CLERMONT COUNTY, Ohio (WKRC) – Leaders in Clermont County are urging leisure marijuana customers to lock it up and maintain it out of attain of youngsters.
The Secure Hashish Consciousness Marketing campaign is supported by the Clermont County Psychological Well being & Restoration Board and Nice Cincinnati Behavioral Well being Providers.
The aim is to cut back teen utilization, promote accountable grownup use and stop unintended ingestion, particularly in youngsters.
The Psychological Well being & Restoration Board’s Neighborhood Engagement Supervisor, Marcie Keith, mentioned the marketing campaign got here after a rise in unintended ingestion in youngsters ages 5 and below.
“Quite a lot of instances it is edibles,” Keith defined. “It is these gummies. It is these brownies. It is these cookies. Every thing that appears like one thing that might be extremely attractive to a toddler below the age of 5 that might not know any higher. And it is going into each system. They have been discovered on busses. They have been present in daycares. They have been present in preschools.”
Keith mentioned the rise in incidents got here after leisure gross sales began in Ohio final 12 months.
She and different leaders are encouraging marijuana customers to make use of a secure storage bag with a lock and key, that solely the consumer has entry to, whereas tucking the bag out of sight of youngsters.
One other aim in Clermont County is to cut back the quantity of teenagers and grade college youngsters utilizing marijuana and different medicine.
Kelsey Smothers, Chair of the Coalition for Drug Free Clermont County, mentioned that begins with addressing the scholars psychological well being wants.
“In Clermont County, we have seen a lower in substance use, particularly in grades 7-12,” Smothers defined. “However the psychological well being charges have elevated considerably. College students are saying they do not know learn how to cope in wholesome methods. They’re feeling anxious. They do not know learn how to socialize with friends. So, that is actually the place we focus within the prevention house.”
Secure storage bag utilization is inspired to maintain tobacco, pharmaceuticals, alcohol and weed out of attain for college students experiencing psychological well being crises.
Free secure storage luggage will be picked up on the Goshen Police Division, offered by the Clermont County Psychological Well being & Restoration Board.
A 2025 report by the Ohio Division of Hashish Management exhibits greater than $802M in leisure gross sales for the reason that rollout final 12 months.
