The Raymond Coalition For Youth is committed to raising awareness to todays marijuana and its vast array of high potency THC products. We work closely with regional, state and federal partners to stay updated on the facts of this product to help provide awareness and resources to our community.
Below, is information on our marijuana prevention efforts that resulted in passing of two local town ordinances to prohibit the sale of marijuana products and signage promoting marijuana products in our community. Please feel free to use the documents below to pass similar ordinances in your community.
Below is a great video on the 10 year impact of Marijuana, presented by Dale Quigley, Deputy Chief Coordinator of the National Marijuana Initiative, an initiative of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA)
This informative video is a must-watch for anyone interested in the topic. this is a great opportunity to learn more about the long term impact of Marijuana legalization.
With over 40 years in Law enforcement, a majority of that time working undercover in narcotics, this speaker brings a unique perspective to the topic of Marijuana in America. Being a native of Colorado, with firsthand knowledge from his position with HIDTA , Dale is equipped with the facts and data to share with you about what has been happening in his state, and in other states that have legalized marijuana.
HIDCA's aims is to educate others and correct the misinformation that has been spread through out our state and others before it, with knowledge based in Scientific facts and research about marijuana legalization and the consequences that have followed.
HIDTA was established to assist federal, state, local, and tribal agencies in reducing drug trafficking and production in the United States. While some may believe that legalization is a pathway to lesson the illegal activity the data tells us a different story.
Here is information for you to use to create and pass a warrant article.
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The process itself is simple but the meat of passing them is where the work is.
1. Create warrant article language (provided for you here)
2. Get signatures (25 registered voters) and submit to town to be added to the ballot. Tip* get a few extra in case some people who sign on are not registered voters. This did happen to us.
3. Provide as much information at you can to your community. Newspaper, newsletters, social media, etc. (Example, our campaign below.)
4. We had signs made, see below and posted around town and had people holding them on voting day. This particular year we were in between federal funding so there was no issue to be concerned about but we also had volunteers doing much of the work.
Why You Should Care - State Wide Marijuana Prevention Campaign.
RCFY partnered with other Drug Free Coalitions of New Hampshire in an effort to make sure people know the truth and consequences associated with marijuana. You can click on each graphics to enlarge.
References:
2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey result – Raymond and State of NH – www.rcfy.org
51% of Raymond high school students report it would be easy or very easy to obtain marijuana. 2019 RHS YRBS
31% of NH Youth report living in a home with addiction *2019 NH YRBS.
According to the 2019 RHS YRBS(1)
43% of Raymond students think there is no risk from using marijuana once or twice a week.
48% think it is wrong or very wrong for someone there age to use marijuana
70% of students think their parents think it is wrong or very wrong for them to use marijuana
https://learnaboutsam.org/ Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) https://learnaboutsam.org/
Smart Colorado https://smartcolorado.org/products/
Mapping cannabis potency in medical and recreational programs in the United States https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/core/lw/2.0/html/tileshop_pmc/tileshop_pmc_inline.html?title=Click%20on%20image%20to%20zoom&p=PMC3&id=7098613_pone.0230167.g003.jpg
The Environmental Downside of Cannabis Cultivation https://daily.jstor.org/the-environmental-downside-of-cannabis-cultivation/
Citizens Count https://www.citizenscount.org/topic/marijuana
Quick Facts https://learnaboutsam.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Oct-2018-Quick-Facts.v4.pdf
VISION FOR THE FUTURE: A PUBLIC HEALTH APPROACH https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK424861/
Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome - https://www.cedars-sinai.org/health-library/diseases-and-conditions/c/cannabinoid-hyperemesis-syndrome.html
What is Opium? https://www.drugs.com/illicit/opium.html
Perceived Ease of Access to Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Substances in Rural and Urban US Students https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4727394/
HB 481 (2019) https://legiscan.com/NH/bill/HB481/2019
Journal of Adolescent Health, Impacts of Marijuana Commercialization on Adolescents https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(18)30174-5/fulltext
Rocky Mountain HIDTA 2019 Threat Assessment https://cdpsdocs.state.co.us/ccjj/Committees/OpInvSub/Materials/2019-11-07_OpInvSub_ThreatAssess_RMHIDTA_2019-06.pdf
RAND - Adolescents Who View More Medical Marijuana Advertising Are More Likely to Use Marijuana, Have Positive Views About the Drug https://www.rand.org/news/press/2018/05/17.html
In the 2021 Raymond NH, Town election, citizen petitions were voted on and
- 54% of Raymond Voters want to restrict any commercial signs promoting cannabis, or marijuana, drug-related paraphernalia, or product in our community.
- 52% of Raymond Voters want to restrict the commercialization of marijuana and marijuana-based products in our community.
Read more below.
Marijuana use Prevention Strategy – Provide Awareness & Reduce Access to Marijuana.
In a proactive measure, The Raymond Coalition For Youth went to the voters to create positive policy change to protect our community through two citizens petition warrant articles on the Town of Raymond NH March 9th, 2021 ballot to prevention the marijuana industry from coming into our community.
