A Personal (and Group!) Journey Towards Understanding
By Kendal Smith and Rheanna McKenzie
Marijuana and Smokefree Air 101 is a comprehensive, self-paced course dedicated to shedding light on the critical issue of ensuring clean and safe air. Our own informal study group of people – consisting of two members from Georgians for Responsible Marijuana Policy, one from Let’s Be Clear Georgia, and two from Drug Free Fayette – embarked on this journey together.
The course focuses on the basics of marijuana secondhand smoke facts, science, and associated issues, emphasizing the importance of protecting people and workers from such exposure. With expert speakers’ presentations in both PowerPoint and video formats, we were provided with over 20 hours of content in four categories: Facts, Threats, Prevention and Messaging. What a great way to get a thorough understanding of the harmful effects of marijuana secondhand smoke, and how marijuana control can leverage tobacco control’s experiences and strategies to maintain smokefree spaces. As one class participant, Charlotte Spell noted, “”I appreciate how this course provided the scientific evidence to support what many of us suspected all along, that secondhand marijuana smoke poses substantial public health risks.”
We made it a “group study” to talk through what we learned
Although designed for individual study, we innovated to create a collaborative approach of meeting almost weekly to review each of the four parts. When we studied on our own during the week, we each wrote our key takeaways in a shared “Google Doc” so that we captured our discussion points for our next meeting. This enriched our experience and deepened our understanding.
One key takeaway that resonated with us was learning that marijuana smoke creates 3.5 times more particulate matter than cigarette smoke (wow!), posing significant health risks. As class participant Doreen Barr shared, “I thought I was knowledgeable about marijuana secondhand smoke. But after diving into the training, I realized that I had much more to learn, and that marijuana secondhand smoke is much more dangerous because of all the added chemicals.” Even brief exposure, as little as 30 minutes, can lead to heart damage, and ventilation systems are ineffective at filtering out these fine particles. This eye-opening fact underscores the critical need for smokefree environments.
Public health’s notable challenges
Another striking revelation was the formidable challenges smokefree initiatives face from industry retaliation. With substantial lobbying budgets and expansive networks of allies, particularly in states like Colorado where dispensaries outnumber Starbucks and McDonald’s (combined), the pushback is significant. The expansion of medical marijuana access often serves as a gateway to increased recreational use, with biased research funding highlighting benefits over negative side effects.
The program’s format is very flexible
The self-paced format of Marijuana and Smokefree Air 101 is highly flexible, allowing participants to progress at their own speed. Some of us breezed through the content within a week. Others studied more slowly, covering each of the four sessions in 1-2 week increments. This feature made the course accessible and manageable, despite our busy schedules. The inclusion of embedded PowerPoints and PDFs enhanced the learning experience, offering visual aids and supplementary materials to reinforce understanding. While the videos can be lengthy, the detailed content makes them worth the time investment.
We encourage everyone to explore this course, as it profoundly changes and strengthens one’s understanding of marijuana and secondhand smoke. We think the commonalities between tobacco control and marijuana control have expansive opportunities to learn from and leverage each other. It’s an enjoyable and informative journey that equips you with vital knowledge to advocate for smokefree environments. If you’re interested in exploring this course, check out ANR Foundation’s overview of the program at courses.no-smoke.org.
Georgians for Responsible Marijuana Policy (GRMP) is a statewide marijuana policy organization. Let’s Be Clear Georgia is a statewide marijuana prevention organization. And Drug Free Fayette is a local substance misuse prevention coalition.
Thanks to our partners at GRMP for taking our course, and writing about it!
Read more: Marijuana secondhand smoke resources and information
