MS Student Examines Youth Cannabis Use in New York

A portrait of Jericho Adams

ALBANY, N.Y. (September 1, 2022) - This summer, Master of Science in Epidemiology student Jericho Adams completed a field placement at the Bureau of Chronic Disease Evaluation and Research under the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) Division of Chronic Disease Prevention. Using both the New York State Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the New York State Youth Tobacco Survey, he developed a first-time slide deck and data brief on youth cannabis use throughout New York that will be used by public health professionals.

“What really interested me in doing this placement was to dive deeper and get a snapshot of what current youth behaviors look like in New York,” says Adams. “I know that risky behaviors are constantly evolving. I wanted to see what youth cannabis use looked like, especially how they viewed harm perceptions, because I believe each generation faces a new barrier to health equities. Doing this work is essential to developing public health interventions that benefit our youth.”

Adams’ slide deck and data brief include information on prevalence, trends, demographic differences in use, harm perceptions, reasons why youth may use cannabis, and the potential impacts of cannabis on mental health and the developing brain. Youth cannabis use prevalence rates have remained stable over the past 15 years, but there are also persistent disparities in cannabis use.

“The most challenging part of this field placement did not necessarily coincide with the steps to complete my project, but was to see that youth cannabis use prevalence was highest for populations that have consistently been disenfranchised; however, I was not surprised by this either,” says Adams. “For decades, industries like tobacco have geared marketing towards youth, racial and ethnic communities, and the LGBTQIA+ community. If anything, it shows that there is still much to do and progress to be made.”

During his placement, Adams learned in-depth about cannabis and trends in youth use, and met with the New York State Office of Cannabis Management. The experience has solidified his career goal to work in cannabis research and to contribute to a future where public health is inclusive and equitable.

“It was so rewarding to work with the Bureau of Chronic Disease Evaluation and Research. This was my first time developing products not only for an academic setting but to be used by public health professionals. To have that experience and ability to say, ‘Hey, I did this!’ so early on in my career feels amazing,” Adams says.

In the future, Adams hopes that the overall prevalence of youth cannabis use will decrease in New York.

“I hope that even if prevalence rates do not decrease, youth are at least aware of the potential harm cannabis can have on their mental health and developing brain,” says Adams. “Relaying this information is not a fix-all for the hardships we see regarding youth cannabis/substance use. Still, increasing knowledge and health promotion is a great way to start.”