Copyright © 2006 - 2007 Downers Grove Township•••••All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2006 - 2007 Downers Grove Township•••••All Rights Reserved
MARIJUANA FACTOIDS
1. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug among America’s youth.
2. Twice as many 8th graders today have tried marijuana compared to a decade ago.
3. Among kids age12-17 who use drugs, approximately 61 percent use marijuana only.
4. The number of 8th graders who use the drug has doubled in the last decade.
5. Marijuana is addictive and can hurt young bodies and minds at a crucial time in teens’ lives.
6. More youth use marijuana than all other illegal drugs.
7. Marijuana accounts for more treatment admissions than all other illicit drugs combined.
8. 60% of teens currently in drug treatment are there because of marijuana.
9. Among all treatment admissions for marijuana in 1999 more than half (57%) first used marijuana by age 14. That statistic has not changed.
10. Recent research also shows that kids who use marijuana weekly are more likely to get in trouble with the law, struggle in school, have delinquent friends, engage in sex and end up in dangerous situations.
It’s no wonder that kids think marijuana is harmless, they’re only getting one side of the story! Marijuana is in everything from jokes on late night television to summer teen blockbusters. As long as we focus only on the most ‘severe’ drugs, we let marijuana, “off the hook” and contribute to the mixed messages we’re sending our kids. For more information, visit www.theantidrug.com or call 1(800) 788-2800.
(Sources include: National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 2001, Monitoring the Future, 2001, www.mediacampaign.org).