{"id":7695,"date":"2017-09-04T11:42:59","date_gmt":"2017-09-04T11:42:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=2773389"},"modified":"2017-09-04T11:42:59","modified_gmt":"2017-09-04T11:42:59","slug":"marijuana-sales-fund-9-2-million-in-school-pot-prevention-health-care-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/marijuana-sales-fund-9-2-million-in-school-pot-prevention-health-care-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Marijuana sales fund $9.2 million in school pot prevention, health care programs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/marijuana-sales-fund-9-2-million-in-school-pot-prevention-health-care-programs\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>School nurse Rhonda Valdez is on the front lines of student health at Wheat Ridge High School, treating myriad concerns \u2014 flu outbreaks, diabetes, severe allergies, body image issues, football-related concussions.<\/p>\n<p>The job is rewarding and keeps her busy, but the longtime registered nurse and 18-year veteran of Jefferson County Schools is taking on a new role this fall. Valdez is among a vanguard of state-certified school nurses, social workers and counselors hired this year to try to keep marijuana out of the hands of youths.<\/p>\n<p>The new positions are funded by a $9.2 million <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cde.state.co.us\/communications\/20170817sbemeeting\">grant<\/a> parceled out among 42 school districts and charter schools by the Colorado Department of Education. Money is going to districts and schools that are near legal pot shops and have created evidence-based plans to discourage underage use of marijuana, said Jeremy Meyer, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Education.<\/p>\n<p>The legalization of recreational pot in Colorado in 2014 for anyone age 21 or older increased the likelihood of use by underage residents, the CDE said. Bolstering the number of qualified health care officials, including school nurses, on campuses, where they could work with students inside and outside classrooms, can help stem the tide, the agency reasoned.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2774369\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/marijuana-sales-fund-9-2-million-in-school-pot-prevention-health-care-programs\" alt=\"Wheat Ridge High School's nurse Rhonda ...\" width=\"4779\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<p>RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post<\/p>\n<p>Wheat Ridge High School\u2019s nurse Rhonda Valdez was recently hired with a grant where Colorado schools are splitting $9.2 million in grant funding to hire more school nurses and school counselors to deal with the issues surrounding the legalization of marijuana on Aug. 31, 2017 in Wheat Ridge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe and other school health professionals are in a unique position in our schools in that we see these kids every day and we can educate, assess and assist them with substance abuse or behavioral health issues,\u201d Valdez said. \u201cWe can help keep kids from walking through that door that can lead to bad things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The grant money effectively eases the shortage of school nurses to treat all students in many schools.<\/p>\n<p>Each of Colorado\u2019s 630 school nurses is responsible for as many as 6,000 students. Yet the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention recommends that one school nurse serve no more than 750 general education students.<\/p>\n<p>The grant allows school districts to hire qualified counselors as well. Professionals are needed to administer early, comprehensive intervention that prevents later substance abuse problems, said Jon Widmier, director of student services for the Jefferson County School District.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a growing need for this type of service in our schools, and we are trying to get ahead of it,\u201d Widmier said.<\/p>\n<p>Jeffco Schools received $825,164 through the grant program and will hire six social emotional learning specialists to work at elementary schools and three full-time school nurses, including Valdez. The positions are funded for three years.<\/p>\n<p>Valdez and others involved in the grant project admit their jobs won\u2019t be easy. Legalization of recreational use of marijuana for adults has created an almost casual approach to marijuana use that kids pick up on, they say.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe lines have definitely been blurred,\u201d Widmier said. \u201cThere is more of a cultural acceptance of marijuana use.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There is little or no evidence that pot use among children has increased since use was legalized for adults. More than 5 percent of high school students in Colorado use marijuana daily or nearly daily, which has been the case at least since 2005, according to a January 2017 report from the state\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colorado.gov\/pacific\/marijuana\/news\/committee-releases-second-report-marijuana-health-effects-0\">Retail Marijuana Public Health Advisory Committee.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter all, it\u2019s still illegal for high school students to use marijuana,\u201d said Mike Van Dyke, head of environmental epidemiology, occupational health and toxicology at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. \u201cYou still can\u2019t go to a retail shop and buy marijuana if you are under 21. You have to get it through illegal means.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo that,\u201d Van Dyke added, \u201ccould keep marijuana use level for those under 21.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>School officials are grateful for the grant money and the services it offers. Valdez, for instance, used to rotate among three schools but can now concentrate her efforts on Wheat Ridge High School.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s one reason why we are so excited about this,\u201d Widmier said. \u201cWe can offer more focused support on one place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Denver Public Schools received $871,636 under the grant program, which it will use to pay health care professionals to lead substance abuse, suicide prevention and other programs at 22 high schools and middle schools.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\" \/>\n<p>Educators say they see the irony in hiring health care workers using $9.2 million collected from the sales of retail and medical marijuana.<\/p>\n<p>The state legislature determines how the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund is spent. However,\u00a0state law requires the money go to things like health care, monitoring marijuana health effects, health education and treatment programs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an interesting life we are in right now,\u201d said Ellen Kelty, DPS\u2019s interim director of student equity and opportunity. \u201cBut anything we can do to eliminate depression and other things that cause substance abuse is a step forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe just want to make sure kids make smarter choices,\u201d Kelty said.<\/p>\n<aside> <\/aside>\n<aside> <\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>New school nurses and other mental health professionals for Colorado schools are coming through a $9.2 million grant parceled out among 42 school districts and charter schools by the Colorado Department of Education. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7261,7193,6895,6811,7297,1344,7298,2205,6892,7299,7195,6813,77,6999,6815,6858,56,9,7300,5019,1,3,1566,61,7301,1736],"tags":[7262,7197,6896,6816,7302,3914,7303,4773,6893,7304,7199,6818,2655,7000,6820,6860,2636,7305,5022,4134,7306],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7695"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7695\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}