Award Recipients

Dr. Bear, Dr. Hosker-Field, and Professor Cresswell have, over the course of almost three years, dedicated their efforts to using research to guide the development of new public education materials for cannabis consumers. Having identified the ineffectiveness of past public education campaigns, and keen to ensure that young people who consume cannabis do so in as safe a manner as possible, the team undertook the monumental task of reshaping a discourse that had become outdated and often harmful after 40 years of what essentially amounted to ‘just say no’. The research learned that to work the messages must be factual and come from people like them – other young people and trusted sources.

The resulting website with over 30 posters, hand outs, quizzes and videos from industry experts can be found here. https://weedoutmisinformation.ca. This information was also shared on various social media platforms in order to reach, engage and serve the youth it was designed for. While the team is disbanding the work itself is currently still active and the resulting work continues into the summer of 2022 and beyond.

The research went well beyond the three person team. They applied for and won a College and Community Social Innovation Fund grant from NSERC. They partnered with the Canadian Public Health Association, Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy and worked with Canopy Growth.