MORE AT-RISK YOUTHS REPORT MARIJUANA AS FIRST DRUG THEY TRY; OVER HALF ALSO REPORT BINGE ALCOHOL DRINKING

Source: SANDAG

July 24, 2016 (San Diego) -- More than half (56 percent) of at-risk youth in the San Diego region reported marijuana was the first illicit substance they ever used, up from 34 percent in 2007, and they reported marijuana was even easier to obtain than tobacco, according to data compiled by the SANDAG Substance Abuse Monitoring (SAM) Program.

The 2015 Juvenile Arrestee Drug Use in the San Diego Region report presented findings from interviews with youth at Juvenile Hall. A total of 123 youth were interviewed and 96 percent provided urine samples for drug testing. This report is part of a series of annual publications SANDAG releases on substance abuse.

“What we are learning from our research is that there is a growing acceptance of marijuana among young people,” SANDAG Criminal Justice Research Director Dr. Cynthia Burke said. “In large part, that’s because they perceive marijuana as a low-risk drug.”

Below are top-level findings from the report. An easy-to-understand summary of the findings is available in a two-page CJ Flash called Changes in Attitudes and the Use of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Marijuana by Juvenile Arrestees.

 

• Surveyed youth considered marijuana to be the least harmful of all of drugs, with only 18 percent reporting that marijuana would be “extremely” or “very bad” for the user, compared to 41 percent for alcohol, and 69 percent for tobacco. (See Figure 7 in the report

• Ninety-three percent of the youth described marijuana as “easy” or “very easy” to obtain compared to 88 percent for tobacco, 79 percent for alcohol, and 75 percent for methamphetamine. (See Figure 9 in the report)

• More than half of the youth (58 percent) also reported binge drinking – defined as five or more alcoholic drinks on one occasion. (See Figure 2 in the report)
• The average age of first use for all three substances – tobacco, marijuana, and alcohol – was around 12 years old. (See Figure 3 in the report)

Although the data are not compiled from interviews with the general population, they do provide insights not available from other sources regarding the use of and changing perceptions about drugs among at-risk and vulnerable populations that could transfer to other youth groups over time.

SANDAG has been studying drug abuse trends in the San Diego region since 1987. The annual reports prepared by the SANDAG Criminal Justice Research Division help keep policymakers, clinicians, and prevention specialists informed of changes over time so they can develop appropriate strategies for tackling drug abuse.

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is the San Diego region’s primary public planning, transportation, and research agency, providing the public forum for regional policy decisions about growth, transportation planning and construction, environmental management, housing, open space, energy, public safety, and binational topics. SANDAG is governed by a Board of Directors composed of mayors, council members, and supervisors from each of the region’s 18 cities and the county government.