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One Chance to Grow Up strives to better support parents, educators, and trusted adults where we can. Please look through our education series called “Know THC”. We hope this helps you stay up on the constantly changing marijuana of today while better supporting the kids in your lives. While it won’t cover every detail, we hope it serves as an important starting point for further learning and thoughtful discussions with your family and friends.

One Chance Launches New Pikes Peak Region 16 Opioid Abatement Council (ROAC) Educational Campaign in Colorado

This February, a vital new public education campaign arrived in El Paso and Teller Counties. Funded by the Pikes Peak Region 16 Opioid Abatement Council (ROAC) and led by One Chance to Grow Up, this initiative is designed to equip parents and trusted adults with the facts about a rapidly evolving drug landscape—specifically the rise of ultra-potent THC.

Through 18 billboards across the Colorado Springs area and targeted digital ads, the campaign directs parents and community members to highriskthc.org, a dedicated resource center highlighting the science-backed links between early high-potency THC use and long-term health risks, including future opioid misuse.

The campaign’s focus is rooted in a hard truth: today’s marijuana is a bioengineered product far removed from the plant of 30 years ago. While the “flower” of the 1990s often contained less than 5% THC, modern concentrates like vapes, wax, and dabs regularly exceed 90% potency.

Dr. Libby Stuyt, a Colorado-based addiction psychiatrist and national expert, emphasizes that this isn’t just a difference in degree but instead difference in type of substance.

“Starting marijuana use between the ages of 15 and 18 increases the risk for psychosis dramatically,” Dr. Stuyt explained. “With the really high-potency THC, we’re seeing the exact opposite [of a safe product]; people are having a horrible time quitting because it is so addicting.”

One of the most critical goals of this ROAC-funded campaign is “upstream prevention.” By educating families on the risks of high-THC products today, we can help prevent the substance use disorders of tomorrow.

Dr. Stuyt points out that high-concentration THC can interfere with the development of the prefrontal motor cortex—the “seat of judgment” and the last part of the brain to fully develop (around age 25). This biological disruption doesn’t just impact cognitive function. Research has shown it can also lower the threshold for future opioid misuse. Preventing early exposure to these ultra-potent products is a foundational step in addressing the broader opioid crisis in the Pikes Peak region and nationwide.

At One Chance to Grow Up, we believe that parents are the missing link in youth prevention. When products are engineered for maximum potency and marketed in forms that appear innocuous, parents deserve updated tools to spot the deception and protect their children’s developing brains.

We are incredibly grateful for the media coverage focusing on the launch of this effort. You can view the full articles covering this event here:

 
 

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