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Marijuana Subcommittee Information

Join Us!

​​Meetings are currently held the second Thursday of the month, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the Coulee Recovery Center (933 Ferry St., La Crosse, WI 54601)

May 9, 2019
​May 10, 2019
We are available for presentations!

For more information, please contact...

Judi Zabel
7 C's Coalition (formerly La Crosse Area Health Initiative) tobacco coalition Leader (more information here).
Health Educator
La Crosse County Health Department
300 4th Street N.
La Crosse, WI 54601
608-785-9855
jzabel@lacrossecounty.org

Goals & ​Objectives

Goal: Reduce youth past 30-day marijuana use.

Objective: By September 29, 2019 educate at least 200 parents/caregivers, teachers, coaches, health professionals, business leaders, and other community residents in La Crosse county about the risks and consequences associated with marijuana use.  

Strategy 1: ​Enhance Skills/Provide Information

Strategy 2: Modify/change Policies

Meeting Agendas & Minutes

About Us

Picture2019 YRBS Report
According to the La Crosse County Marijuana Trends Report Between entry into high school and graduation, marijuana use more than doubles. By the time students graduate high school 1 in 3 La Crosse County teens have tried marijuana at least once in their lifetime, a rate that has remained steady for the past two years. Among students who used marijuana 15% started before age 13.


​The Marijuana work group is made up of people from our community who share a common concern about marijuana use and an interest and commitments towards youth marijuana prevention.  The work group is an excellent forum for parents, students, educators, clergy, youth influencers, media, medical community, law enforcement and local government. 

Members of the marijuana work group plan educational events like town hall meetings, webinar series and Wake Up Call. 


Wake Up Call:  a life size exhibit of a teenager’s bedroom with more than 50 red flags that can signal substance abuse. Our goal is to educate parents and other adults who are influential in the lives of youth so they know what seemingly innocent items can actually be an indication of substance abuse, provide resources and encourage positive communication styles. Tours are provided by trained guides.
Members are available to speak on a variety of topics:
  1. recognize the different forms and potencies of today’s marijuana;
  2. understand how today’s high potency marijuana effects the body and mind;
  3. know how marijuana can impact your child’s learning and future academic success;
  4. learn what is happening in states who have legalized medical and recreational marijuana;
  5. realize what the marijuana industry has learned from the tobacco industry;
  6. and learn how to start the conversation early.
For more information regarding this mobile experience OR to host wake up call, contact: Judi Zabel, 608-785-9855 or JZabel@LaCrosseCounty.org
Also, Wake Up Call is featured on our events page!

Belief Statement

In terms of our work with marijuana, LCPN:
  • Believes in an approach that neither legalizes, nor demonizes, marijuana.
  • Understands that marijuana use and the policies surrounding it are not black and white- such as "incarceration versus legalization" - and require multi-layered solutions based on reputable science and sound principles of public health and safety.
  • Champions smart policies that decrease marijuana use - and do not harm marijuana users and low-level dealers with arrest records that stigmatize them for life and in ways that make it even harder for them to break free from cycles of substance dependence.
We will utilize a Four Pillars Approach, modeled after SAM's approach:
1. To inform public policy with the science of today's marijuana
  • Marijuana use directly affects the brain-specifically the parts of the brain responsible for memory, learning, attention, and reaction time.
  • Science confirms that the adolescent brain is not fully developed until the early to mid-20's. Developing brains are especially susceptible to all of the negative effects of marijuana and drug use.
  • Particularly the part of the brain that regulates planning for complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, behavior and social behavior.
  • Marijuana contains about 500 components, most of which we know little about.
  • Marijuana has shown to be harmful to the heart, lungs, mental health and pregnancies.
2. To have honest conversation about reducing the unintended consequences of current marijuana policies, such as lifelong stigma due to arrest
  • Possession of small amounts of marijuana should be civil offenses with referrals to treatment and social services if needed.
  • Fair and proportionate penalties for production, distribution, dealing and sales of marijuana.
  • Keeping roadways safe for drivers- any traces found in someone's system results in misdemeanor (no level of marijuana impairment has been determined).
  • Increased education and prevention.
  • Increase Brief Interventions and treatment.
4. To promote research of marijuana's medical properties and produce pharmacy-attainable medications.
  • Rapid expansion of research into the components of the marijuana plant for delivery via non-smoked forms
  • Establishment of an emergency or research FDA investigational New Drug program that allows seriously ill patients to obtain non-smoked components of marijuana before final FDA approval.
  • The end of "cannabis clubs" and so-called "dispensaries" that are fronts for marijuana stores and do not follow appropriate standards of medical care.
3. To prevent the establishment of big marijuana that would market marijuana to children, and to prevent big tobacco from taking over big marijuana.