New Hampshire’s Teen Drug Use High, Teen Crime Rate Low
Katherine Merrow, Senior Research Associate at the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies recently released a study on Teen Drug Use and Juvenile Crime in NH. The following is quoted from the study’s executive summary:
Two recent surveys indicate that New Hampshire teens use drugs at rates significantly higher than their national counterparts. One survey placed New Hampshire among the top 10 states in the nation in terms of the proportion of its teen population abusing either alcohol or drugs. The same survey placed New Hampshire in the top 10 for the proportion of teens needing — but not receiving — treatment for drug abuse. Both surveys indicate that rate of marijuana use among New Hampshire teens is one of the highest in the country.
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…the results of the national surveys are consistent with other data on juveniles in the state, and point to a relatively high rate of drug use among the state’s teenagers and a low rate of drug treatment. While the exact size of the problem is difficult to measure, the results of one of the surveys — conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in 2002 — provide a credible estimate of the magnitude of the problem. SAMHSA estimates that 12 percent of New Hampshire’s teens, 13,600 young people, have a serious problem with alcohol or drugs or both.
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Nationwide, 22 percent of respondents said that they had used marijuana in the past month; in New Hampshire, the corresponding figure was 31 percent – — the highest reported rate of any state participating in the survey.
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Although rates of juvenile crime in most categories are low and falling in New Hampshire, the arrest rate of juveniles for drug crimes is the ninth highest in the country and rising. Drug charges against New Hampshire’s juveniles rose by 18 percent between 2000 and 2002.
Who knew?
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Dr. Aaron White from the Duke University Medical Center has written a 14-page article entitled “Rethinking Underage Drinking” that is one of the best and most comprehensive discussions on underage drinking found anywhere. Although Dr. White discussed numerous informational “gems,” two really stand out regarding underage drinking.
First, there is a strong relationship between the age at which a person starts to drink alcohol and the likelihood of becoming dependent. More specifically, according to a study undertaken in July of 2006 by NIH, teens who started drinking alcohol by the age of 14 were roughly 5 times more likely to become dependent on alcohol at some point in their life (47%) compared to those who had their first drink at age 21 or older (9%).
Second, intentionally or accidentally ingesting more than one or two drinks per day increases one’s risk to a variety of dangers including high blood pressure, stroke, alcoholism, suicide, obesity, breast cancer, and accidents. Based on these and other risks, the American Heart Association states that people should not start drinking if they do not already drink alcohol.
I would hope that the New Hampshire teens who are involved in alcohol and/or drug abuse learn about these two important alcohol-related issues. And I would also hope that the New Hampshire drug and alcohol authorities put Dr. White’s article at the top of their reading list.
Source: http://www.duke.edu/~amwhite/underage_drinking.pdf
DenMan7
http://www.alcoholics-info.com
[tags]alcoholism, alcohol abuse, alcohol addiction[/tags]
This article is really good information to all , It is best and most comprehensive discussions on underage drinking found anywhere.The NHS Information Center said.There has also been a 20% rise in the number of GP prescriptions for treating alcohol dependency in the past four years.Really i would hope that the New Hampshire teens who are involved in alcohol and/or drug abuse learn about these two important alcohol-related issues.
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lora
Addiction Recovery New Hampshire