It's actually far far higher than that, in fact I'd say very few high school students actually make it out now without at least trying marijuana.
The fact that the average age of first use among Americans has dropped, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, from age 20 in 1966 to age 16 as of 1996, raises some questions. What threat does marijuana actually represent? Is it the innocuous substance that some advocates hold it to be? A review of research findings can help clarify answers.
The average age for eating potato chips dropped from 6 to 5 in the same time period. This really doesn't mean anything. I bet tobacco smoking starting age has dropped also.
The American Psychiatric Association classifies marijuana as an addictive drug, one that can foster a dependency among users. The national Drug Enforcement Agency has determined that marijuana is a Schedule I illegal drug.
Oh it is addictive, but far less addictive than alcohol and nicotine.
| Comparing Addictive Qualities of Popular Drugs (Higher score indicates more serious effect) |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug | Dependence | Withdrawal | Tolerance | Reinforcement | Intoxication |
| Nicotine | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Heroin | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Cocaine | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| Alcohol | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| Caffeine | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Marijuana | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Withdrawal: Presence and severity of characteristic withdrawal symptoms.
Reinforcement: A measure of the substance's ability, in human and animal tests, to get users to take it again and again, and in preference to other substances.
Tolerance: How much of the substance is needed to satisfy increasing cravings for it, and the level of stable need that is eventually reached.
Dependence: How difficult it is for the user to quit, the relapse rate, the percentage of people who eventually become dependent, the rating users give their own need for the substance and the degree to which the substance will be used in the face of evidence that it causes harm.
Intoxication: Though not usually counted as a measure of addiction in itself, the level of intoxication is associated with addiction and increases the personal and social damage a substance may do.
Source: Jack E. Henningfield, PhD for NIDA, Reported by Philip J. Hilts, New York Times, Aug. 2, 1994 "Is Nicotine Addictive? It Depends on Whose Criteria You Use."
A 1997 report by the Office for National Drug Control Policy revealed that of all substance abuse treatment admissions nationwide, the number of people who reported marijuana as their primary drug of choice has been increasing steadily over the past several years.
This is an interesting statistic, what they failed to mention is that they force people who test positive for marijuana to go into these programs as part of their punishment. Since marijuana accts for 1/2 of all drug arrest (over 85% are just for possession), this isn't surprising. Try outlawing coffee and see similar results. In many parts of the country, more people are admitted to treatment for marijuana dependence than for heroin. Clearly, we can take from this that marijuana is, in fact, a dependence-fostering drug, a dependence that an increasing number of people are seeking help to address.
See above, plus millions more people use marijuana than heroin. The danger of marijuana can be measured in trends found in hospital emergency rooms. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported earlier this year that emergency room admissions where marijuana use preceded injury rose 141 percent between 1994 and 2000.
This is such blatant misreading of facts, notice this doesn't say taht the increase was due to marijuana problems, just that people who went into the ER, had marijuana in their system. Well gee, marijuana stays in your system for 30 days genius. Similarly, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that marijuana is the second most frequently found drug involved in vehicular accidents, after alcohol, implicated in 4 to 16 percent of fatal auto accidents.
A 1990-91 study by NHTSA found that 52 percent of drivers in fatal crashes had alcohol in their blood, compared to 7 percent with traces of marijuana. In analyzing the role that drugs played in the crashes, NHTSA found "no indication that marijuana by itself was a cause of fatal accidents."
A study commissioned by the NHTSA found:
Drivers under the influence of marijuana retain insight in their performance and will compensate where they can, for example, by slowing down or increasing effort. As a consequence, THC's adverse effects on driving performance appear relatively small.
A 1988 study in the Archives of Surgery found that among 1,023 trauma victims, marijuana had been used by 34.7 percent, alcohol by 33.5.
I assume he meant, had used marijuana, while this is an interesting statistic, it means nothing. I bet 100% had water at some point too. Unless they can show that marijuana greatly causes trauma medically this is a meaningless statistic