Step 3: Feedback

• Ask permission to share information
• Provide salient information
• Elicit Emily's response

Reflect
PROVIDER: You think marijuana is more natural than other drugs.
EMILY: Well, it's from plants, right, and it isn't really bad for you. So. You know. (laughs) That's something!
PROVIDER: (listening) Okay.
EMILY: And, like, it's legal in a lot of places now.

Reflect
PROVIDER: Pot seems less harmful to you than other drugs.
EMILY: Well, it is, right? And I mean, it's legal in a lot of places now. So

Ask Permission
PROVIDER: What I've found from talking to teens is that everyone's heard different things about the effects of marijuana. I have some information I think you might find interesting as you think about how you want pot to fit into your life. Would it be okay if I shared some of that?
EMILY: Um, okay. Sure.

Provide Feedback
PROVIDER: A lot of people think marijuana is "natural" because it comes from a plant, so it can't be harmful. What I like to bring up in connection with that, is that tobacco is also a plant, and we know it has negative effects on the body; and it turns out that pot actually has some of the same effects as cigarettes.
EMILY: But it's not as bad
PROVIDER: From what you've heard about pot, it doesn't sound as harmful as cigarettes.
EMILY: Yeah, I mean, cigarettes give you cancer.
PROVIDER: That's true, cigarettes do cause cancer. If you compare a joint to cigarette, a joint actually has one and a half times as many cancer-causing chemicals.
EMILY: Really?
PROVIDER: And pot smoke is just as hard on your lungs as cigarette smoke -- it can make you cough all the time, or get a lot of colds
EMILY: (looks alarmed) Eugh

Elicit Response
PROVIDER: What do you think about that?
EMILY: (furrowed brow) Um I dunno. Smoking cigarettes is dumb, like -- I'm never gonna do that. But PROVIDER: You're thinking, maybe, if pot has some of the same effects
EMILY: Yeah. (concerned) Hm.

Provide Feedback
PROVIDER: Well, following up on your conversation with Mr. Silva... There are reasons why marijuana can have an effect on schoolwork. There's been a lot of research on how pot affects the brain, and doctors are especially concerned about how it affects teenagers, because your brains are still growing.
EMILY: (worried) Huh...
PROVIDER: Regular marijuana use among teens has been linked to learning and memory problems, which make it harder to remember things and concentrate, and even motivate yourself to get started on things in the first place.

Elicit Response
PROVIDER: What do you think about this information?
EMILY: Um I mean, I know I'm having trouble focusing, but, like, I have a lot on my mind
PROVIDER: (sympathetically) Of course, and it makes a lot of sense that that would make it harder to focus. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if it were a combination of things -- definitely the stress, and then also the marijuana. What do you think about that idea?
EMILY: (looking down, nodding) I mean that makes sense.

COACH: Emily has a clearer idea of the potential consequences of smoking marijuana. When you're ready, your next goal is to assess her readiness to change.