NATIONAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY ON DRUG ABUSE: marijuana tables

1997 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse

Discussion

In 1997, marijuana continued to be the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. Approximately one-third of Americans in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population aged 12 or older used marijuana at some time in their lifetime, and 5% or 11 million users could be considered current users. The findings in this chapter show that recent (i.e., past year) and current (i.e., past month) marijuana use were more likely among young adult males aged 18 to 25 than all other age-gender groups. About one in six males in the 18 to 25 age group was a current marijuana user. Additionally, current marijuana use tended to be lowest in the Northeast and among college graduates, and highest among the unemployed. The relationship, however, of marijuana use and the various demographic characteristics should be investigated carefully. The interrelationships among several of these variables are likely to be complex. For example, race/ethnicity is intricately associated with educational attainment and employment status. Multivariate analyses would permit a more thorough examination of the independent contributions of individual demographic characteristics in determining marijuana use.

Some noteworthy findings from this chapter concern marijuana use among adolescents (i.e., those aged 12 to 17). First, the prevalence of marijuana use among this age group appears to have generally been increasing since the early 1990s. Specifically, between 1996 and 1997, past year use increased from 13% to 16% and current use increased from 7% to 9%. Data also show that the largest age differentials in percentages of individuals reporting past year and current marijuana use occur in the teenage years, with rates quadrupling between the ages of 12 to 13 and 14 to 15, and then doubling at ages 16 to 17. Additionally, the mean age at first use of marijuana gradually decreased; in 1997, the current mean age of first use of marijuana was 16.4 years, down from 19.4 years in 1986 (OAS, 1998c, Table 38). Another important finding is that the percentage of adolescents who reported using marijuana on an almost daily basis nearly doubled between 1994 and 1997 (11% in 1994 vs. 21% in 1997; OAS, 1998d, Table 204A). Finally, data show that adolescents who used marijuana in the past month were much more likely to use other illicit drugs (as well as alcohol and tobacco) than were those who did not. Taken together, these findings strongly suggest the need for increased efforts to discourage marijuana use among adolescents and thereby reverse these recent trends in youth marijuana use.

Table 3.1 Percentage Reporting Marijuana Use in Their Lifetime, by Age Group and Demographic Characteristics: 1997


Demographic Characteristic	Age Group in Years				Total
Demographic Characteristic	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total

Total	18.9	41.5	47.9	29.4	32.9

Gender
Male	19.5	46.6	53.4	34.8	37.8
Female	18.2	36.2	42.5	24.7	28.3
Race/Ethnicity¹
White, non-Hispanic	19.6	46.7	55.4	31.2	35.6
Black, non-Hispanic	16.1	31.6	36.9	27.9	28.5
Hispanic	16.7	26.6	25.3	21.0	22.3
Population Density
Large metro	19.0	42.1	46.1	31.8	34.4
Small metro	20.9	42.5	51.6	30.0	34.0
Nonmetro	15.6	38.7	46.1	24.4	28.2
Region
Northeast	16.1	42.2	48.0	28.6	31.9
North Central	17.9	42.5	50.7	31.3	34.8
South	18.3	39.4	44.4	26.4	30.1
West	23.0	43.8	50.5	33.7	36.6
Adult Education²
Less than high school	N/A	44.1	44.1	18.4	26.0
High school graduate	N/A	39.6	46.9	26.7	32.2
Some college	N/A	42.7	54.2	36.9	41.5
College graduate	N/A	38.6	45.0	35.4	37.6
Current Employment³
Full-time	N/A	44.6	49.0	40.8	43.3
Part-time	N/A	38.1	51.4	29.4	35.7
Unemployed	N/A	39.2	52.1	48.0	46.5
Other⁴	N/A	38.9	39.3	12.9	17.7

Note: Due to improved procedures implemented in 1994, these estimates are not comparable with those presented in NHSDA Main Findings prior to 1994.

N/A: Not applicable.

¹ The category "other" for race/ethnicity is not included.
² Data on adult education are not applicable for youths aged 12 to 17. Total refers to adults aged 18 or older (unweighted n=16,661).
³ Data on current employment are not applicable for youths aged 12 to 17. Total refers to adults aged 18 or older (unweighted n=16,661).
⁴ Retired, disabled, homemaker, student, or "other."
Source: Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997.

