One Chance to Grow Up

05/20/2026

One Chance Outreach and Education Coordinator Whitney Yeager was on The Addiction Podcast to share her story and stress the importance of parental education in the youth THC prevention process. Great episode, and thanks again to Whitney for her continued willingness to share Sam's and her story.

Listen here:

This episode delivers one of the most urgent and emotionally powerful conversations we’ve ever featured. Whitney Yeager steps forward to share the hea...

05/19/2026

Myth: “It’s legal for adults, so it must be safe.”
Fact: Colorado’s official warning highlights serious potential harms from high-THC concentrates, especially for teens and young adults.

Parents deserve clear, science-based information to safeguard their kids.

👉 Get the facts: highriskthc.org

05/07/2026

"Prevention starts at home. Parents and caregivers remain the single strongest influence on a young person’s decision to use drugs or alcohol or not."

The newly released 2026 National Drug Control Strategy states clearly that "empowering parents with accurate information and effective tools is central" to tackling drug use--including high-potency THC-- and should be a key aspect of prevention strategies. From the beginning, One Chance has always seen educating parents and trusted adults as a key but typically ignored component of helping safeguard kids.

We're glad to see the Office of National Drug Control Policy paying specific attention to the vulnerability of the developing brain, the risks of highly commercialized ma*****na, and the role of parents in prevention efforts.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy today released the 2026 National Drug Control Strategy. National Drug Control Strategy - 2026Download The

05/04/2026

Brains continue to develop into the mid-20s.

Consuming high-THC products can interfere with attention, learning, motivation, and mental health—especially with frequent use.

This isn’t about blame. It’s about getting the facts and understanding why potency matters.

👉 See the science: highriskthc.org

04/29/2026

Denver Westword quotes One Chance Executive Director Henny Lasley on the withdrawal of SB26-164:

“Youth normalization of ma*****na use is already an ongoing problem, the Colorado Senate Finance Committee did the right thing today by accepting the request to kill the bill."

According to a bill sponsor, medical ma*****na's rescheduling and hemp's federal status affected the will to engage at the state legislature.

04/28/2026

Today Colorado Senate Bill 26-164, the THC Beverage Bill, was postponed indefinitely at the request of the sponsors. SB26-164 would have permitted intoxicating hemp-derived THC drinks to be sold at locations with liquor licenses, including restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores.

One Chance to Grow Up was strongly opposed to the bill on the grounds that this would exacerbate ma*****na normalization with youth. The bill would have drastically increased the availability of THC in the state, confusing alcohol and THC regulations that were designed to be strictly separate, and could have resulted in a dangerous increase in traffic accidents and fatalities from increased drugged driving.

“We are pleased that Senator Julie Gonzalez and Representatives Steven Woodrow and Matthew Martinez withdrew SB26-164 from consideration. This is great news for youth safety in Colorado and maintaining the legal ma*****na regulations our state has put in place over the last 14 years,” said One Chance Executive Director Henny Lasley. “We are glad to see THC beverages will not be mixed with the sale of alcohol. This bill would have let these beverages– which were created through a loophole in the federal Farm Bill that has since been closed– be sold in over 13,000 locations statewide including many places where kids shop and dine.”

“Youth normalization of ma*****na use is already an ongoing problem,” continued Lasley. “The Colorado Senate Finance Committee did the right thing today by accepting the request to kill the bill.”

DENVER, COLORADO— Today Colorado Senate Bill 26-164, the THC Beverage Bill, was postponed indefinitely at the request of the sponsors. SB26-164 would have permitted intoxicating hemp-derived THC drinks to be sold at locations with liquor licenses, including restaurants, gas stations, and grocery s...

04/28/2026

One Chance to Grow Up is thanking the sponsors of Colorado Senate Bill 26-161, the Modernize Regulation of Cannabis-Related Products Bill, for introducing the bill for consideration to the General Assembly.

