Drug Prevention Facts To Share With Students for Red Ribbon Week
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Seeing the Connections—The Future of Our Youth Is in Your Hands
Alcohol and drug use by children and youth are associated with poor
academic performance, impaired development, mental health issues, and
many factors that affect the health and behavior of youth. This fact
sheet provides valuable data from the Nation’s most reliable data
sources (including the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and
Monitoring the Future) that can help you assist local media in their
coverage of substance abuse issues where you live.
Drug Use Among Youth
• Among youths aged 12-17, 10.6 percent were current illicit drug users:
7.6 percent used marijuana, 3.6 percent used prescription-type drugs,
1.2 percent used inhalants, 0.8 percent used hallucinogens, and 0.5
percent used cocaine.
1
• Higher rates of dependence or abuse were seen among persons initiating
use at a younger age. For example, among adults aged 18 or older who
first tried marijuana at age 14 or younger, 13.4 percent were classified
with illicit drug dependence or abuse compared with only 2.7 percent of
adults who had first used marijuana at age 18 or older.
1
• With respect to using any illicit drug other than marijuana in the
past 30 days, the rank order was as follows: 12th graders (10 percent),
college students and 19-to 28-year-olds (both 8 percent), 10th graders
(7 percent), and 8th graders (5 percent). Usage rates among 10th and
12th graders tended to be higher than among young adults.
2
• In 2004, 10 percent of 12th graders reported annual use of amphetamines,
9.3 percent said they had used Vicodin, and 5 percent said they had used
OxyContin in that time period. Amphetamines became the second-ranking
illicit drug among high school seniors after marijuana.
3
Mental Health
• Early substance abuse increases the likelihood of a person developing psychiatric disorders in his or her late 20s.4
• Persons who used tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit
substances in earlier years were more likely to have diagnoses of major
depressive disorder (MDD, 17 percent), alcohol dependence (23 percent),
or substance use disorders (SUDs, 40 percent) in their late 20s.4
Youth Delinquent Behavior
• Youths who had run away from home in the past 12 months were more
likely to have used alcohol, marijuana, or an illicit drug other than
marijuana in the past year than youths who had not run away.5
• Marijuana was used in the past year by 23 percent of the runaways aged
12 to 17 and 12 percent of those who had not run away from home.5
• The percentages of youths engaging in delinquent behaviors rose with increasing frequency of marijuana use.6
• In 2003, more than 5.8 million youths engaged in serious fighting at
school or work and almost 4.3 million took part in a group-against-group
fight in the past year.7
• Over half (57 percent) of those who used marijuana 300 or more days in
the past year reported that they also sold illegal drugs.6
Perception of Harm
• Youths perceiving great risk from using marijuana once or twice a
month were less likely to use substances than youths perceiving
moderate, slight, or no risk.7
• Among youths aged 12 to 17, approximately 35 percent perceived great
risk from smoking marijuana once a month, and 49.6 percent perceived
great risk from using cocaine once a month. Smoking one or more packs of
cigarettes per day was cited as a great risk by 67.5 percent of
youths.1
Perception of Parental Disapproval
• Youths who perceive that their parents would “strongly disapprove” of
their use of illicit substances were much less likely to use those
substances than youths who perceived that their parents would “somewhat
disapprove, or neither approve or disapprove.”1
• Among youths who perceived that their parents would strongly
disapprove of their smoking one or more packs of cigarettes a day (90.6
percent of youths), only 8.8 percent had smoked cigarettes in the past
month compared with 42.2 percent of youths who perceived that their
parents would not strongly disapprove.1
• Most youths (89.8 percent) reported that their parents would strongly
disapprove of their trying marijuana once or twice. Among these youths,
only 5.1 percent had used marijuana in the past month. However, among
youths who perceived that their parents would only somewhat disapprove
or neither approve nor disapprove of their trying marijuana, 30 percent
reported past month use of marijuana.1
Participation in Religious Activities
• In 2004, 7.9 million youths (32 percent) aged 12-17 attended religious
services 25 times or more in the past year. More than three in four
youths(18.9 million) reported that religious beliefs are a very
important part of their lives and 68 percent (16.8 million) reported
that religious beliefs influenced how they make decisions. Youths aged
12 to 17 with higher levels of religiosity were less likely to have used
cigarettes, alcohol, or illicit drugs in the past month than youths
with lower levels of religiosity.7
• Youths aged 12 to 17, those who participated in two or more youth
activities during the past year were less likely to have used marijuana
in the past month than other youths.7
Exposure to Prevention Messages
• Rates of past-year alcohol and illicit drug use were lower for youths
who had seen or heard drug or alcohol prevention messages at school in
the past year than youths who had not seen or heard drug or alcohol
prevention messages at school.1
• Among youths aged 12 to 17 who were enrolled in school during the past
12 months, 78.2 percent reported having seen or heard drug or alcohol
prevention messages in school during that period. Of those indicating
they had seen or heard these messages, the rate of past-month marijuana
use was
7.1 percent compared with 10.6 percent for the remaining youths.1
For more information and products for Red Ribbon Week and Drug Prevention, visit us online at
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References
1. Office of Applied Studies. (2005). Results from the 2004 National
Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. Rockville, MD: SAMHSA.
2. Johnston, L.D., O’Malley, P.M. et al. (2004). Monitoring the Future
national survey results on drug use, 1975-2003: Volume II College
students and adults ages 19-45. Bethesda, MD: NIDA.
3. Johnston, L.D., O’Malley, P.M. et al. (2005). Monitoring the Future
national results on adolescent drug use: Overview of key findings, 2004.
4. Brook. D.W., Brook, J.S., et al. (2002). Drug use and risk of major
depressive disorder, alcohol dependence, and substance use disorders.
Archives of General Psychiatry, 59(11), 1039-1044.
5. Office of Applied Studies. (2004). The NSDUH Report: Substance Use
Among Youths Who Had Run Away From Home. Rockville, MD: SAMHSA.
6. Office of Applied Studies. (2004). The NSDUH Report: Marijuana Use
and Delinquent Behaviors Among Youths. Rockville, MD: SAMHSA.
7. Office of Applied Studies. (2005). Results from the 2004 National
Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables. Rockville, MD: SAMHSA
