In Alaska, prevention programming for marijuana use is a new priority

This is the first of a two-part series on preventing and responding to substance use and trauma in Alaska. The next part of the Afterschool Alliance’s conversation with Thomas Azzarella will be published in two weeks.

Alaska is not like other states. For starters, it has its own time zone. Just north of Fairbanks, the sun doesn’t set in the summer: it’s close enough to the Arctic that the tilt of the earth’s axis ensures an endless, if low-lit, day. And with a population of 737,438 (roughly the same as the number of people living in the 68 square miles of Washington, D.C.) the state runs from north to south the distance between Detroit and Miami, and from east to west, Boston to San Diego.

And there’s one more chilling superlative: Alaska has the second-highest rate of suicide in the country. Young people are no exception to this statistic.

That’s top of mind for Thomas Azzarella of the Alaska Afterschool Network. “In Alaska, unfortunately, we have very high and disproportionate rates around risk behavior for young people, especially when it comes to substance abuse and mental health, depression, and suicide.”

The data bears Azzarella out: while self-reported youth use of tobacco, marijuana, and alcohol in Alaska roughly meets national averages, rates of depression, suicidal thoughts, and attempted suicide trend higher for Alaskan youth by as much as seven percentage points.

“Our state has profound issues around alcohol,” Azzarella adds, “and while we’re seeing some positive gains in young people choosing healthy lifestyles, we still have a long way to go… We spend a lot of time, energy, and resources on addressing those issues, so our state and its medical, judicial, and educational systems have struggled with the long-term financial impacts of things such as substance use.”

It’s commonly understood in the afterschool field that out-of-school time programs don’t just keep kids safe by keeping them supervised. By their very nature, afterschool and summer learning programs offer spaces for youth to build protective factors, through opportunities for young people to connect with their communities, learn new things, express themselves, and rely on support from caring adults. Substance use prevention programming directly aligns with these kinds of benefits that make a difference in the lives of young people.

But prevention programming – including staff time, curricula, the physical site, and all the other pieces that go into educational programming – isn’t free.

Enter legalized adult-use marijuana.

In November 2014, Alaskans approved Ballot Measure 2, which legalized cannabis and called for it to be regulated like alcohol. Alcohol and tobacco are already taxed at a special rate, with revenue conducted back into the local and state governments; when marijuana use was greenlit, a new revenue stream appeared. That means more money for community projects – including, potentially, afterschool and summer learning.

From that point, the legislative effort to get dedicated afterschool and summer learning funding from marijuana revenue took about three years. Things picked up last legislative season, when Rep. Claman and Sen. Giessel of Anchorage filed bills to dedicate 25 percent of marijuana sales tax revenue to prevention efforts.

The first half – 12.5 percent – goes to the Department of Health & Social Services for education, treatment, surveillance, and monitoring of marijuana. What makes things critically different is the other 12.5 percent, which was dedicated to drug prevention: programs that engage young people in skill-building to aid the prevention of substance use.

“That’s where we saw out of school time,” Azzarella explains. “We see that young people who are regularly engaged in out-of-school time activities are significantly more likely than their peers who weren’t engaged in afterschool programming to have healthier behaviors, especially when it came to substance use. That was a huge part of our conversation with our policymakers, having that dialogue and discussion about the industry, about the risks young people are facing, around the changes and norms around substance use.

“This was our chance as a state, for the first time ever, to invest early on in direct prevention activities. Afterschool itself is a safe space for the development of relationships and the development of skills that help protect young people against substance use.”

But taking substance use revenue to fight substance use? Doesn’t this seem like a contradiction in terms?

In fact, many states use revenue from substances to support programs in their communities. Tobacco settlement dollars fund afterschool programs in Vermont, and Tennessee’s Lottery for Education: Afterschool Programs (LEAPs) has funded out-of-school time programs since 2002. And afterschool programs in Denver, Colo., including Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver, Girls Inc., and the Bridge Project are already being supported by marijuana sales tax revenue.

“We are neutral towards the legal marijuana industry that was voted by voter initiative,” Azzarella explains. But as legalization allows adult use, the perceived risk may fall in the eyes of young people. Ensuring that the marijuana industry is a good neighbor to Alaskan citizens can’t be left to chance. “We realize the context in which young people are growing up is changing around them, and we need to equip young people with the skills and knowledge and ability to make responsible decisions for their current and future health. This is an intentional investment in a portfolio and body of work around direct prevention for young people, to keep our young people safe, healthy, and get them ready for adulthood.”

As of October 2018, 12.5 percent of Alaska’s marijuana sales tax revenue goes to an afterschool fund. The state’s Positive Youth Development Afterschool Program RPF is open. Primarily for middle-school-aged youth, the grant funds programs which address early substance use and focus protective factors. Looking ahead to the proposed activities out-of-school time programs will present during the first round of grants, Azzarella observes that there’s so much to learn about best practices.

“After years of national prohibition around marijuana use, there is a real void on evidence-based prevention programming specific to marijuana. We’re seeing that catching up in the field, and it’s looking at what we know about young people who experience trauma or are at a high risk of engaging in substance use issues.”

Afterschool itself provides the opportunity for young people to build social and emotional learning skills that make them resilient to challenges in their lives, while reducing access to substances. By the nature of their work, out-of-school time programs also function as an intervention for young people and help them become self-aware and socially aware, make responsible decisions, and manage social and safety situations: all key factors in reducing rates of substance use.

Every piece of that work goes to one of the most essential tenets of what afterschool does: keeps kids safe, online and off, and helps them grow strong physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally. The growing legalization of—and therefore tax revenue from—adult-use marijuana can open doors for afterschool advocates and professionals to be ever-more creative about how they can support and serve young people.

“When I look at the broader out-of-school time field and how afterschool has become such a national movement, much of that body of work was originally about keeping kids safe from things such as violence, teen pregnancy, substance use. In the 21^st century, we had a rise of academic support as a focus. Now the field is starting to move again to looking at ourselves not just as academic support or a support for working families, but as a prevention effort, and as a collective protection field.

“We have a tremendous opportunity, and responsibility, to be good stewards and supporters that help young people develop healthy relationships, build skills, to be ready for life. One of the ways we can ensure young people are ready is by helping them develop the ability to make healthy decisions about substance use.”

The Alaska Afterschool Network is one of 50 statewide afterschool networks established by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to foster partnerships and policies to develop, support, and sustain high-quality opportunities for children and youth.