Nearly a decade and a half into Colorado’s first-in-the-nation marijuana experiment, the tide at last may be turning on the public’s perception of pot’s perils. That is particularly so among parents and other Coloradans who spend time around youth. Their experiences, as well as a growing body of statistics and studies, tell a grim tale about what legalization has been doing to our kids.

Public outreach has played a key role in spreading the message, so it was reassuring to see the launch this week of a new Pikes Peak region campaign to raise awareness. The public-education campaign, which will feature billboards across El Paso and Teller counties as well as digital ads for local internet users, provides an educational resource detailing the risks of high-THC cannabis concentrates, like vape cartridges, wax and dabs, increasingly abused by our children.

The new local effort is anchored by the expertise of Colorado psychiatrist Libby Stuyt. Stuyt, via HighRiskTHC.org, blows up the myths about marijuana that have been peddled by Big Marijuana like scientific and medical gospel to Coloradans. She highlights the serious potential harms listed in the state of Colorado’s own official warning on marijuana concentrates, which points out how THC exposure is linked to a higher risk of mental health problems and addiction. Effects range from psychotic disorder featuring paranoia to Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) — a condition linked to heavy cannabis use that causes cycles of uncontrolled, repetitive vomiting and dehydration — to cannabis use disorder and dependence.

“There is no level of THC that is safe for an adolescent or a developing brain,” Stuyt says. The human brain is not fully developed until around age 25, making younger people particularly vulnerable to harm, which eventually can include opioid misuse as an adult.

The campaign also chronicles how marijuana concentrates — popular among kids seeking to use the drug discretely — are not “natural” in any way. That’s an important clarification as Big Marijuana, amid the current holistic health-revival culture, long has touted the bogus “natural” properties of the drug.

The truth is the pot Colorado’s kids abuse nowadays is made through industrial processes and genetically engineered cannabis plants to maximize potency, resulting in ultra-potent THC levels unlike any natural marijuana plant. That, of course, is on top of the respiratory, cardiovascular and pulmonary effects of inhaling the substance.

It’s also important to note there are parents and concerned Coloradans, like teachers and counselors who work with our kids on a daily basis, who are increasingly vocal with their concerns about the drug. Their shared experiences are vital to raising public awareness.

That includes Whitney Yeager, an El Paso County advocate whose son, Sam, died in a police confrontation while he was experiencing THC-induced psychosis.

The campaign is funded by the Pikes Peak Region 16 Opioid Abatement Council, which covers El Paso and Teller Counties.

Allison Dodge of One Chance to Grow Up, a Colorado-based nonprofit organization that created the educational campaign, summed up its aim nicely:

“Knowledge is power, and this science-backed information can inform constructive conversations between parents, other trusted adults, and teens.”

The cynical marijuana industry needs to groom our children to shore up its market. Campaigns like this one can equip parents and kids to fight back.