Drug Education Process and Content

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Drug Education Process and Content

• Ralph Cantor
• Alameda County Office of Education
• May 3, 2007

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Goal of drug education

• Think more deeply about the issues
• Make a more informed decision
• Have a positive influence on their behavior
• Know that adults care and will respond
• Identify kids needing help
• For Middle School delay initial usage

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How people learn
Heart
Emotions
Thought
Prior Experience
and Knowledge
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Process

• Present a non-judgmental approach
• Establish credibility (Honesty, Knowledge,
  Authenticity)
• Stimulate discussion and serious thought
• Art of weaving information (stealing of
  knowledge)

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Dopamine vs. Serotonin

• Dopamine produces a feeling of pleasure
• Serotonin produces a feeling of well being
• Difference between pleasure and happiness
• Developing skills, interest, relationships,
  meaning (getting a life)
• Resiliency

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Hippocampus

• Gateway between short term and long term memory
• Draws information from long term memory
• Discriminates relevant new information
• Trashes unimportant information
• Stores new information in long term memory

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Marijuana Hippocampus
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Adolescent Brain
Adult Brain
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Strategies and ApproachesTalking with children
in the classroom or individually

• Credibility Believability plus influence
• Kids will listen, but even more, kids will
  consider and self reflect look into what they
  already know and compare with new information.
• Example THC Content

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Strategies and ApproachesTalking with children
in the classroom or individually

• Brains are different
• Not personal
• Science based
• Marshas experiment and the use of motivational
  interviewing
• Not trying to convince
• Teaching true decision making with a
  predetermined conclusion
• Kids are sensitive to being manipulated
• Use of their knowledge and past experience
• Give balanced answers

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Strategies and ApproachesTalking with children
in the classroom or individually

• Honesty They ask you if you ever used mostly to
  see if you are going to be honest be real
  because the reality of the situation is that is
  what works.

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Reaching Teenagers

• Dont shove this kind of information down their
  throat
• No propaganda
• Non-judgmental/ Fair and Balanced
• Honest with integrity
• Interactive
• Honoring where they are and what they know
• Let them steal the information
• Authenticity

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Self Assessment
Andrew Weil Unhealthy relationship

• Ignorance that the substance is a drug and what
  it does to the body
• Loss of desired effect w/increasing frequency
• Difficulty separating from the drug
• Impairment of health or social function
• Read handout

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More to think about

• Various approaches for age and circumstance
• Whats worked for you
• Classroom settings, individuals, groups, SAP
• Marijuana-Tobacco connection
• Stages of change and Motivational Interviewing
• Summation and conclusions

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Bibliography

• Marijuana Whats a Parent to believe? Tim
  Cermak 2003, Hazelden
• Uppers, Downers, All Arounders Darryl Inaba
  1997, CNS Publications
• Understanding Marijuana Mitch Earleywine 2002,
  Oxford University Press
• Buzzed Cynthia Kuhn, et. al. 1998, Norton and
  Company

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Instructional Design Services courtesy of
Educational Technology Support Services Alameda
County Office of Education

• Bernard Burchette, Director
• Phone [phone]
• E-mail asketss_at_acoe.org

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Contact Information

• Ralph Cantor
• Alameda County Office of Education
• Program Coordinator
• [phone]
• rcantor_at_acoe.org