Table 3.2 Percentage Reporting Marijuana Use in the Past Year, by Age Group and Demographic Characteristics: 1997


Demographic Characteristic	Age Group in Years				Total
Demographic Characteristic	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total

Total	15.8	22.3	11.2	4.4	9.0

Gender
Male	15.9	27.9	14.2	6.4	11.6
Female	15.6	16.6	8.3	2.7	6.5
Race/Ethnicity¹
White, non-Hispanic	16.3	24.2	12.6	4.5	9.1
Black, non-Hispanic	13.4	20.0	11.9	5.3	9.9
Hispanic	13.8	13.9	5.5	4.0	7.5
Population Density
Large metro	15.8	22.8	12.7	4.4	9.4
Small metro	17.7	23.9	9.9	4.8	9.5
Nonmetro	12.7	19.0	9.7	3.8	7.5
Region
Northeast	14.1	20.9	8.3	3.7	7.3
North Central	16.3	22.6	14.0	5.0	10.1
South	14.0	21.1	10.5	3.0	7.8
West	19.4	25.6	11.6	6.8	11.4
Adult Education²
Less than high school	N/A	24.5	12.8	4.3	8.6
High school graduate	N/A	23.5	11.7	4.3	8.5
Some college	N/A	21.9	11.9	5.3	9.9
College graduate	N/A	15.3	9.1	3.9	5.7
Current Employment³
Full-time	N/A	21.0	11.1	5.8	9.0
Part-time	N/A	23.9	10.8	3.0	10.5
Unemployed	N/A	27.1	22.9	15.6	20.3
Other⁴	N/A	21.8	7.8	1.9	4.3

Note: Due to improved procedures implemented in 1994, these estimates are not comparable with those presented in NHSDA Main Findings prior to 1994.

N/A: Not applicable.

¹ The category "other" for race/ethnicity is not included.
² Data on adult education are not applicable for youths aged 12 to 17. Total refers to adults aged 18 or older (unweighted n=16,661).
³ Data on current employment are not applicable for youths aged 12 to 17. Total refers to adults aged 18 or older (unweighted n=16,661).
⁴ Retired, disabled, homemaker, student, or "other."
Source: Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997.

Table 3.3 Percentage Reporting Marijuana Use in the Past Month, by Age Group and Demographic Characteristics: 1997


Demographic Characteristic	Age Group in Years				Total
Demographic Characteristic	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total

Total	9.4	12.8	6.0	2.6	5.1

Gender
Male	10.3	17.4	7.7	3.7	7.0
Female	8.4	8.2	4.2	1.5	3.5
Race/Ethnicity¹
White, non-Hispanic	9.8	13.4	6.9	2.6	5.2
Black, non-Hispanic	9.1	14.1	5.7	3.1	6.1
Hispanic	8.4	7.8	2.4	2.1	4.0
Population Density
Large metro	10.0	13.1	7.2	1.9	5.1
Small metro	10.2	14.9	4.2	3.2	5.6
Nonmetro	7.2	9.2	5.7	2.7	4.4
Region
Northeast	9.6	11.9	3.2	1.7	3.8
North Central	10.4	12.2	8.8	3.6	6.3
South	8.4	12.2	4.8	1.9	4.5
West	9.8	15.6	6.9	3.4	6.2
Adult Education²
Less than high school	N/A	15.0	8.3	2.4	5.2
High school graduate	N/A	12.8	5.5	2.9	4.8
Some college	N/A	13.0	6.7	2.7	5.5
College graduate	N/A	8.2	4.5	2.1	3.0
Current Employment³
Full-time	N/A	11.5	5.9	3.3	5.0
Part-time	N/A	14.2	7.4	2.1	6.6
Unemployed	N/A	16.9	12.1	*	12.2
Other⁴	N/A	12.9	3.1	1.1	2.4

Note: Due to improved procedures implemented in 1994, these estimates are not comparable with those presented in NHSDA Main Findings prior to 1994.

*Low precision; no estimate reported.
N/A: Not applicable.

