There are many popular misconceptions about marijuana and its effects on a community, most of which stem from the idea that it is a natural substance that is harmless and not addictive. Below are some facts about marijuana and its use among Windham County’s youth:
-All forms of marijuana are mind-altering (they change how the brain works). They all contain THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and more than 400 other chemicals. Marijuana’s effects on the user depend on its strength or potency, which is related to the amount of THC it contains. The THC content of marijuana has been increasing since the 1970s. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2001, March 13). Marijuana: Facts for Teens, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
-Smoking marijuana leads to changes in the brain that are similar to those caused by cocaine, heroin, or alcohol. Source: Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know, Revised, NIDA, November 1998.
-Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug. It is used by 76% of current illicit drug users. Approximately 59% of current illicit drug users consumed only marijuana, 17% used marijuana and another illicit drug, and the remaining 24% used an illicit drug but not marijuana in the past month. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2002, February 14). Summary of Findings from the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (Office of Applied Studies, NHSDA Series H-13 ed.)
Windham Southeast Supervisory Union (WSESU) Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) 2009 Results – 28% of 8th-12th graders surveyed have used marijuana in the past 30 days.
-More than 4,300 youths per day used at least one kind of illicit drug for the first time, primarily marijuana (3,577 new initiates on an average day). The substances with the lowest number of initiates on an average day were methamphetamine (236) and heroin (86). A copy of the report, which also describes average daily substance use prevalence and treatment admissions by youth, is available online at http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k7/youthFacts/youth.cfm.
WSESU YRBS – 40% of students have tried marijuana.
-Kids are using marijuana at an earlier age. In the late 1960s fewer than half of those using marijuana for the first time were under 18. By 2001, about two-thirds (67%) of marijuana users were younger than 18. Source: Trends in Initiation of Substance Use. Based on the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. SAMHSA, 2003.
WSESU YRBS – 10% of students have used marijuana prior to age 13.
-More teens are in treatment with a primary diagnosis of marijuana dependence than for all other illicit drugs combined. Source: TEDS, SAMHSA, October 2001.
WSESU YRBS – 14% of students have used marijuana 10 or more times during the past 30 days.
-High school seniors are more likely to use illicit drugs than alcohol in a car, according to findings from the 2006 national Pride Survey. Ten percent of 12th graders reported that the usual place they drink alcohol is in a car, while 13% said they usually use marijuana and 14% said they use illicit drugs in a car. While the survey question did not ask if the student was driving, the findings suggest that “illicit drugs may be more prevalent than alcohol in teenage impaired driving.” Source: Adapted by CESAR from International Survey Associates, “Teen Drug Use in Cars,” PRIDE Newsletter, January 16, 2007.
WSESU YRBS – 15% of students have driven after smoking marijuana within the past 30 days.
-WSESU YRBS – 60% of students know an adult who has used marijuana, cocaine, or another illegal drug during the past year (up from 53% in 2005 and 55% in 2007).
-WSESU YRBS – 37% of students know an adult who has sold drugs during the past year.
