DENVER — Fewer kids say they’ve consumed marijuana in the past 30 days, according to a recent survey released by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).
That Healthy Kids Colorado Survey showed 12.8% of youth reported using marijuana, down from 13.3% in 2021.
It also marked a significant decrease from 2019, when 25.5% of Colorado kids reported marijuana use.
"One of the things we were concerned about was the last time the state did a survey we saw a dramatic drop in youth usage," said Eric Escudero with Denver's Department of Excise & Licenses and Office of Marijuana Policy. "But that survey was taken during the pandemic when a lot of kids were at home, and they weren’t around their peers who might influence them to use marijuana."
“We were bracing for higher results as kids were back at school around their peers. The state did the survey and the exact opposite happened,” he said.
Escudero credits Denver’s High Costs campaign, which has tallied more than 300-million views in various online advertisements targeting kids since 2017.
Instead of the fear tactics used commonly in the 1980’s and 1990’s, Escudero says the city has used a fact-based approach, hoping kids will gravitate to the statistics and share them with peers.
The 2023 statistics mark the lowest percentage of students reporting marijuana use since Colorado legalized marijuana in 2014.
“We want to make sure when kids have conversations with their peers, that they have accurate information,” Escudero said. “I think it really makes a difference.”
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Next with Kyle Clark