Table 3.4 Percentage Reporting Marijuana Use in Their Lifetime, the Past Year, and the Past Month, by Age: 1997


		Time Period
Age Group in Years	(Unweighted n)	Lifetime	Past Year	Past Month

Total	(24,505)	32.9	9.0	5.1

12-17 Years	(7,844)	18.9	15.8	9.4
12-13	(2,506)	4.4	4.0	2.5
14-15	(2,750)	18.6	15.7	9.2
16-17	(2,588)	33.3	27.4	16.3
18-25 Years	(6,239)	41.5	22.3	12.8
18-20	(2,404)	40.0	26.9	15.4
21-25	(3,835)	42.4	19.3	11.1
26-34 Years	(4,387)	47.9	11.2	6.0
26-29	(1,875)	44.9	13.6	6.3
30-34	(2,512)	50.2	9.4	5.7
35+ Years	(6,035)	29.4	4.4	2.6
35-39	(1,232)	55.9	11.5	6.9
40-44	(1,081)	50.2	7.5	3.7
45-49	(911)	42.6	4.9	3.4
50+	(2,811)	11.2	1.0	0.6

Note: Due to improved procedures implemented in 1994, these estimates are not comparable with those presented in NHSDA Main Findings prior to 1994.
Source: Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997.

Table 3.5 Percentage Reporting Marijuana Use in Their Lifetime, the Past Year, and the Past Month, by Age Group, Race/Ethnicity, and Gender: 1997


Race/Ethnicity¹ and Gender	Age Group in Years				Total
Race/Ethnicity¹ and Gender	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total
(Unweighted n)
White, non-Hispanic male	(1,957)	(1,381)	(781)	(1,488)	(5,607)
Black, non-Hispanic male	(651)	(392)	(409)	(360)	(1,812)
Hispanic male	(1,025)	(826)	(531)	(497)	(2,879)

White, non-Hispanic female	(2,013)	(1,585)	(1,158)	(2,080)	(6,836)
Black, non-Hispanic female	(695)	(670)	(775)	(687)	(2,827)
Hispanic female	(1,061)	(1,037)	(603)	(679)	(3,380)
A. Used Marijuana in Their Lifetime
White, non-Hispanic male	19.9	51.4	60.8	35.4	39.8
Black, non-Hispanic male	19.2	35.5	41.6	39.6	36.3
Hispanic male	19.1	33.0	32.1	28.4	28.8

White, non-Hispanic female	19.3	41.8	50.0	27.4	31.6
Black, non-Hispanic female	13.2	28.1	33.0	19.0	22.2
Hispanic female	14.1	19.6	17.7	14.0	15.7
B. Used Marijuana in the Past Year
White, non-Hispanic male	16.4	30.4	16.2	6.6	12.0
Black, non-Hispanic male	15.4	23.4	14.2	6.8	12.2
Hispanic male	15.4	18.7	8.0	4.7	9.5

White, non-Hispanic female	16.2	17.7	9.0	2.5	6.4
Black, non-Hispanic female	11.4	17.0	10.0	4.2	8.1
Hispanic female	12.1	8.6	2.8	3.4	5.4
C. Used Marijuana in the Past Month
White, non-Hispanic male	10.4	18.5	9.4	3.9	7.2
Black, non-Hispanic male	11.3	17.3	6.4	3.7	7.5
Hispanic male	10.2	11.5	3.4	1.7	5.1

White, non-Hispanic female	9.0	8.1	4.5	1.4	3.3
Black, non-Hispanic female	7.0	11.3	5.2	2.6	4.9
Hispanic female	6.4	3.8	1.3	*	3.0

Note: Due to improved procedures implemented in 1994, these estimates are not comparable with those presented in NHSDA Main Findings prior to 1994.

*Low precision; no estimate reported.

¹ The category "other" for race/ethnicity is not included.

Source: Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997.

Table 3.6 Percentage Distribution of Days of Marijuana Use in Their Lifetime for the Total Sample and for Marijuana Users, by Age Group: 1997


Days Used Marijuana in Their Lifetime	Age Group in Years				Total
Days Used Marijuana in Their Lifetime	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total

A. Total Sample
Did not use	81.1	58.5	52.1	70.6	67.1
1-2 days	4.5	9.9	10.6	6.8	7.6
3-11 days	4.3	9.3	11.6	6.8	7.6
12-100 days	4.5	10.0	12.5	7.0	8.0
$101 days	5.5	12.2	13.0	8.8	9.6
Used in lifetime/ days not reported	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.1
	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

B. Used Marijuana at Least Once in Their Lifetime
(Unweighted n)	(1,594)	(2,524)	(1,845)	(1,776)	(7,739)
1-2 days	23.8	23.9	22.3	23.3	23.2
3-11 days	22.9	22.4	24.3	23.1	23.2
12-100 days	23.8	24.1	26.2	23.7	24.4
$101 days	29.5	29.6	27.2	29.9	29.2
	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

Note 1: Because of rounding, column percentages for Parts A and B may not total 100.0%. Estimates for persons who used marijuana at least once exclude those who did not report the number of days they used marijuana.

