NCJ Number
200077
Date Published
February 2002
Length
126 pages
Annotation
This report on the 2001 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey provides the data necessary to assess the extent of drug use among the State's children and is intended to help identify the risk factors that are contributing to this epidemic and the protective factors that buffer children from alcohol and other drug abuse.
Abstract
The Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey was administered to nearly 9,000 students in grades 6 through 12 in the spring of 2001. A total of 73 middle schools and 73 high schools supported the survey effort by providing access to their students. The survey findings show a promising overall drop in the use of the traditional hard drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD. Additionally, tobacco use is down across all grade levels. These findings indicate progress toward the State's goal of cutting substance abuse in half by 2005. Despite this overall progress, there are still problems that must be addressed; for example, even as high school students' use of marijuana has declined, its use by middle school students is increasing. Marijuana use tends to be viewed by students as an acceptable and relatively harmless substance. This indicates a need for education of students about the true danger of this gateway drug. Club drugs were included in the survey for the first time in 2001. Middle and high school students were found to rarely use most of the club drugs; however, 2.7 percent of the students surveyed had used ecstasy in the last month, and 12.3 percent of high school seniors had used it at some time in their lives. Extensive tabular and graphic data, 19 references, and appended social development strategy, risk and protective factors, and sample survey items