Products and Resources Catalog

Cannabis remains a Schedule I controlled substance in Idaho, consistent with federal law. However, two bordering states have legalized cannabis for adult use. Prevention practitioners in Idaho may wish to become familiar with the context of these neighboring states' regulations in order to inform comprehensive prevention planning. This document provides Idaho's prevention workforce with information that supports: Prevention of youth cannabis use Prevention of adult cannabis misuse (heavy use and/or risky behaviors)   The information is organized into six sections. First, a description of the regulatory bodies that create and oversee the regulatory system; then regulatory components organized as “5 Ps for Prevention.” These elements of regulation are most relevant to preventing any cannabis use by youth and unsafe use by adults.   View the other resources available in this toolkit.

This document provides a summary of Oregon’s rules and laws to regulate cannabis, and provides the prevention workforce in Oregon with information that supports: Prevention of youth cannabis use Prevention of adult cannabis misuse (heavy use and/or risky behaviors)   The information is organized into six sections. First, a description of the regulatory bodies that create and oversee the regulatory system; then regulatory components organized as “5 Ps for Prevention.” These elements of regulation are most relevant to preventing any cannabis use by youth and unsafe use by adults.   View the other resources available in this toolkit.

This document provides is a brief snapshot of the policies in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington categorized under the 5 Ps for Prevention: Public Safety Placement and Access Product and Potency Promotion and Advertising and Pricing   This document compares policies in each of the 3 states with references to the statutes and rules for each. It is recommended that prevention practitioners use this table in conjunction with two additional Northwest PTTC resources in this series.   View the other resources available in this toolkit.

  The Central East PTTC has created the Substance Use Prevention Resources for Use During a Pandemic guide to help prevention professionals navigate this challenging time.  "The pandemic, and its related social and economic impacts, have the potential to significantly increase many risk factors for substance use, including: anxiety, stress, depression, trauma, and grief. It may also weaken some protective factors against substance use, such as peer social networks and availability of social activities. Prevention professionals need to be prepared to address these factors now and in the future, once the immediate danger from the virus has passed. Fortunately, there are numerous resources available to support prevention work."  

Toolkit for Parks and Recreation Departments: Preventing Youth Substance Use and Addressing Substance Misuse   Substance use disorders are a community problem that require a community response. While it will take many sectors of the community to solve this problem, Parks and Recreation Departments (referred to as P&R Depts in this document) have a unique role to play in preventing substance use disorders and in addressing substance misuse in New England communities. Many P&R Depts offer before and afterschool childcare, summer, and sports programming for young people, and play a large role in building healthy communities through the oversite of parks and playgrounds and holding public events. This toolkit offers P&R Depts some guidance and resources for implementing research-based strategies to help prevent youth substance use and address substance misuse. 

Evaluation is one area where it often makes sense to bring in outside expertise. It will save you considerable time and effort, as well as increase your probability of success. In fact, the assistance of an evaluator attuned to and practiced in the art and science of theory-based evaluation is often the key to getting evaluation results that are useful and credible. This toolkit is designed to help you select an evaluator whose skills match your programmatic needs—assuming, of course, that you don’t already have an evaluator on staff.

