WEED WHACKED: Charting a Path Through the Haze
With legalization of cannabis and the boom in the commercial industry, marijuana is now prevalent throughout society. It is a substance that kids and teens necessarily encounter and are faced with making decisions about.
In the spirit of genuine inquiry and to address a community need, a group of students and staff at Gateway Mountain Center, in partnership with Tahoe-Truckee Future Without Drug Dependence, set out to make a film about cannabis use among youth. Available in English with Spanish subtitles, Weed Whacked is a valuable resource for adolescents and teens, ages 12 to 17, in understanding and charting their paths, and for parents and educators in facilitating meaningful conversations.
The film was made with support from a federal Drug-Free Communities grant and the Tahoe-Truckee Future Without Drug Dependence Coalition. Youth focus groups conducted during the film’s editing process played a major role in shaping its content.
Learn more about the making of Weed Whacked in the following article, and download the discussion guide to further support open dialogue about the range of issues surrounding cannabis use.
The power of peers in sharing and learning from each other’s experience
The concept for a film to address cannabis use among our own community’s youth emerged in the context of GMC’s 4Roots recovery programs, in which students support each other’s process of deeper self-inquiry and wholeness. The program supports them in connecting not only with each other but also with the broader community. In finding a sense of belonging and in making a valued contribution through service, their self-esteem can grow and bring greater traction in their lives.
Weed Whacked features personal stories from several young adults aged 18 to 23. Directly addressing the camera, they share what drew them to using cannabis, what the substance’s impact on them was, and how, with the help of friends, family, and community support, they ultimately quit. Their stories are interspersed with commentary from various experts—scientists, doctors, a mountaineer, local social service providers—providing additional, evidence-based insights into the physiological, psychological, and social impacts of cannabis use. They also explore what the shift in focus toward other things and activities has meant in their lives.
Substantiated by science and firsthand knowledge of cannabis’s impact on our community
Experts from the UC Davis School of Medicine and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) provided the scientific information and data that are woven into the film’s documentary structure. Instructive resources and animations produced by NIDA convey the neuroscience of cannabis’s effects on the adolescent and human brain, portraying the particular psychological and relational implications of the drug.
Among the experts consulted and appearing in the film is Professor Yu-Fung Lin, founder of the UC Davis Cannabis and Hemp Research Center and professor in the Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology, UC Davis School of Medicine, where she conducts research on cannabis in her lab and teaches the Physiology of Cannabis course.
Legendary mountaineer and rock climber Doug Robinson advocates for the “natural high” of climbing and adventure activities as an important alternative and antidote to substance use—a point of view that is also foundational for GMC’s Natural High Retreats in supporting recovery. He ventures into the neurochemical dimensions of moving over rugged terrain in the backcountry or even on a playground, what GMC mentors describe as “risky play,” and discusses the “....natural…transformations at work deep in the brains of adventure athletes.”
Though they do not appear on screen, the expert knowledge of River Coyote, MPH, program manager for the TT-FWDD Coalition and the health-ed program coordinator at Placer Co. Public Health Prevention, is woven throughout the film. With more than 20 years’ experience educating and supporting youth about drug dependency, they have witnessed the rise of drug use among youth, seen the changes in the use of cannabis over time, and lived the trajectory of its impact on our community firsthand. Coyote’s lens and feedback were key to making a film that had a firm historical grasp of the community’s need and an awareness of how to effectively respond to it. Coyote also authored the discussion guide that is available as an additional resource for students, families and educators.
Further informed by feedback from focus groups with youth
A preliminary cut of Weed Whacked was shown to a series of youth focus groups, who were then asked questions about it. Dialogue within the groups revealed that experience of relationship trauma was often associated with use, and this discovery also informed editing choices for the final version. Their input and express request for the inclusion of significantly more scientific information, significantly shaped the final cut.
Feedback from youth on the final version of the film was obtained through a thoughtfully formulated questionnaire and virtual follow-up discussion circles. The input from these conversations were in turn used for follow-up and for the creation of the accompanying discussion guide. It is notable that 79 percent of the youth who viewed and provided feedback did so virtually rather than in person, due in large part to the pandemic. “It is possible,” explained one of the filmmakers, “that this virtual interviewing process had some upsides: The respondents may have felt more at ease in the solitude and anonymity of a virtual space for the questionnaire.”
Of the 253 local youth who participated in focus groups and provided written responses, 99% were between the ages of 12 and 18 (86% of respondents were between 13 and 14 years old) and they were evenly split between male and female, white and LatinX. Questions were mostly open-ended, with some multiple choice.
In addition to youth responses, local prevention and treatment providers and health educators also viewed rough cuts and provided feedback and suggestions for improvement.
The combination of youth voice, scientific data, and contributions by recognized experts, all to reflect the concerns and meet the needs of the film’s prime audience, makes the film a viable resource for our communities and the physical, psychological, and social well-being of our youth.
The Weed Whacked Discussion Guide
A resource for students and their teachers, families, and mentors in tackling a complicated challenge
The days when we could simply ignore or avoid frank, thoughtful dialogue on the complicated subject of cannabis use are over.
That’s why our starting point for the creation of the Weed Whacked Discussion Guide was the question “How do we come together to talk about a challenging subject, one on which there are so many polarized opinions and so much contradictory information, and which holds so much potential for reactivity and lack of transparency?”
Using methods developed by linguists for promoting rich conversation between people who come from different places, for bridging different points of view and finding commonality, the guide offers ways to contextualize conversations around this potentially difficult topic. It provides parameters for initiating and maintaining relational and respectful exchange to support individual understanding and learning. It also includes a glossary of specialized terms and information about the neurochemistry of cannabis use and its physiological impact.
We can all play a vital role in bringing this important topic out into the open, fostering communication among the members of our communities who need it most. If you are an educator, please consider making use of Weed Whacked and the accompanying discussion guide in your school and youth programs.
Gateway Mountain Center sincerely thanks the young people who shared their stories in the film and were willing to be their real, vulnerable selves on camera. We are grateful and fortunate to have had a years-long connection with them and deeply appreciate their courage and openness on a topic that is so rarely discussed.
Thanks also to River Coyote of TT-FWDD, Prof. Yu-Fung Lin of UC Davis, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for their invaluable expert contributions; famed mountain guide Doug Robinson for bringing his love of the outdoors to the camera; and Novak Editing, for preparing the film’s Spanish language subtitles.