Manifesto
Manifesto
BEING A TEENAGER IS HARD. 14, 16, 18. Every year, it feels like there’s more coming at us.
More choices. Bigger consequences. Parents. Teachers. Friends. When everyone has an opinion, it can be hard to hear myself think.
Sometimes, if I can stop for a second and block everything out, I can actually hear what I want. I can feel my own compass, pointing me through the choices and the pressures and the noise.
You know as well as I do: Being a teenager isn’t like a math test. It's harder. And there’s more than one right answer. The direction you choose—when it comes to school or sex or even pot and vaping—may not be right for someone else.
TAKE WEED, FOR EXAMPLE. IT AFFECTS EVERYONE DIFFERENTLY. Doctors and scientists can tell us a few things. Kids at school definitely have their stories. Older people who’ve used…they have stories, too. It just makes sense to ask: How will it affect me? How will it affect you? Your plans, your family...you.
ONE DAY, WE'LL BE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF ALL THIS. Middle school, high school. All of it, behind us. How will you look back? What will we do now that will be worth remembering? Which way will you go, when everyone has an opinion? Being a teenager is hard enough.
THE BEST YOU CAN DO IS… STAY TRUE TO YOU.
Role Model
why don't i vape or smoke marijuana?
because of this little copycat.
Role Model
why don't i vape or smoke marijuana?
because of this little copycat.
Whether you know it or not, people look up to you.
Research has shown that younger kids and teens who see their older sisters and brothers using tobacco or drugs are more likely to start using them, too. It’s not a huge stretch to imagine that if you use weed or vape, your choice might influence your younger siblings, cousins and friends to start vaping or using weed, too.
So, what kind of role model will you be?
Social Norms
i always wondered how many people smoke pot.
Turns out it's fewer than i thought.
Social Norms
i always wondered how many people smoke pot.
Turns out it's fewer than i thought.
IT MAY SEEM LIKE MOST PEOPLE AT YOUR SCHOOL ARE SMOKING WEED, vaping OR USING MARIJUANA IN SOME WAY. BUT APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING.
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) regularly asks middle and high school students across the state a series of health-related questions in two different school-based surveys that are given in alternate years. Students’ answers are anonymous. Here’s what the most recent Oregon Healthy Teens survey (2019), revealed:
+ About 80 percent of 11th-graders said they don’t use pot.
+ More than half of 11th-graders—61 percent—said they had never even tried it.
+ Among 8th-graders, more than 90 percent said they don’t use pot.
+ And 86 percent of 8th-graders had never even tried it.
THE BOTTOM LINE? IF YOU’RE NOT USING POT or vaping, YOU’RE NOT ALONE.
Social Media
Social Media
STAYTRUEOREGON
Being a teenager is hard enough, without adding weed and vaping to the mix.
Sometimes the best you can do is Stay True to You. #STAYTRUEOREGON
