greater dallas council on alcohol & drug abuse

Prevention Statistics

Marijuana Facts Parents Need to Know
Growing Up Drug-Free: A Parent’s Guide to Prevention

• Among youth aged 12—17, the percentage reporting great risk of smoking a pack or more of cigarettes a day increased from 60.7% in 1999 to 64.1% in 2000.¹

• A child who reaches age 21 without smoking, abusing alcohol, or using drugs is virtually certain never to do so.³
  

• The percentage of youth aged 12—17 indicating a great risk of smoking marijuana once a month remained unchanged between 1999 and 2000 (37.2% in 1999 and 37.7% in 2000).²
  

• The percentage of persons aged 12 and older indicating that it was fairly or very easy to obtain a substance decreased between 1999 and 2000 (56.9 to 54.8%), cocaine (32.3 to 30.4%), crack (30.9 to 29.0%), heroin (20.9 to 19.4%), and LSD (23.4 to 22.3%).²
  

• Almost half of Americans ages 12 and older reported being current drinkers of alcohol in the 2000 survey (46.6%). This translates to an estimated 104 million people.²
  
  
• Alcohol and other drug abuse cost the Texas economy an estimated $25.9 billion for 2000. On a per capita basis, this represents $1,244 for every man, woman, and child in the state.¹
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¹Texas Commission on Alcohol & Drug Abuse
² US Dept. of Health & Human Services
³ National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse at Columbia University

© 2003 GDCADA
Updated September 8, 2005