Note 2: Due to improved procedures implemented in 1994, these estimates are not comparable with those presented in NHSDA Main Findings prior to 1994.

Source: Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997.

Table 3.7 Percentage Distribution of Days of Marijuana Use in the Past Month for the Total Sample and for Past Month Marijuana Users, by Age Group: 1997


Days of Use in the Past Month	Age Group in Years				Total
Days of Use in the Past Month	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total

A. Total Sample
Did not use	90.6	87.2	94.0	97.4	94.9
1-2 days	3.2	4.1	1.8	1.0	1.8
3-4 days	1.4	1.5	0.7	0.2	0.6
5-19 days	2.3	3.4	1.9	0.5	1.3
20-30 days	1.8	3.4	1.1	0.6	1.1
Used in past month/ days not reported	0.7	0.5	0.4	0.2	0.4
	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

B. Used Marijuana at Least Once in the Past Month
(Unweighted n)	(695)	(740)	(243)	(125)	(1,803)
1-2 days	36.9	33.2	33.2	*	37.3
3-4 days	15.7	12.2	13.3	*	12.6
5-19 days	26.5	27.3	34.4	20.7	26.6
20-30 days	20.9	27.2	19.0	*	23.5
	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

Note 2: Due to improved procedures implemented in 1994, these estimates are not comparable with those presented in NHSDA Main Findings prior to 1994.
*Low precision; no estimate reported.

Source: Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997.

Table 3.8 Percentage Reporting Use of Selected Drugs in the Past Month, by Age Group and Marijuana Use in the Past Month: 1997


Age Group in Years/ Drugs Used in the Past Month	Marijuana Use in the Past Month		Total
Age Group in Years/ Drugs Used in the Past Month	No¹	Yes	Total
Total
(Unweighted n)	(22,580)	(1,925)	(24,505)
Alcohol	49.5	86.3	51.4
Cigarettes	27.2	74.9	29.6
Drugs other than marijuana	1.4	24.6	2.6
Nonmedical use of any psychotherapeutic²	0.7	10.5	1.2
Cocaine	0.3	8.0	0.7
12-17 Years
(Unweighted n)	(7,087)	(757)	(7,844)
Alcohol	14.0	82.6	20.5
Cigarettes	13.7	79.4	19.9
Drugs other than marijuana	2.3	33.5	5.2
Nonmedical use of any psychotherapeutic²	1.0	12.5	2.1
Cocaine	0.2	8.7	1.0
18-25 Years
(Unweighted n)	(5,461)	(778)	(6,239)
Alcohol	53.5	92.1	58.4
Cigarettes	34.9	79.2	40.6
Drugs other than marijuana	2.1	27.6	5.4
Nonmedical use of any psychotherapeutic²	1.0	11.8	2.4
Cocaine	0.4	6.7	1.2
26-34 Years
(Unweighted n)	(4,131)	(256)	(4,387)
Alcohol	58.3	90.3	60.2
Cigarettes	31.2	72.5	33.7
Drugs other than marijuana	1.5	23.4	2.8
Nonmedical use of any psychotherapeutic²	0.8	12.1	1.4
Cocaine	0.3	9.2	0.9
35+ Years
(Unweighted n)	(5,901)	(134)	(6,035)
Alcohol	52.1	*	52.8
Cigarettes	26.8	*	27.9
Drugs other than marijuana	1.0	16.4	1.4
Nonmedical use of any psychotherapeutic²	0.6	6.8	0.8
Cocaine	0.3	8.1	0.5

Note: Due to improved procedures implemented in 1994, these estimates are not comparable with those presented in NHSDA Main Findings prior to 1994.
*Low precision; no estimate reported.

¹Includes respondents who reported never using marijuana, as well as those who reported previous but not past month use.

