Marijuana use up, alcohol use down among U.S. teens: Report

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(CBS/AP) Results from the latest teen survey from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) are a mixed bag. The survey showed fewer teens are turning to alcohol and cigarettes than ever before. But the "Monitoring the Future" survey also found that marijuana use is rising steadily among America's teens.

PICTURES: Toking teens: 17 top states for marijuana use

The findings are based on a survey of 47,000 eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan on behalf of the NIDA. The researchers found one out of every 15 high school seniors smokes pot on a daily or near-daily basis. That's the highest rate since 1981.

The percentage of teens saying they see "great risk" in using marijuana has dropped in recent years.

"One thing we've learned over the years is that when young people come to see a drug as dangerous, they're less likely to use it," said survey author Dr. Lloyd Johnston, a distinguished senior research scientist at the University of Michigan. "That helps to explain why marijuana right now is rising."

It's the fourth straight year marijuana use grew among teens compared with last decade when pot use declined among teens.

The survey found more than 36 percent of 12th-graders used marijuana in the past year, compared to nearly 32 percent in the 2007 survey. Almost 29 percent of 10th-graders and 12.5 percent of eighth-graders used marijuana in the past year, the survey showed.

The teen students are also turning to the fake stuff. One of every nine high school seniors said they've used synthetic marijuana, sometimes called Spice or K2, within the previous 12 months. This is the first year the survey asked about synthetic pot use. Fake marijuana, sometimes sold on the internet or in drug paraphernalia shops as "potpourri," contains leaves coated with chemicals that provide a similar high when smoked.

Some experts argue smoking synthetic marijuana is like playing "Russian Roulette" because it could contain dangerous chemicals, CBS News reported.

"It's not in the vocabulary of parents, and they need to be aware of it so that when they have that conversation about substance abuse that they are knowledgeable and they talk about this," said White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske.

A DEA emergency order banning the sale of five chemicals used in the synthetic blends took effect March 1. Many states also have their own laws banning the sale of synthetic marijuana, and the U.S. House passed a bill earlier this month to ban the chemicals.

Alcohol use continued its steady decline since 1980s and hit a historic low for the survey, which began in the 1970s for 12th-graders. Forty percent of 12th-graders reported drinking in the previous 30 days during the 2011 survey, compared to 54 percent in 1991. Declines were reported in other grade levels.

The survey also showed a decline in teen cigarette smoking this year. The number of those who reported smoking in the previous 30 days for the three grades combined was 11.7 percent, compared to 12.8 percent in 2010.

Other drugs showing some evidence of decline in use this year include cocaine, crack cocaine and inhalants.

The full survey results can be found here.

18 Photos

Toking teens: 17 top states for marijuana use

[a-nony-mouse1]

could it be that the reason why marijuana use is up is because its illegal. beer can only be purchased if you have someone willing to break the law. with weed the laws are already being broken and highschool and even middle school students are used in the delivery of these illegal products so the supplies are already in their hands.
why do we keep weed illegal anyway. i'm gonna move soon just to go find some weed. didn't think to check into it before i moved to this state a couple months ago. never seen it so dry....anyway the profits from weed at the ratio of 1:9 as stated are astromical. the cost of a bag is about 25 bucks. the cost of a pound is about 800 bucks. 6400 bags to a pound equal a profit per pound of 2400 bucks. 308,000,000 americans smoking a bag a week totals the profit to 667 million bucks. some will smoke that much a day and some might smoke that much a month. i know i'd smoke 50 bucks a week. what could i do with 667 million bucks a year....hmmm, buy guns, buy yachts, buy planes, don't work and sit around and smoke weed with my customers, get shot protecting my business, shoot a friend over my business, go to prison, 2 billion in dea jobs....what could i do?

[GRoseRosey]

So THE GATEWAY DRUG is more prevalent than ever, yet use of Alcohol, and harmful drugs has dwindled over 50% since teen Marijuana use has skyrocketed?

