Colorado schools under “siege” from marijuana
What if you could listen in on a group of high school marijuana users talking about medical marijuana? And what if you could find out from every elementary, middle and high school in Colorado whether there are more drugs in school since medical marijuana exploded across the state?
A young man walks along Colfax Avenue past a sign advertising "premium medical marijuana" at nearby Serenity Moon Wellness Center in Denver.
And what if, with the click of a mouse, you could find out how many medical marijuana dispensaries were near the schools you care about?
With the I-News Network, you can do all this.
I-News and two network partners – Education News Colorado and Health Policy Solutions – have analyzed several sets of data and interviewed dozens of school and district officials, healthcare workers and, yes, students across the state to help show you what’s happening with schools and marijuana.
What we found is alarming:
- Drug incidents in schools are up dramatically, even while suspensions for other reasons have dropped.
- Students say medical marijuana is relatively easy to get and they prefer it for interesting reasons.
- Suburban and rural districts, and even elementary students, are not immune.
You can get this in-depth information here. But you can also find it among our many media partners throughout Colorado.
In January, the U.S. Justice Department gave some medical marijuana facilities until Feb. 27 to move out of the federal drug-free zones set within 1,000 feet of all schools. The U.S. Attorney says more warnings are coming.
And more coverage of this issue is coming, too, from I-News and its partners.
We’d like to hear what questions you want answered. Feel free to post them below, or send a direct email to us.