² Nonmedical use of any prescription-type stimulant, sedative, tranquilizer, or analgesic; does not include over-the-counter
drugs.
Source: Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997.

Table 3.9 Percentage Reporting Marijuana Use in Their Lifetime, People Present, and Reasons for Using Marijuana the First Time, by Age Group: 1997


People Present/ Reasons for First Use	Age Group in Years				Total
People Present/ Reasons for First Use	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total

A. Used Marijuana in Their Lifetime
(Unweighted n)¹	(1,555)	(2,443)	(1,771)	(1,686)	(7,455)

B. Other People Present When Used Marijuana the First Time²
I was alone	2.9	2.2	1.2	1.3	1.5
With boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse	15.0	17.1	16.6	19.4	18.1
With friend(s)	83.1	83.8	83.8	81.3	82.4
With someone I just met	11.1	5.5	3.3	1.7	3.3
With my brother(s) or sister(s)	13.0	6.6	9.5	5.3	7.0
With my father	0.9	1.0	0.4	0.1	0.4
With my mother	0.8	1.1	0.5	0.1	0.4
With other relative(s)	7.7	6.3	4.3	3.3	4.3
Some other person/people	2.6	1.3	1.6	1.3	1.4
No information given	2.5	1.6	1.2	1.5	1.5

C. Reasons for Using Marijuana the First Time³
(Unweighted n)⁴	(1,519)	(2,410)	(1,746)	(1,670)	(7,345)
I wanted to see what it was like	88.5	92.5	89.0	89.5	89.8
I thought it would make me feel good	45.6	45.5	47.9	46.3	46.5
My friends were using it	42.2	48.9	64.8	63.7	60.3
My boyfriend/girlfriend/ spouse wanted me to try it	11.2	11.6	14.6	20.6	17.1
I wanted to get away from my problems or troubles	17.0	8.6	6.6	6.1	7.3
I was bored and wanted to try something new	36.6	25.0	19.5	16.5	19.8
I wanted to disobey the people who told me not to use it	9.5	4.0	5.2	4.4	4.8
Some other reason	7.7	3.9	4.3	3.1	3.8

¹ Unweighted number of respondents in Part A represents those who reported on the "Drug Experiences" answer sheet that they used marijuana in their lifetime.
² The sum of column percentages across different persons may exceed 100% because each respondent could indicate that persons from multiple categories were present.
³ The sum of column percentages across reasons may exceed 100% because each respondent could indicate that multiple reasons applied.
⁴ Unweighted number of respondents in Part C represents those who answered at least one item either as "Yes" or "No."
Source: Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997.

Table 3.10 Percentage Reporting Marijuana Use in the Past Year and Reasons for Using Marijuana in the Past Year, by Age Group: 1997


Reasons for Use in the Past Year	Age Group in Years				Total
Reasons for Use in the Past Year	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total

A. Used Marijuana in the Past Year
(Unweighted n)¹	(1,105)	(1,188)	(377)	(249)	(2,919)

B. Reasons for Using Marijuana in the Past Year²
(Unweighted n)³	(915)	(940)	(297)	(216)	(2,368)
My friends were using it	53.2	54.6	50.1	*	50.5
My boyfriend/girlfriend/ spouse was using it	16.5	18.1	23.8	24.1	20.9
I wanted to get away from my problems or troubles	21.9	20.3	13.3	11.7	16.4
I used it to relax	44.0	61.2	66.8	*	58.1
A doctor suggested that I use it	1.3	1.5	5.1	3.3	2.7
A doctor prescribed it for me	1.2	0.6	*	1.6	1.3
I used it for pain relief	7.9	14.9	11.7	9.2	11.2
Some other reason	32.4	19.7	14.4	14.0	19.0

Note: Estimates in this table are generated from data collected in quarters 2-4 on a "non-core" section of the 1997 NHSDA questionnaire.

*Low precision; no estimate reported.

¹ Unweighted number of respondents in Part A represents those who reported on the "Drug Experiences" answer sheet that they used marijuana in the past year.
² The sum of column percentages across reasons may exceed 100% because each respondent could indicate that multiple reasons applied.
³ Unweighted number of respondents in Part B represents respondents who answered at least one item either as "Yes" or "No."
Source: Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997 (Q2-Q4).

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