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Unit Plan
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1
Florida Department of Health

Understanding the Risk of Substance Abuse Unit

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Teenage brains are different! Understanding that the teenage brain is still developing and thus more impacted by substance abuse is the key concept in a three-lesson high school health unit. Participants learn about how the brain and...
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Handout
ProCon

Should Recreational Marijuana Be Legal?

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Almost 600,000 Americans are arrested each year for marijuana possession. Pupils decide if marijuana should be legalized for recreational use after reading state-by-state laws and the top pro and con arguments. The resource also includes...
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Unit Plan
Kenan Fellows

Unit 3: How Drugs Enter/Exit the Body

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The third of a four-part series on Pharmacology teaches scholars how drugs enter and exit the body, how they act inside the body, how they affect the brain, and more. Over the course of the unit, groups complete two labs and one...
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Unit Plan
RAND Corporation

Project ALERT

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
Why do people use drugs? What are the consequences? The alternatives? How can young people resist the pressures to use drugs? The Project Alert drug prevention program provides middle schoolers with the information they need and the...
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Unit Plan
Foundation for a Drug-Free World

The Truth About Drugs

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Teenagers hear many messages about drugs from advertisements, their peers, their teachers, and their parents. But who is lying? What is the truth? A thorough, thoughtful unit takes a purposeful look at drug education, drug culture, and...
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Handout
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

What You Need to Know about Marijuana Use and Driving

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Research indicates that marijuana can negatively affect coordination and judgment, making it dangerous to drive while under the influence. But does it increase the risk of car crashes? An informative fact sheet describes the ways...
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Handout
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

What You Need to Know about Marijuana Use and Pregnancy

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Some people believe that using marijuana during pregnancy is safer than smoking tobacco, but studies show several negative impacts on babies whose mothers used marijuana while they were pregnant. Use a fact sheet to educate learners...
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

The Science of Marijuana—How THC Affects the Brain

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Marijuana can affect every part of a user's life—starting with the delicate nervous centers of the brain. An informative article and worksheet prompt teenagers to learn more about how the THC found in most forms of marijuana can...
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Marijuana: Breaking Down the Buzz

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Teenagers get the real information about marijuana use based on the history of tobacco legislation and research. As they read an educational passage about marijuana laws, science, and changing attitudes, they address their preconceptions...
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Handout
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

What Parents Need to Know About Marijuana Use and Teens

For Parents 7th - 12th
The teenage years find adolescents yearning for independence—and often isolating their parents from their everyday lives. Educate parents on the warning signs of marijuana use, including its effects on the brain and the likelihood of...
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Analyzing Media Messages

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Telling young people to just say no can be difficult in a world that inundates them with messages to just say yes. A lesson on media messages encourages teenagers to analyze song lyrics and advertisements that mention drugs and/or...
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Handout
Scholastic

Heads Up: Real News About Drugs and Your Body

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
What's the difference between medical marijuana and marijuana bought on the street? Not much. High schoolers learn more about marijuana with an informational booklet that focuses on the medical uses of THC, how marijuana affects the...
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Worksheet
Scholastic

Marijuana: Perception of Harm vs. Use

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
Many teenagers don't believe that marijuana is harmful, but if they do, it affects whether they use it or not. Analyze the relationship between what high school seniors believe about marijuana and their tendency to use it with a reading...
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Handout
Scholastic

Marijuana: Breaking Down the Buzz

For Students 4th - 12th Standards
There are a lot of myths surrounding marijuana. Read a passage that clarifies the dangers of teens smoking marijuana, its harmful effects on the development of the brain, and the possible correlation of cigarette smoking to marijuana...
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Think it Through

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
What does the media tell the teenagers about using marijuana? Help class members decipher what they are being told about drug use with a lesson on editorial cartoons, subliminal messages, and critical thinking skills.
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Consider the Source

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Who is more trustworthy when it comes to marijuana: a high school student, or The National Institute on Drug Abuse? Sources matter when reading informational text. Help teenagers discern which facts are true with an activity that focuses...
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Marijuana Facts

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Can marijuana really hurt you? Three medical facts and three discussion questions prompt teenagers to consider the ramifications of using marijuana recreationally.
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Handout
National Institute on Drug Abuse

Marijuana Facts for Teens

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
Is marijuana addictive? Can you drive under the influence of marijuana? What happens if you smoke marijuana while you're pregnant? Teenagers learn the answers to these and many more frequently asked questions in an online booklet about...
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Activity
Steered Straight

Marijuana Awareness

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
February is Marijuana Awareness Month, and a set of interdisciplinary activities can make your class aware of the social, medical, legal, and psychological effects of marijuana. With writing prompts, research opportunities, and...
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Lesson Plan
NPR

The History of America’s Weed Laws

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
To understand the laws regarding marijuana use in the United States, you can go all the way back to the 1800's to learn about farming hemp, or you can go back to 2018 when California became the sixth state to legalize recreational...
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Lesson Plan
National Institute on Drug Abuse

The Brain's Response to Drugs

For Students 5th - 9th Standards
Marijuana affects the brain differently than inhalants, which have a different effect than opioids. Elementary and middle school classes read about these drugs as well as nicotine, methamphetamine, hallucinogens, and steroids before...
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Lesson Plan
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1
US National Library of Medicine

Drug Use and Abuse: Past and Present

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Pick your poison: tobacco, alcohol, opiates, cocaine, or marijuana. An online exhibition launches a research project that asks groups to select one of the five drugs and gather information on how the use of the drug and the regulations...
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Unit Plan
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Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment

Drugs Awareness

For Teachers 9th Standards
Legal and illegal. Use and misuse. Risks and consequences. Myths and facts. Class members investigate the effects on the body of various drugs, including cannabis, nicotine, and alcohol.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 3 - Marijuana

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
It's never too early to talk to your young grade schoolers about the dangers of marijuana. Here's a short lesson to discuss some basic information about what happens to the body and the brain when someone smokes marijuana. After the...