cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Choice Drug for Youth Detainees 





Marijuana Choice Drug for Youth Detainees 
Posted by FoM on January 17, 2001 at 21:10:39 PT
By Steven Gray, Washington Post Staff Writer
Source: Washington Post 
Marijuana was detected in nearly half of Maryland juveniles detained for trial, according to preliminary analysis of a study monitoring drug use by teens.Results of the study, analyzed by Maryland's Drug Early Warning System (DEWS), appear to support what law enforcement and public health authorities have indicated in recent years were signs that marijuana had become the leading drug of choice among juvenile offenders.
In the study, known as the Offender Urinalysis Screening program, marijuana was found in urine samples of 44 percent of those tested at the state Department of Juvenile Justice facility in Baltimore. The drug was found in 29 percent of youths tested in Harford County, 28 percent in Frederick County, 19 percent in Baltimore County and 18 percent in Montgomery County.Overall, 43 percent of youths tested positive for at least one drug, primarily marijuana. About 1 percent tested positive for cocaine, opiates or amphetamines, the study found.The study was based on voluntary, anonymous interviewing and testing of more than 800 juveniles as they entered state detention centers between May 1999 and last June to await trial.The results, researchers noted, are appearing as drug use by teens nationwide, particularly among those from impoverished backgrounds, is at the highest level on record."The trend we've been seeing for a long time is now confirmed with hard figures," said Erin Artigiani, senior researcher at DEWS, the state-funded substance abuse research facility at the University of Maryland at College Park. "These tests give a quick picture of what the emerging drug problems are in this population."The study, conducted within 72 hours of a youth's entry into the justice system, focused on Baltimore City and the four counties cited above. However, similar studies are underway in five other counties, including Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's.In the study, cocaine and opiates were detected in 4 percent of tested juveniles. Youths told researchers that many of their peers see marijuana "the same as cigarettes" and that it is easier to obtain than alcohol because "you need an ID" to purchase beer and liquor.About 1,200 youths are being held to await trial or serve sentences at Maryland's 10 juvenile detention centers, according to Bob Kannenberg, spokesman for the Department of Juvenile Justice.Typically, when a juvenile enters a detention facility, no drug testing occurs but counselors conduct interviews about drug use. If a youth tests positive for a drug after detention or during probation, he or she is placed in a specialized drug treatment program, said Ruth Phillips, administrator for substance abuse.Another recent DEWS study found that use of Ecstasy, a euphoria-inducing synthetic drug, had increased dramatically statewide but particularly among youths, prompting Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend to launch a broad public relations campaign to educate parents and doctors about the stimulant.Researchers said the most recent DEWS study does not necessarily reflect drug use patterns of the general youth population.In November, however, the broadest national study of adolescents found that one in 10, or about 2 million youths, reported that they drink alcohol weekly.One in 12 seventh- and eighth-graders who responded to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health reported drinking alcohol at least two or three times a month. More than four said they had a drink within the last year.Source: Washington Post (DC) Author: Steven Gray, Washington Post Staff WriterPublished: Thursday, January 18, 2001 ; Page T04Address: 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071Copyright: 2001 The Washington Post Company Contact: letterstoed washpost.comWebsite: http://www.washingtonpost.com/Feedback: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm CannabisNews - Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #8 posted by mungojelly on January 20, 2001 at 01:57:20 PT:
this is news?
Sorry, what's the story? Kids smoke marijuana? Duh. You know what IS fascinating about these statistics? They seem to be exactly the opposite of what Mr Liar -- sorry I mean Mr McCaffrey -- ejaculated onto us not that long ago. He said that teen drug use was going down. In fact I recall him saying (I remember this vividly) that there had been a "50% reduction in overall drug use." The fact is that it just does not matter to the drug warriors what the statistics are. They don't follow them as a meaningful barometer of the state of our society; they don't use them as an indicator of their progress, or to determine what strategies are effective/ineffective. The only reason they pay attention to statistics is because they have figured out that they can scare people by quoting them in menacing ways. Drug use goes up: This is horrible! Our society is descending into the abyss! The only way to save ourselves is to give billions of dollars to drug warriors! Drug use goes down: This is wonderful! We are making dramatic progress towards Winning The War On Drugs! Obviously the Drug War is working, and you should continue to give us billions of dollars so we can End Drug Use Once And For All! Heck, in the last McLiar speech I saw, he even tried to present an UNCHANGED statistic as a success for the Drug War. If this is success, I'd hate to see failure. 
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Comment #7 posted by freedom fighter on January 18, 2001 at 16:00:57 PT
specialized drug treatment program
So specialized! For example, "Voices from the GULAGAt the moment of Nicholaus’ death, staff threw a bucket of water on him… They told him "It’s all in your head." When he didn’t respond, they took a closer look. He was dead."http://www.teenaid.org/Voices.htm
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Comment #6 posted by aocp on January 18, 2001 at 10:24:56 PT
Oh yea?
>In November, however, the broadest national study of adolescents found that one in 10, or about 2 million youths, reported that they drink alcohol weekly.Uh oh. Ok. I'm a-gonna dip my slimey, morally-repugnant doper hands into the proheebie-jeebie bible and pull out Theorem 1.1 aka How to Reduce Minors' Use of Psychoactive Substances. If we criminalize the possession, use, and sales of alcoholic beverages to consenting adults (criteria coming FROM the state), minors will have less access for use. Right? RIGHT? Come on antis! Come and tell the forum how booze is a "special case" and so Theorem 1.1 does not apply somehow. Let the tripe roll.