While the bill has been withdrawn from consideration by the sponsors, Senators Kyle Mullica and Marc Snyder, during the 2026 session, Colorado State Senate Bill 161 would have radically redefined the recreational ma*****na taxation structure, replacing the 15% excise tax on retail ma*****na cultivation facilities and the 15% sales tax on retail ma*****na products with a $1 per pound excise tax and sales tax structure based on THC potency in retail cannabis products.

One Chance to Grow Up supports a THC potency-based tax structure that discourages the consumption of high-potency THC products through more expensive price points for these products.

“Our greatest concern is illicit youth access to high-potency THC products. In the most recent Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, 62% of high school students who reported using ma*****na in the past month used high concentrate products including v**e pens, waxes, dabs and hash oils. We know from to***co taxation that youth are highly price sensitive.” said Rachel O’Bryan, Co-Founder of One Chance to Grow Up.

The 2021 state-mandated Colorado resource states clearly that the use of high-potency concentrates can result in severe health effects like psychotic symptoms, psychotic disorder, mental health problems, Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS), Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) and/or dependence. This resource also states “people under 25 may be at greater risk of potential harm because the brain is not fully developed.” Ma*****na stores are required with each sale of ma*****na concentrate product to physically attach the resource to the receipt, container or package.

One Chance looks forward to future efforts into public health-based taxation efforts in Colorado.

DENVER, COLORADO– One Chance to Grow Up is thanking the sponsors of Colorado Senate Bill 26-161, the Modernize Regulation of Cannabis-Related Products Bill, for introducing the bill for consideration to the General Assembly. While the bill has been withdrawn from consideration by the sponsors, Sen...

04/28/2026

One Chance Co-Founder Rachel O'Bryan just testified before the Colorado State Senate Finance committee in opposition to SB26-164, the THC Beverage Bill. The bill would drastically increase the availability of THC in the state, confusing alcohol and THC regulations that were designed to be strictly separate, and could have resulted in a dangerous increase in traffic accidents and fatalities from increased drugged driving. One Chance to Grow Up is strongly opposed to the bill on the grounds that this would exacerbate ma*****na normalization with youth.

Thank you for your hard work standing up to kids, Rachel!

04/28/2026

Allowing THC beverages to be sold alongside alcohol in bars would put bartenders in a challenging position due to how differently THC intoxication can look than alcohol intoxication, according to this op-ed by Skyler McKinley in Denver Westword. Serving THC beverages in the same setting as alcohol also poses complications to liquor liability insurance and confuses the clear separation between these substances that up to this point has existed in Colorado.

The Colorado Senate Finance committee is currently hearing testimony on SB26-164, which would allow hemp-derived THC beverages to be sold anywhere with a liquor license including gas stations, restaurants, and bars.

Proposed legislation would allow restaurants and bars to sling so-called “hemp-derived,” high-THC beverages for on-site consumption alongside alcohol.

04/28/2026

Allowing hemp-derived THC beverages to be sold alongside alcohol in places like bars and restaurants poses an increased threat to drivers due to the risk of cross-combination of substances. In addition, in traffic fatalities in Colorado where a vehicle operator had THC and alcohol present increased 250% between 2013 and 2022, fatalities where a vehicle operator had ANY amount of THC increased 240%.

The bill mentioned in this great op-ed in The Gazette-- SB26-164-- would also increase normalization of THC use and additional risks to kids.

Patrick Sneddon was sentenced in October to 30 years in the Department of Corrections prison for vehicular homicide that occurred in Mesa County.  Sneddon’s actions killed three people, including his wife and two Colorado Department of Transportation workers. Trent Umbarger was a father of five a...

04/27/2026

One Chance's Henny Lasley quoted in Colorado Public Radio's article on medical ma*****na rescheduling:

“Kids became the canary in the coal mine for a dangerous experiment, leaving countless teens and young adults harmed and too many lessons learned after the damage was done."

As ma*****na polices evolve across the country, One Chance remains dedicated to using what we've learned over the past 14 years in Colorado to help others avoid making the same regulatory pitfalls that resulted in unnecessary harms to youth. The value of our experience has never been greater!

Medical ma*****na was rescheduled by the federal government to make it more available, giving hope to Colorado recreational retailers.