Local high school marijuana use rates

From the 2010 Healthy Youth Survey results . . .

While youth marijuana use rates have increased statewide, they have not increased in NE Seattle.  Following are marijuana use rates among high school students in our community.  The charts show local (Hale and Roosevelt) results compared to Washington State averages.

Nathan Hale High School
2008 10th grade: 29.3%

2010 10th grade: 21.4%

2008 12th grade: 37.5%

2010 12th grade: 33%

Roosevelt High School

2008 10th grade: 19.8%

2010 10th grade: 22.7%

2008 12th grade: 33.8%

2010 12th grade: 27.5%

 
Full local results are posted on the Prevention WINS website.  Below are high school marijuana use rates for the state and the school district.
 
Washington State
2008 10th grade: 19%
2010 10th grade: 20%
 
2008 12th grade: 23%
2010 12th grade: 26%
 
 
Seattle Public Schools
2008 10th grade: 24.8%
2010 10th grade: 21.7%
 
2008 12th grade: 35.1%
2010 12th grade: 30.3%

2010 Healthy Youth Survey: NE Seattle high school underage drinking rates decrease

Seattle Public Schools released results of the 2010 Washington State Healthy Youth Survey (HYS) yesterday which delivered some good news: underage drinking rates are down since 2008. 

Below are charts summarizing the regular alcohol use rates among students at Eckstein Middle School, Nathan Hale High School and Roosevelt High School.  Dark green bars represent local (Eckstein, Hale or Roosevelt) rates compared to state average rates in light green.

Eckstein Middle School

Nathan Hale High School

Roosevelt High School

Full 2010 Healthy Youth Survey results for all three schools are posted on the Prevention WINS website.

What teenagers think adults think about youth alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use

These charts show the percent of King County and Washington State 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students who report that adults in their neighborhoods think youth alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use is "very wrong".  As you see, the older children get, the less likely they are to think adults disapprove of drug use.  

Source: 2010 Healthy Youth Survey.  King County results are posted on the Prevention WINS website.

Youth perceive risk of harm from tobacco and use it at lower rates than alcohol and marijuana

These charts show the percent of King County and Washington State students in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 who report great risk of harm from using different substances.  (Source: 2010 Healthy Youth Survey -- HYS.)  Results from the 2010 HYS also show that tobacco use rates among youth are much lower than the rates of youth alcohol and marijuana use.

Teenagers find it easy to get alcohol

State and King County results from the 2010 Healthy Youth Survey (HYS) were recently released.  Among the questions that students in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 were asked is how difficult it would be to get alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana.  As is shown in the charts above,  perceived availability declines significantly for all substances as children get older.  HYS results also show that adolescents find it easier to get alcohol and cigarettes, both legal and regulated, than it is to get marijuana.

Marijuana use rates among WA high school seniors increases, higher than national average

Though the rates of marijuana use among Washington State high school seniors dropped between 2000-2003, it has steadily increased since then.  (Source: 2010 Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Drug Abuse Trends in Washington State, page 41.)

As I posted yesterday about 2010 Healthy Youth Survey results, fewer Washington State students perceive that it is risky to use marijuana.  Research has shown that as perceptions of risk decrease, use increases.

I don't want to suggest that Seattle policy affects the rest of the state, but I do want to point out that I-75, the Seattle initiative that made marijuana the city's lowest law-enforcement priority, was passed in 2003.  Last year, Washington legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Currently, our state is in the midst of a debate about marijuana legalization.  A research-based risk factor for youth substance abuse is community norms favorable to drugs.  As we continue our conversations about marijuana policy, it behooves us to consider what messages our children are getting from them. 

2010 Healthy Youth Survey results available online

Statewide results from the 2010 Healthy Youth Survey are now available on the Department of Health website. 

According to the survey, given in October to all 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in Washington, more students are making healthier choices by avoiding alcohol. In the past 20 years, there’s been a big drop in 8th and 10th graders who report drinking alcohol in the past 30 days. Since 1990, youth drinking is down for 8th graders by over half, from 29 to 14 percent in 2010. Drinking among 10th graders has dropped from 44 to 28 percent. Since 2008, about 20,000 more youth in 8th, 10th, and 12th grade report that their parents talked to them about not drinking alcohol.


While our state has made gains in preventing underage drinking, the same cannot be said for youth marijuana use. 

-- Marijuana use among 12th graders increased from 23% to 26% (compared to 20% of 12th graders who smoke cigarettes).

-- Fewer students believe regular use of marijuana is a great risk: down from 63% to 59% among 8th graders; from 52% to 46% among 10th th graders.   As perception of harm goes down, drug use increases.


Statewide data is available online.  Seattle Public Schools anticipates releasing school-level data in April.