Nearly One in Ten U.S. High School Students Report Heavy Marijuana Use in the Past Month; One-Third or More of Heavy Users Also Used Cocaine, Ecstasy, or Other Drugs
Nearly one in ten high school students (9%) reported using marijuana 20 times or more in the past month, according to recently released data from the 2011 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study. While all past month marijuana users were more likely than nonusers to also report the use of other licit or illicit drugs in the past year, heavy marijuana users were most likely to report such use. For example, heavy marijuana users were nearly twice as likely as non-heavy marijuana users (31% vs. 17%) and 30 times more likely than those who did not use marijuana at all (31% vs. 1%) to report cocaine or crack use. In fact, heavy marijuana use was associated with increased use of all drugs asked about in this survey, including alcohol, cigarettes, pain relievers, ecstasy, OTC cough medicine, substances that are huffed or sniffed, and methamphetamine. These findings suggest that health practitioners and prevention professionals should be aware that clients who frequently use marijuana may be likely to be using other drugs as well.
Click here to view a PDF of the complete CESAR report.
For more information about drug testing, visit our website.
Nearly One in Ten U.S. High School Students Report Heavy Marijuana Use in the Past Month; One-Third or More of Heavy Users Also Used Cocaine, Ecstasy, or Other Drugs
Nearly one in ten high school students (9%) reported using marijuana 20 times or more in the past month, according to recently released data from the 2011 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study. While all past month marijuana users were more likely than nonusers to also report the use of other licit or illicit drugs in the past year, heavy marijuana users were most likely to report such use. For example, heavy marijuana users were nearly twice as likely as non-heavy marijuana users (31% vs. 17%) and 30 times more likely than those who did not use marijuana at all (31% vs. 1%) to report cocaine or crack use. In fact, heavy marijuana use was associated with increased use of all drugs asked about in this survey, including alcohol, cigarettes, pain relievers, ecstasy, OTC cough medicine, substances that are huffed or sniffed, and methamphetamine. These findings suggest that health practitioners and prevention professionals should be aware that clients who frequently use marijuana may be likely to be using other drugs as well.
Click here to view a PDF of the complete CESAR report.
For more information about drug testing, visit our website.