Substance abuse prevention

Facts About Marijuana

Marijuana Use Among Teens - Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How many teens smoke marijuana?

A: Contrary to popular belief, most teenagers do not use marijuana. Among students surveyed in a yearly national survey, only about one in five 10^th graders report that they have used marijuana during the past 30 days. Fewer than one in four high school seniors are a current marijuana user.

Q: How does marijuana affect driving?

A: Marijuana has serious harmful effects on the skills required to drive safely: alertness, the ability to concentrate, coordination, and the ability to react quickly. Marijuana use can make it difficult to judge distances and react to signals and sounds on the road. It can also play a role in car accidents. Data have shown that while smoking marijuana, people show the same lack of coordination on standard “drunk driver” tests as do people who have had too much to drink.

Q: What does marijuana do to the brain?

A: Some studies show that when people have smoked large amounts of marijuana for years, the drug takes its toll on mental functions. Heavy or daily use of marijuana affects the parts of the brain that control memory, attention, and learning. A working short-term memory is needed to learn and perform tasks that call for more than one or two steps.

* South Kingstown 8^th grade statistic includes Curtis Corner Middle School only. At the time of this posting 2004-2005 SALT information for Broad Rock Middle School was not available.

** Rhode Island Statistics are listed for 2003-2004 since at the time of this posting the 2004-2005 are not yet available.