. Halpern-Felsher mentors and supervises 22-25 junior and senior high school students each year. These high students are recruited throughout the country, and conduct their 8-10 weeks of research in their hometown. In addition to mentoring high school students, Dr. Halpern-Felsher has been a mentor to over 75 graduate and medical students and postdoctoral fellows.