NCJ Number
202183
Date Published
September 2003
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This report presents the findings of the CASA (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse) 2003 National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse VIII: Teen and Parents, with attention to the extent to which marijuana is part of the life of a teenage tobacco smoker.
Abstract
The study found that teens who smoked cigarettes were 14 times likelier than nonsmokers to try marijuana. Among teens who reported having tried marijuana, nonsmokers were likelier to have tried marijuana only once. Teens who had tried marijuana and were cigarette smokers at the time of the survey were 60 percent likelier to have been repeat marijuana users. Teens who were smokers at the time of the survey were six times likelier than those who had never smoked cigarettes to report that they could buy marijuana in an hour or less. Fifty-five percent of the teens who were smokers at the time of the survey reported more than half their friends used marijuana, compared with only 3 percent of nonsmokers. Among teens who were repeat marijuana users, 60 percent tried cigarettes first. Seventy-percent of the teens believed that a teen who smokes cigarettes is more likely to use marijuana. 8 figures and appended survey methodology and the questionnaire