Drug Statistics, Research and Usage

According to NIDA's study on drug use these are teens that confidentially admitted to drug use:

• 53% of the teen population has tried illegal drugs.
• 41% of teens used illegal drugs in the past year.
• 25% used illegal drugs in the past 30 days.
• 48% of the teen population has tried marijuana.
• 36 % used marijuana in the past year.
• 21% used marijuana in the past 30 days.
• 78% have used alcohol.
• 57% have smoked cigarettes.
• 12% have used inhalants.

• Parents don't like to imagine that it could be "their child" using drugs. Studies show that while only 18% of parents believe that their teen has tried drugs, 53% of high school seniors actually admit to some drug use.


• Drinking and driving killed 17,419 people last year.



• When you see the awful news stories about impaired teens hurt or killed in accidents of twisted metal, you pray, "please, not my child". Make sure your child isn't drinking by testing for alcohol use when they have been out.



• The fear of getting caught and losing driving privileges is a sure deterrent.



• John P. Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said "If our schools and parents were to utilize recognized, successful intervention techniques, including drug testing, we would be able to identify these youth and get them the counseling and treatment they need to turn away from drug use".



• Research shows that youth who smoke cigarettes are fourteen times more likely to try marijuana as those who don't. Getting a handle on this "gateway drug" as early as possible could be one of greatest things that you ever do for your child.



• Marijuana can be addictive, and it's more addictive in young people than in adults. In fact more kids are in drug treatment for marijuana use than for all other illicit drugs combined.



• "Young people tend to be very altruistic and they think they are immortal," said Tom Riley, a spokesman for the Office of National Drug Control Policy. "Telling teens something is dangerous tends not to affect their behavior".



• Executives, professional athletes, truck drivers, policemen, have to prove that they are drug-free. The world your child lives in has drug testing! Why not teens?



• Make it your policy "NO DRUGS" and let them prove it.



• You are legally and financially responsible if your teen wrecks the car, gets arrested, needs drug rehab, or worse. It is your business if your child is using drugs

More Statistical Data...

• 60% of the world's illegal drug market is in the USA (with 6% of the world's population)
• Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug. According to the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse an estimated 34% of Americans aged 12 or older had used marijuana or hashish in their lifetime and 8% reported using it in the last year. Approximately 5% (10,714,000) of Americans 12 or older were current users of marijuana in 2000
• An estimated 13 million Americans are alcoholics
• According to the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 11.2% of Americans age 12 and over reported using cocaine at least once during their lifetime and 1.5% reported using cocaine in the past year. Approximately 0.5% (1,213,000) of Americans age 12 and over were current cocaine users during 2000. The number of current cocaine users reached its peak in 1985 with 5.7 million Americans. This number represented 3% of the population during 1985
• Almost 1/3 of Americans between ages 20 and 40 have used an illicit drug once in the past year
• There were an estimated 104,000 new heroin users in 1999. Among these new users, 87,000 were between the ages of 12 and 25. 34,000 of these new users were under age 18. The average age at first use among these new heroin users was 19.8 years. Approximately 1.2% (2,779,000) of the persons represented in the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse reported heroin use in their lifetime. 0.1% of the total population surveyed in 2000 reported past year heroin use and 0.1% reported using heroin in the 30 days prior to the survey
• Almost 1/2 of Americans entering the work force have used an illicit drug once in the past year

Who Uses Drugs?

• Many drug users are prominent citizens in our communities. They are business owners, doctors, civic leaders, parents and neighbors
• Consider the profile of a regular cocaine user:
  
  
  • Well educated (average 14 years of education)
  • Employed (77%) and well paid (37% earn over 25K)
  • 56% engage in illegal activity other than drug possession to support the habit
• Two-thirds of drug abusers are employed! Of these, 75% are full time employees
• 18-25 is the peak age (15% males and 10% females abuse drugs in this group)
• The overall rate of drug abuse in America (both sexes & all ages) equal to 5% of the population!
• In 1996, there were a total of 9,794,149 arrests reported to the FBI, and 7,600,241 arrestees. Of these, 66.6% - 5.01 million people - were drug users. Also in 1996, there were a total of 2,166,630 drug arrests, and 1,678,174 arrestees. Of these, 82% -- 1,379,624 offenders -- were estimated to be drug users

• ONDCP Facts and FIgures (http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/index.html)

Workers who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol

• Increase accidents - 3.6 times more likely to injure themselves or another person in a workplace accident.
• 5 times more likely to be injured in an accident off the job which, in turn, affects attendance and performance on the job.
• Increase medical claims - 5 times more likely to file a worker’s compensation claim.
• Increase absenteeism - 2.5 times more likely to have absences of eight days or more.
• Excessive tardiness - returning from lunch or on Monday mornings.
• Increase product defects - are more likely to have difficulty concentrating, more difficulty recalling instructions, more difficulty with complex assignments.
• Increase insurance costs
• Increase employee theft
• Decrease productivity

Statistics relating to alcohol and drug abuse in the workplace can be quite startling. While it is very difficult to obtain precise numbers, it is estimated that in the United States "over 10 million people report current use of illicit drugs and one in every ten people in this country has an alcohol problem" (Twing, 1995). The government has estimated that approximately 10 to 23% of all American workers use drugs on the job and two out of ten employees have a significant alcohol or drug problem (Lipman, 1995). Substance abuse is in every industry and at every level of the organization. "Alcoholics are white collar workers, professional/managerial personnel and high school graduates; 50% have completed or attended college." (Twing, 1995) Not only are employees using drugs on the job, they also are selling them to their co-workers. According to the Institute for a Drug Free Workplace, "40% of the companies it surveyed reported having had an employee convicted of selling drugs at work." (Oliver, 1994)

The cost of alcohol and illicit drug abuse in the workplace is immensee. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, "alcohol and drug abuse costs U.S. businesses $102 billion annually in lost productivity, incidents and employee turnover." (Kedjidjian, 1995) Workers compensation, insurance claims and overtime pay also increase due to substance abuse. The hidden costs involved are immense. These include diverted supervisory and managerial time, poor decisions, friction among workers, damage to the company’s public image and damage to equipment. The individual costs to a company are astounding. A minimum of $1,500 to $4,000 each year is spent on lost productivity on the employee who uses drugs or alcohol. It has been estimated the chemically dependent employee is usually less than 75% effective. (Twing, 1995)