Question by Kevin H: What percent of teenagers ages have used some sort of an illicit drug in the past year?

Best answer:

Answer by Marc G
Illegal drug use among teenagers is declining. However, the abuse of prescription drugs, especially pain relievers is increasing. Many teenagers assume that prescription drugs are safe, when in fact they are highly addictive and can cause severe side effects.

The following are some statistics regarding teenage drug and alcohol abuse:

Underage drinking costs the United States more than $ 58 billion every year.

40 percent of those who started drinking at age 13 or younger developed alcohol dependence later in life. Ten percent of teens who began drinking after the age of 17 developed dependence.

Ten percent of teens report that they have attended a rave, and ecstasy and other drugs were available at more than two-thirds of these raves.

Teens that drink are 50 times more likely to use cocaine than teens who never consume alcohol.

63 percent of the youth who drink alcohol say that they initially got the alcohol from their own or their friend’s homes.

Alcohol kills 6 ½ times more teenagers than all other illicit drugs combined.

Teenagers whose parents talk to them on a regular basis about the dangers of drug use are 42 percent less likely to use drugs than those whose parents don’t.

More than 60 percent of teens said that drugs were sold, used, or kept at their school.

20 percent of 8th graders report that they have tried marijuana.

28 percent of teens know a classmate or friend who has used ecstasy (Teen Substance Abuse).

Approximately 15 percent of 10th and 12th graders have used amphetamines. In a study at San Francisco General Hospital, 25 percent of seizures were found to be caused by amphetamine use. An estimated 1.8 million (0.8 percent) of youth age twelve and older are current users of cocaine.

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