Cannabis education resources for parents: an environmental scan and critical content analysis in the context of legalization

Abstract

Cannabis was recently legalized for adult use in Canada and many American states. In this context, there is a pressing need for educational resources–aimed at youth and their parents/caregivers–to reduce potential harm. However, little is known about the current state of such resources. This paper presents findings of an environmental scan, mapping and critically analyzing the present landscape of cannabis resources for parents/caregivers. We systematically searched the grey literature identifying English-language resources. Search terms included: youth, young people, child, adolescen*, teen*, train*, tool*, talk, engage*, educat*, involve*, family, parent, adult, caregiver, cannabis, marijuana, pot, weed, prevent*, and harm. Overall, 60 resources met the inclusion criteria. Most were developed in the United States (n = 37) and Canada (n = 19), with three from Australia and one from the United Kingdom. Of these, 42 (70%) were categorized as abstinence-based, 14 (23%) harm-reduction oriented, and 4 (7%) had an unclear approach. Few (10/59) consulted youth in their development and none explicitly included parent/caregiver input. Results can inform the development of new, more appropriate and accessible family-oriented resources–priority in a legalized context where cannabis conversations are shifting away from stigma and abstinence, towards pragmatic approaches with harm reduction goals.