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Comment #5 posted by kaptinemo on January 18, 2001 at 06:24:17 PT:
The elephant in the bedroom
If they weren't so dangerous, you could pity the antis for their lack of perspicacity.They go to great lengths to avoid having to state the obvious. Even when their...own...statistics(!) bear out in stark detail their failures, they continue to suddenly develop laryngitis and can't speak of it:'...marijuana was found in urine samples of 44 percent of those tested at the statDepartment of Juvenile Justice facility in Baltimore. The drug was found in 29 percent of youths tested in Harford County, 28 percent in FrederickCounty, 19 percent in Baltimore County and 18 percent in Montgomery County.'Proof positive that interdiction doesn't work, when nearly half of those rounded up are testing positive. Proof also, that drug use exists in a generation that has heard "Just Say NO" literally from the cradle and throughout their lives. If these young people are supposed to be the first generation (according to the Reaganite social engineers) that would be so inculcated with anti-drug indoctrination that they would be impervious to temptation... well, it doesn't seem to be working, does it? All that taxpayer money, down the toilet.There's a huge elephant with the words "DRUG WAR FAILURE" painted on its side, residing in the antis' own bedroom. But the antis will look in every direction, say any nonsense, and even when you pick them up, turn them in the right direction, and put their noses against the elephant's hide, they will close their eyes and scream that it isn't there.Like I said, they would be pitiable if they weren't so dangerous.
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Comment #4 posted by J.R. Bob Dobbs on January 18, 2001 at 05:12:43 PT
Quacks
>>[Alcohol] is easier to obtain than alcohol because "you need an ID" to purchase beer and liquor.  Since there's no set price for illegal drugs, kids are willing to pay a 300% or more markup over wholesale costs. But if you try to sell them a $5 pint of vodka for $20, they'll look at you funny. 
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Comment #3 posted by observer on January 18, 2001 at 04:45:53 PT
Prohibition's Failure
The results, researchers noted, are appearing as drug use by teens nationwide, particularly among those from impoverished backgrounds, is at the highest level on record.Well, that doesn't mean that our war on drugs has failed! Oh no, to hard-core drug warriors this can only mean one thing: we need to take away more rights from adults! We need more punishments for adults! "We" need to "do" more will be their bipartisan hymn, a tune where those from "both sides of the aisle" can joyously sing, "We want more government!" How do hard core prohibitionists then explain away the fact that none of their freedom-robbing fixes for "the drug problem" have ever worked ("fixes" coincidently, pursuing invariably the same Object: trashing of the Bill of Rights)? If we didn't have this war on drugs, drug warriors assert, to "keep the lid on" the rabble (and provide employment for police/prosecutors/judges/jailers/drug companies/testing companies, etc.), then "they'd" be selling crack in vending machines to Kiddies in kindergarden! The problem, prohibitionists claim, would be far worse should we allow the dopers and pushers to run wild. (Any excuse will do to lock up adults who peacefully use cannabis, a traditional right of all Americans, a right stolen by prohibitionists and political power tripping opportunists only recently in history. Adults who use marijuana responsibly don't deserve prison, they deserve to be left alone!)Needless to say, these kids' access to illegal drugs cannot be reduced with prohibition. Prohibition has failed. It failed to stop Americans from drinking. It has failed to stop or decrease Americans' access to drugs, but prohibition has succeeded in increasing childrens' access to drugs. Even prohibition's organ-trading death-penalties in China have failed to stop the trading and using of various drugs. (American hard-core drug warriors, playing upon the presumed ignorance of their fellows, are fond of touting China, Singapore/Malaysia/etc. as models for a truly "get tough" policy where "we" really "fight the drug war." Scratch the surface of a "we have not yet begun to fight" prohibitionist fanatic, and a fawning affection for the law enforcement methods of communist China will bubble up to the surface of these "patriotic" conservatives. Included below are some links documenting the information about Chinese drug penalties. We can see what prohibitionists really conclude what effects "narcotics" have on the human body.)In mainland communist China: ``Penalties are severe, including capital punishment. Even this does little to stanch the flow of narcotics, so vast are the profits.''http://www.info.gov.hk/police/english/m-his8.htm Organ trafficking in China from executed "criminals":http://www.laogai.org/tstmny/organbib.htm 
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Comment #2 posted by meagain on January 18, 2001 at 04:36:09 PT
Well...
The fact that these kids are some type of juvenile offender is more alarming than the fact they smoke pot.the fact they smoke pot may very well be irrelevant to the crime they commited.Millions of people that smoke pot carry out their day to day life without commiting crimes or causing harm to others.There are a heck of a lot of good people that smoke it. the average person would never even have a clue that a person they know uses it .As a parent I would rather find out my child was smokin pot than doin crack cigarettes coke heroin crank alcohol theft murder rape ....need i go on??
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Comment #1 posted by NiftySplifty on January 17, 2001 at 23:30:03 PT
Tainted tests.
I don't know if these "results" can even be accurate, considering the differing lengths of time in which traces of drugs can be found. Marijuana shows up for a much longer time than the others, let alone alcohol. I'd wager none of the juveniles showed up drunk. Otherwise (if not very recently drinking), they'd be negative for alcohol.Am I right in this assertion? If so, this sure seems like a rather poorly done test, well, at least biased. I'd wager that was by design. See:"Results...appear to support what law enforcement and public health authorities have indicated in recent years were signs that marijuana had become the leading drug of choice among juvenile offenders."I guess that was the point to begin with.Nifty...
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