Maybe its not a gateway drug at all, maybe the teenagers who are smoking Marijuana in higher numbers now are choosing to make the SAFER choice, and abstaining from harmful substances like Alcohol and Cocaine.

This article is quite the celebratory news I would say!! The kids are alright after all!!

[geovs20]

I find great hope and strengh in these comments, it seems the misinformation campaign in America is failing more so by every day that passes. I see hope in this country I see people talking about the truth, its been 20yrs since I was 16, I also use Marijuana for pain and have even before my state passed a law for it, I have sat listening to the war on drugs, pleading and begging people to look at the truth, 20 yrs later Im tired, this war has taken my every last bit of fight, it makes me proud to see, america has finally began the proccess of enlightenment, and the joy I feel in my soul is uncontainable, im so proud of this country right now, Im so proud of the posts on here, way to go America, way to go, the search for truth in a world that trys to lie to you is VERY encouraging. Keep fighting with the truth, and you will not lose, keep pressure on the Goverment, 1. Change the scheduling of Marijuana, your killing people with these lies! 2. Regulate and tax Marijuana for ANYONE to use, we all know Alchohol is a far greater danger to our world, and the facts say Tylenol has killed more so why are you continueing to lie? 3. Anyone Anywere in this country should be granted the right to grow consume and manufacture Marijauna, on there property, and as they see fit, NO big brother interference, period! #3 is the most important thing that needs to be changed, because if the goverment controls the manufacturing of this miricle plant we will see little action, tax it regulate it, but leave the growing to the people and the rules to how many plants and such should be set at state levels not federal! This is what the people of this country want and or demand, stop the lies, stop the misinformation, the time has come for change! Legalization imediatly!

[DonatasJjjj]

President Obama promise of "Hope" and "Change"


I respectfully suggest that you issue their full pardon to all cannabis prisoners


Mr. President Obama, I am hereby respectfully requesting that your exercise your executive privilege as President of the United States and that you grant full pardons, vindication and subsequent removal of their felony convictions of all cannabis prisoners

LEGALIZE IT, DON'T CRITICIZE IT!

LEGALIZE FREEDOM because

[malcolmkyle]

OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER (PART 1):

Federal researchers implanted several types of cancer, including leukemia and lung cancers, in mice, then treated them with cannabinoids (unique, active components found in marijuana). THC and other cannabinoids shrank tumors and increased the mice's lifespans. Munson, AE et al. Antineoplastic Activity of Cannabinoids. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Sept. 1975. p. 597-602.

OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER, (PART 2):

In a 1994 study the government tried to suppress, federal researchers gave mice and rats massive doses of THC, looking for cancers or other signs of toxicity. The rodents given THC lived longer and had fewer cancers, "in a dose-dependent manner" (i.e. the more THC they got, the fewer tumors). NTP Technical Report On The Toxicology And Carcinogenesis Studies Of 1-Trans- Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, CAS No. 1972-08-3, In F344/N Rats And B6C3F Mice, Gavage Studies. See also, "Medical Marijuana: Unpublished Federal Study Found THC-Treated Rats Lived Longer, Had Less Cancer," AIDS Treatment News no. 263, Jan. 17, 1997.

OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER (PART 3):

Researchers at the Kaiser-Permanente HMO, funded by NIDA, followed 65,000 patients for nearly a decade, comparing cancer rates among non-smokers, tobacco smokers, and marijuana smokers. Tobacco smokers had massively higher rates of lung cancer and other cancers. Marijuana smokers who didn't also use tobacco had no increase in risk of tobacco-related cancers or of cancer risk overall. In fact their rates of lung and most other cancers were slightly lower than non-smokers, though the difference did not reach statistical significance. Sidney, S. et al. Marijuana Use and Cancer Incidence (California, United States). Cancer Causes and Control. Vol. 8. Sept. 1997, p. 722-728.

OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER (PART 4):

Donald Tashkin, a UCLA researcher whose work is funded by NIDA, did a case-control study comparing 1,200 patients with lung, head and neck cancers to a matched group with no cancer. Even the heaviest marijuana smokers had no increased risk of cancer, and had somewhat lower cancer risk than non-smokers (tobacco smokers had a 20-fold increased Lung Cancer risk). Tashkin D. Marijuana Use and Lung Cancer: Results of a Case-Control Study. American Thoracic Society International Conference. May 23, 2006.

OOPS, MARIJUANA DOES HAVE GREAT MEDICAL VALUE:

In response to passage of California's medical marijuana law, the White House had the Institute of Medicine (IOM) review the data on marijuana's medical benefits and risks. The IOM concluded, "Nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety are all afflictions of wasting, and all can be mitigated by marijuana." The report also added, "we acknowledge that there is no clear alternative for people suffering from chronic conditions that might be relieved by smoking marijuana, such as pain or AIDS wasting." The government's refusal to acknowledge this finding caused co-author John A. Benson to tell the New York Times that the government "loves to ignore our report ... they would rather it never happened." Joy, JE, Watson, SJ, and Benson, JA. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. National Academy Press. 1999. p. 159. See also, Harris, G. FDA Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana. New York Times. Apr. 21, 2006

[DanGivens]

That's a nice compilation you've done there!

[Freepress1111]

It's good to see people starting to think that smoking pot isn't a big deal because.....it isn't. The real crime here is the crime of tens of thousands of people being arrested and removed from society for doing something that is not only not harmful to others, it's not even harmful to one's self. The establishment's B.S. and propaganda of the last 70+ years is beginning to wither in the light of truth and awareness. Drug laws have caused much more damage to society than drug use ever could. If the government has a role here, it should be to encourage people to lead healthy lifestyles, not lock them up if they don't.

[Danize]

A person is as big or as small as the most important things in their lives. Reach for a star, young people! Don't be content living in Munckin Land like this guy.

[geovs20]

Yeah reach for the stars, but how about we do it truthfully and not lie to the kids by saying marijuana is worse than cocaine that is inheritly DANGEROUS, Kids eventually grow into adults, and you would like them to beleive using marijuana, you cant reach your dreams, its worse than cocaine! Heres the Dangerous part, while reaching for the stars one kid gets curious, they try weed, wow they say, alchohol, made me forget what even happened last night, well the Goverment is saying marijuana is worse than cocaine maybe they lied about coke, and they try that and bang dead, or the other lie marijuana is a halucinigen, so marijuana is like pcp, lsd, well maybe ill try that bang they die and take 10 other kids with them, is that reaching for the stars, or is that a product of lies, its sad to think you Denise are one that was fooled into beleiving these lies, and now you beleive smoking a dried dead plant is inheritly deadly or makes one less of a person in doing so you are the culprit, you are the one spreading info, that if you smoke a joint, you nolonger can acheive a dream, and that is WRONG!

[markag55]

Not that I condone marijuana use for teenagers, it is, by far, the most benign drug still in use today. Alcohol is dangerous both in the short-term (violent and/or criminal behavior) as well as long-term (liver problems, etc.).

In my own personal experience from the 1970's, the worst problem associated with marijuana or hash usage, is falling asleep after laughing too hard. Very few people have a "bad high" from marijuana, unlike harder hallucinogens such as LSD.

While total sobriety is still the best bet for people of any age, marijuana usage is much less critical than binging on alcohol. Binge all you want with marijuana; you'll fall asleep before the last joint is smoked.

[HdMorph]

It's time for us to wake up and realize, pot is no more harmful than the junk food we keep feeding our people. More people die from otc drugs that ever died from pot.

[Lerianis4]

Most 'illegal' drugs are no more harmful (actually, in some cases, beneficial) than what we feed our children and ourselves.

[Irby32]

K2 Blue was awesome! Please bring it back :)

[Lerianis4]

Big deal. I personally think that toking some marijuana is less 'harmful' than eating some of the excessively fat laden food that is foisted on Americans by some companies today.

Legalize the entire drug trade, regulate it and tax it. Total solutions to the ills, including the rates of addiction which are coming from the widely varying dosages of drugs on the black market today, that come from the drug trade.