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Small steps towards greater change
Small steps towards greater change
A brief history of cannabis
A brief history of cannabis
The cannabis plant is a flowering plant that is used for the production of hemp and marijuana. It’s one of the oldest crops in cultivation and has been used since at least 5000 BC.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies all forms of cannabis, including CBD, as a Schedule I drug. This means it has no accepted medical use and high potential for abuse. This classification wasn't always the case, but in 1970, Marijuana was officially classified as a Schedule I substance with little to no accepted medical benefits.
In 1995 the FDA approved Marinol, a medication that contains synthetic THC dissolved in sesame oil and administered with an oral syringe.
Cannabis has been a controversial issue in society for many years. It is seen as a gateway drug, a recreational drug, and even medicine.
There are states in US and countries in Europe where cannabis is allowed to use for medical and/or recreational purposes. But in majority of countries (including Estonia) it is still banned.
But what is cannabis?
Cannabis is a plant that produces psychoactive substances called cannabinoids. There are two main compounds: THC and CBD. THC provides the mental high and CBD provides the medical benefits such as pain relief or anxiety relief.
There are many health benefits of cannabis that we don't always talk about because it's still considered an illegal substance by the government and it's hard to research on it because of its Schedule I status (a drug with no currently accepted medical use). But there are plenty of supportive studies showing how cannabis can help patients with serious health conditions such as PTSD, Sickle Cell Disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis.
With the legalization of cannabis in Canada and in different part of the world, there is a need to educate people about the advantages and disadvantages of the plant. We should focus on educating people so that they can use it responsibly and be more informed about its potential uses. The legalization will also pave way for more research on cannabis which will lead to more medical applications of it.
Design thinking for producing solution
Design thinking for producing solution
In this project, the team was working on creating a digital prototype of the game that is fun to play, interactive and informative.
The primary purpose of the project was to create an interactive game with the historical & scientific truth about Cannabis by eliminating all the common beliefs and misconceptions. Educating and providing accurate information to the young generation about cannabis, so that they do not fall into the trap of drug abuse out of curiosity.
At first our team was discussing different options of what kind of game it might be. But then we started to use our goal - educate and not preach, and ended up with quiz-based game, with interactive elements.
Planning
Planning
The initial plan of the Serious game life project was to develop a game that will be integrated into therapy sessions for substance use patients in Tallinn. But we believe that prevention is better than cure. So with the help of our supervisors, we decided to create a game that will eventually be helpful for the prevention of drugs abuse.
Then we focused on one particular drug that is being considered the mother of all evil which is Cannabis.
Interdisciplinary approach
This project is based on a collaboration between a health care professional (Janika Mavor) and a game designer (Mikhail Fiadotau) and students from different faculties from Tallinn University.
Health sciences
Game design and development
Human-computer interaction and software development
Educational sciences
Visual art and graphic design
Activity & Short Description
Activity & Short Description
Project duration: Fall semester
Meetings with Supervisors: Every Monday & Thursday ( In-class & Online )
Internal meeting with team members: Every Sunday (Online & Offline )
Duration of all the meetings 45 minutes
Activities each week: Follow up on the last week's tasks and discussion on the next step and specify the task of next week.
Research based innovation
The project draws inspiration from existing research on the use of digital games in substance abuse treatment especially Cannabis. Various studies exist on the subject (e.g., Schoech et al. 2013; van der Kooij et al. 2014; Boendermaker et al. 2015; Stapinski et al. 2017), but this remains an emergent field whose full potential has not yet been explored. In Estonia, game-based interventions are not yet an established part of clinical practice and represent a new, promising direction for health care practitioners.
Sustainability
Platform itch.io, where our prototype is located, cares big times about sustainability. They supporting projects which are environment-friendly. So publishing our game on that platform we indirectly contribute to sustainability.
Project Outcome
The project result is a playable prototype made in Unity of a digital game and available in desktop version initially to be used for the educational purpose primarily and later phase in the treatment of substance use disorders and support. The game may serve as a prototype, which after testing will become a starting point for a bigger-scale game-based intervention to be developed in the future.
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