The PTTC Network has identified seven areas to focus on the development of new resources and training for the prevention workforce across the country. One of those areas of focus is marijuana risk. A network-wide workgroup has been convened to develop and produce resources for the prevention field to use to support their efforts in implementing marijuana prevention and education. The mission of the PTTC Network Marijuana Risk Work Group is to develop training and technical assistance tools, products, and service, related specifically to marijuana risk education and prevention, that can be deployed across the nation. New England PTTC's Director, Scott Gagnon serves as the chair of this workgroup. The Marijuana Risk Work Group is pleased to release the first set of marijuana prevention and education resources. There are four products that are being released.  Each product is listed below along with a short description of the product, the suggested use, and a link to download the product.  For any questions or technical assistance needs for the utilization of these products, please contact the Northwest PTTC: [email protected]   Facts Vs Myths Information Sheet: This information sheet covers 7 common myths or misunderstandings related to marijuana. These include myths on addiction, impairment, and other health effects. Each of the 7 myths is countered with the current evidence, including citations. The goal is to provide a tool for prevention providers to help respond to and educate the public around these common myths. Use: Tool for use in prevention messaging and education to help dispel misconceptions that may persist in the community around marijuana. This tool may be also useful as a handout at prevention education events. Link to download   Cannabis Glossary – Terms by Topic There are many terms, slang words, and other nomenclatures related to marijuana. This glossary will help prevention professionals be more familiar with these terms, to increase competency when discussing these topics. Categories include plant anatomy, slang terms, terms related to marijuana products, cannabinoids, and other terms. Use: A Reference Guide for prevention providers to familiarize themselves with the many terms related to marijuana. Link to download Marijuana Science Education Slide Banks Two PowerPoint slide banks for prevention professionals to use in marijuana prevention and education work in their communities. The purpose of these slide banks is to provide prevention providers with researched and vetted tools they can feel confident in using in their marijuana prevention presentations.   “Marijuana and the Brain” focuses on the pharmacology of marijuana and how it affects the brain.Link to download “The Varied Forms, Potency, and Health Effects of Today’s Cannabis” covers the many forms of marijuana products, as well as trends in potency, and known health impacts. Link to download   Use: You can provide one or both of these slide banks as stand-alone presentations or integrate them into a presentation including local data, trends, and strategies for marijuana prevention. Each slide bank includes presenter notes to guide the speaker on presenting the information contained in the slides.  The slide banks also include references to all of the literature used to source the information presented.   NOTE: Please do not alter any of the slides. If you need additional information, please contact the Northwest PTTC: northwestpttcnetwork.org  

The nonmedical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) has become an increasing public health concern in the United States, with abuse rates rising rapidly since the late 1990s. Yet preventing and reducing prescription drug misuse represents a major challenge for several reasons. First, we know less about the factors that contribute to NMUPD than about those that contribute to other drug use. Also, because of how prescription drugs are made available, these factors may differ from those that are associated with alcohol misuse and illicit drug use. This tool provides a starting point for understanding those factors that the research literature has identified as being associated with NMUPD and its consequences. Understanding these factors can help us assess, plan for, and select interventions designed to address them. The factors included in this tool have been organized according to the socio-ecological model, a multi-level framework that allows us to consider the different contexts in which risk and protective factors exist.

As part of a strategic planning process, practitioners need to select prevention strategies or interventions that address those risk and protective factors associated with their prioritized substance-related problem(s). This document summarizes evaluations of prevention strategies and interventions associated with binge or heavy episodic drinking, as identified in the prevention research literature. It also provides recommendations for using the prevention research to inform strategy selection.

Measuring Cultural Factors Associated with Substance Misuse and Mental Health in American Indian and Alaska Native Populations provides information on measures that prevention practitioners and evaluators can use when evaluating substance misuse prevention programs that include cultural elements. The measures are divided into two main sections: (1) those that can be used for research purposes without further permission from the author; and (2) those that will require you to contact the measure developer for permission to use the questionnaire and to access the complete scale items. Within each section, measures are organized by overarching conceptual themes.

Adult SBIRT Pocket Card The Adult SBIRT Pocket card was created to assist providers in screening patients for risky alcohol levels and providing a brief intervention when necessary.  The front contains National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Guidelines for low-risk drinking limits, categories of use pyramid, and a readiness-to-change scale to share as a visual aid and help the patient decide how ready they are to make a change.  The back of the pocket card identifies steps of the brief intervention along with key interviewing techniques. 

New England Prevention Technology Transfer Center Tip Sheet Topic:  Creating a Prevention Strategy for Monitoring and Responding to Emerging Drug Trends in Your Community In every New England community, drug trends will come and go, but a comprehensive, data-informed prevention plan can be effective no matter the drug use issue you are addressing.  Just as important, are the partnerships needed to help monitor what’s going on in the community, and for mobilizing a prevention response to those emerging trends. This tip sheet brings together key components communities and prevention organizations need to have in place to effectively monitor, and respond to, these emerging drug trends. The document also includes links to resources and tools you can use in the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of your prevention response.  If you need further training and technical assistance responding to the emerging drug trends in your community, reach out to the New England Prevention Technology Transfer Center: [email protected]  

Connecting Prevention Specialists to Native Communities; Connecting Prevention Specialists to Native Communities