(Non-Recreational Adolescent Marijuana Use) "The findings of this study provide one of the first in-depth descriptions of youths' use of marijuana for non-recreational purposes, adding to the growing body of research on the use of drugs to self-medicate among young people. Teens involved in regular and long-term use of marijuana for relief constructed their use of marijuana as essential to feeling better or 'normal' in situations where they perceived there were few other options available to them.

(Arrests at Schools and Colleges) "The most common offense code reported in arrestee records was simple assault – a crime against persons, followed by drug/narcotic violations – a crime against society. These two arrest offense codes were reportedly associated with more than half (52.2 percent) of the total arrestees. Destruction/damage/vandalism of property accounted for a relatively small portion of arrestees (6.6 percent). All other larceny and burglary, both crimes against property, involved 5.8 and 5.0 percent of the arrestees, respectively.

(Alcohol and Other Drug Involvement in Criminal Offenses at Schools and Colleges) "Table 9 provides the reported instances in each offense record in which the offenders were suspected of using alcohol, computers, and/or drugs.²² The data show that such use was minimal in situations occurring at schools during the 5-year study period. Of the 589,534 offense records, reports of offenders suspected of using drugs totaled 32,366, while reports of alcohol use totaled 5,844."

(Arrests for Drug Abuse Violations) There were an estimated 195,700 arrests of young people for drug abuse violations in 2007.
"Between 1990 and 1997, the juvenile arrest rate for drug abuse violations increased 145%. The rate declined 21% between 1997 and 2007, but the 2007 rate was still almost double the 1990 rate.

(Children with Parents in Prison) "Since 1991, the number of children with a mother in prison has more than doubled, up 131%. The number of children with a father in prison has grown by 77%. This finding reflects a faster rate of growth in the number of mothers held in state and federal prisons (up 122%), compared to the number of fathers (up 76%) between 1991 and midyear 2007.

(Adverse Effects of Substance Use on Academic Performance) "In the United States in the 1970s and 1980s, cannabis use appears to have increased the risk of discontinuing a high school education, and of experiencing job instability in young adulthood (Newcombe and Bentler, 1988). The apparent strength of these relationships in cross-sectional studies (e.g.

(Risky Behavior and Substance Use) "In commenting on problem behaviors among youth, Jessor and Jessor (1975) and later Jessor (1984) argued that adolescence is a period in which youth reject conventionality and traditional authority figures in an effort to establish their own independence. For a significant number of adolescents, this rejection consists of engaging in a number of 'risky' behaviors, including drug and alcohol use.

(Effectiveness of Federal Prevention Messages, 1998) "Youths who used illicit drugs in the past year were significantly less likely than youths who had not used drugs to report that they received prevention messages in a special class about alcohol or other drugs at school or as part of another regular class, such as a health class, although these differences were not large.

(Past Year Marijuana Use and Exposure to Prevention Messages, by Race/Ethnicity)
"• Exposure to prevention messages in the media was significantly associated with lower odds of past year marijuana use for whites and Hispanics, but not for blacks or youths in the 'other' category.
"• Higher levels of parental communication about substance use were significantly associated with lower odds of past year marijuana use among Hispanic youths, but not among youths of other racial/ethnic groups.

(Exposure to Prevention Messages by Youth In and Outside of School, 2012)