Table 10. Percent of Adolescents Ages 12 to 17 Reporting Drug Use, 1991(9) Older teens are even more likely to report illicit drug use, as indicated by data from the National High School Senior Drug Survey in Table 11. (q) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Population Estimates 1991. 1991. Psychotherapeutics include use of prescription-type stimulant, sedative, tranquilizer, or analgesic, excluding over-the-counter drugs. Table 11. Percent of High School Class of 1990 Reporting Drug Use(r) In 1991, the Department of Health and Human Services reported that eight million junior and senior high school students (nearly 40% of this population) reported weekly consumption of alcohol, including 5.4 million students who had "binged" with five or more drinks in a row, and 454,000 who reported an average weekly consumption of 15 drinks.? 77 Adolescents who may be at highest risk of injecting drug use or risky sexual behavior related to alcohol or drug using behavior include youngsters who have engaged in prostitution, are runaways or are homeless, have been detained or incarcerated, or have been abused." 78 It is important to note that the High School Senior Survey (r) NIDA. Drug Use Among American High School Seniors, College Students and Young Adults, 1975-1990 - Vol. 1: High School Seniors. Rockville, MD. 1991. Percents for inhalants are not adjusted for known underreporting of amyl and butyl nitrates. Only drug use which was not under a doctor's orders is included for opiates, stimulants, sedatives, and tranquilizers. included only adolescents who attended high school. However, drug use has been documented at significantly higher levels among certain segments of the teenage population, many of whom do not attend school. Similarly, while the 1990 National Household Survey sample included adolescent school dropouts living at home and persons living in homeless shelters, it does not include runaways, transient populations (such as homeless youth not in shelters), or those who were detained or incarcerated. Crack Use Linked To Spread of HIV Crack (a smokable form of cocaine) is believed to play an important role in the HIV epidemic due to its highly addictive properties and its association with increases in an individual's sexual drive and subsequent increases in unprotected sexual activity.80 According to the Chairman of the National Commission on AIDS, June Osborne, crack use is thought to have contributed to high levels of HIV and other STDs in a number of states including New York, New Jersey, and Georgia.81 A study of 222 African-American teenage crack users from San Francisco and Oakland found that 96% were sexually active, 62% had sold crack, 51% had combined crack use and sex, 41% reported a history of STDs, and 25% had exchanged sexual favors for drugs or money. While the average age of first intercourse was 12.8 years among the study population, the age at first condom use was 14.8 years. (See Chapter III for further analysis of drug use among youth and its role in the HIV epidemic.) 82 Endnotes 1 2 Institute of Medicine. Report of a Study: The AIDS Research Conclusion by Select Committee based on the evidence presented 3 4 5 Research Meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, New York City, March. (Cited by Miller, H.G., et al. (eds.) 1990. op cit.); Remafedi, G.J. "Preventing the Sexual Transmission of AIDS During Adolescence." Journal of Adolescent Health Care. Vol. 9. No. 2. March 1988; Jaffe, L.R., et al. "Anal Intercourse and Knowledge of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Among Minority-Group Female Adolescents." Journal of Pediatrics. Vol. 112. 1988. (Cited by Miller, H.G., et al. (eds.) 1990. op cit.); Kegeles, S., et al. "AIDS Risk Behavior Among Sexually Active Hispanic and Caucasian Adolescent Females." Presented at the Fifth International Conference on AIDS, Montreal, June 4-9, 1989. (As Reported in Miller, H.G., et al. (eds.) 1990. op cit.); U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute on Drug Abuse [NIDA]. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Population Estimates 1991. 1991; NIDA. Drug Use Among American High School Seniors, College Students and Young Adults, 1975-1990 - Vol. 1: High School Seniors. Rockville, MD. 1991; Fullilove, R.E., et al. "Crack Users: The New AIDS Risk Group?" Cancer Detection and Prevention. Vol. 14. Issue 3. 1990. Peterman, T.A. and Petersen, L.R. "Stalking the Epidemic: Miller, H.G., et al. (eds.) 1990. op cit. Peterman and Petersen. 1990. op cit. 8 9 Miller, H.G., et al. (eds.) 1990. op cit. Conway, G.A., et al. "Under-reporting of AIDS Cases in South Miller, H.G., et al. (eds.) 1990. op cit.; Hein, K. Personal |