Early Marijuana Use Leads to Later Drug Abuse

Crime in America.Net

Well, just in time for the California vote to legalize marijuana, data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) telling us that if you started using marijuana at a young age you are six times more likely to use drugs in the past year.

Before the pro-marijuana crowd rushes in with their usual claims that the drug is harmless (which is why they are going to lose the vote in California in large numbers) it’s important to note that virtually all measures of substance abuse and separate studies on criminality say the same thing—early onset of anything greatly increases the percentages of continued activity in later years.

That’s why early detection of drug or violent behavior needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Possibly the most successful long-term intervention is sending social workers into the homes of youth exhibiting disruptive behavior so the behavior can be addressed as a family, see http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/06-10-1201.pdf.

Report:

 Adults who first started using marijuana at or before the age of 14 are most likely to have abused or been dependent on illicit drugs in the past year, according to data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).

Adults who first used marijuana at age 14 or younger were six times more likely to meet the criteria for past year illicit drug abuse or dependence than those who first used marijuana when they were 18 or older (12.6% vs. 2.1%) and almost twice as likely as those who started between the ages of 15 and 17 (12.6% vs. 6.6%).

Similar results have been found for early alcohol use (see CESAR FAX, Volume 19, Issue 40) and the early non-medical use of prescription drugs (see CESAR FAX, Volume 17, Issue 8).

Source: .