NCJ Number
144336
Date Published
1993
Length
58 pages
Annotation
Residents of the District of Columbia ages 18 and older were surveyed in 1992 on various issues related to drug abuse and crime
Abstract
The data were gathered through telephone interviews with 601 residents. The results were analyzed by geographic area, age, race, gender, education, income, employment status, and marital status. Results revealed that 33 percent of the participants know an individual who uses illegal drugs; 15 percent personally know a drug dealer. Fifty-four percent personally know an alcohol abuser. Sixty percent believed that marijuana use involved no risk or a slight risk; 73 percent had the same views regarding the occasional drinking of alcohol. Seventy-three percent would like to see drug abuse handled medically. Little general support was found for a general curfew without an emergency. Participants generally favored summer training and summer jobs for youth; 71 percent expressed support for some level of tax increase to go towards the efforts to combat drugs. The family was chosen by more than half the respondents as the most helpful in fighting drugs, while the police and courts were chosen by only one-tenth. Although participants were pessimistic about the future of drug abuse, they expressed willingness to support efforts to combat drug abuse and crime. Tables, figures, appended tables, and survey instrument