In the process of raising awareness to this effort we included a complete public awareness campaign in which we utilized our state wide community Drug Free Community Coalition partners to help raise awareness and increase knowledge about the dangers and risk associated with today’s marijuana products.
Why You Should Care (campaign graphics below)
The business of Big Marijuana doesn't want you to know the truth about the dangers and misconceptions that go with marijuana. They have a well laid out business plan: go into a state and pass therapeutic cannabis - also referred to as medical marijuana, next step get marijuana decriminalized, and then move to legalize it - also known as commercialization or recreational marijuana.
There is a lot of money in the business of marijuana which means substance misuse prevention coalitions, and community members need to speak up and act to keep communities and states well informed and aware of the truth associated with this addiction for profit business. As a state we should learn from other states that have jumped too quickly into the process so we don't repeat that mistake. RCFY is learning how to protect our youth from other small communities in states that have gone down this road but we need to you. We need to work together to keep our youth and communities safe and drug-free.
In a proactive measure RCFY Youth Action is looking to create positive policy change to protect our community. There are two citizens petition warrant articles on the Town of Raymond NH March 9th ballot to prevention the marijuana industry from coming into our community.
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Warrant Article 37 Citizen Petition Zoning Amendment: To restrict any commercial signs promoting cannabis, or marijuana, drug-related paraphernalia, or products: Shall the Town of Raymond NH vote to amend zoning ordinance 271:A-7 Prohibited signs, to include: any sign that includes the marijuana plant or its likeness.
This is a citizen petition warrant article. Recommended by the Planning Board. -
Warrant Article 38 - Citizen Petition Zoning Amendment: To restrict the commercialization of marijuana and marijuana-based products: Shall the Town of Raymond NH vote to amend the Raymond Zoning Ordinance to restrict activities related to marijuana and marijuana-based products? This would include commercial marijuana cultivation, marijuana testing facilities, marijuana product manufacturing, marijuana retailers, on-site marijuana consumption at a business location, and any other marijuana-related activity for commercial purposes by whatever name used. This warrant article is not intended to limit a private citizen’s access to medical marijuana-related products in a private, non-commercial, residence.
This is a citizen petition warrant article. Recommended by the Planning Board.More information on these Warrant Articles is below or you can check out the Raymond Voter Information Project Page here for WA #37 and here for WA #38
The Details on the Warrant Articles -
As a community, the Raymond Coalition For Youth, established in 2002, has been working to reduce substance misuse amongst our youth. In the past eighteen years, youth marijuana use has dropped from 29% to 21% for past 30-day youth use. (1) We cannot afford to jeopardize this success by adding the risk of increased access.
This warrant article is to advise the Selectmen to oppose the establishment of the following businesses, as incompatible with the rural character of our Raymond community:
- Commercial marijuana cultivation
- Marijuana testing facilities
- Marijuana product manufacturers
- Marijuana retailers
- On-site marijuana consumption at a business location
- Or any other marijuana-related activity for commercial purposes by whatever name used
This warrant article is NOT intended to limit or restrict the use of marijuana or hemp products for medical purposes, or CBD in any form.
There is no tax impact.
Why you should care and vote ‘YES’
- To support youth who want to limit access to a drug that they have personally seen impacting their family and friends,
- This article is a proactive prevention effort to support a healthy, safe, drug free future of our youth.
- To limit marijuana commercialization, advertising and marketing, which normalizes and promotes use among youth.(11)
- Unintended adverse consequences from the establishment of a legalized marijuana industry have been noted in other states. (2)
- Marijuana is drastically different from the 1970’s and 1980’s when the average THC level was 3 – 5%. THC is the active ingredient that produces a high and in some cases even psychosis.
- Today’s marijuana products average THC levels of 20% - 95% (7)
- In 2020, 84% of marijuana products available in therapeutic cannabis dispensaries in NH had THC levels higher than 15% (4)
- Cultivation of marijuana has a huge impact on our environment and watershed (5)
- New Hampshire has legalized using marijuana for medical reasons, with some restrictions. The state has also decriminalized possession of small quantities of the drug. Recreational use of marijuana remains illegal. The question of whether or not to legalize it continues to be one of the state's most prominent policy debates. (6)
- Substance misuse prevention is everyone’s business. Even if marijuana is legalized and taxed the revenue is far outweighed by social economic impact it has on our communities financially through increased taxes – such as:
- Increased law enforcement for crime and driving impaired expenses
- Increased health care for family behavioral health services such as mental illness, depression and psychosis.
- Increased Emergency Room visits for poisoning and cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (9)
- School outcomes can be lower grades, truancy, dropout rates and overall reduced school success.
- Business impact, qualified workforce, increased worker’s compensation claims from employees working impaired.
Even if this is something that you are not interested in you need to be aware of the impact it can have on the community. (8)
- Legalizing marijuana does not reduce a black market (drug dealer) or eliminate a product free of unadulterated versions.(14)
- Marijuana is a plant, but it produces a substance called THC that can have dangerous impacts. The poppy is also a plant, that produces opium (heroin/opioid) that has created a drug addiction epidemic that has led to thousands of deaths. (10)
- To limit marijuana commercialization, advertising and marketing, which normalizes and promotes substance use among youth. (1)
