Political Quotes

“it is with great sadness and concern that I report that more and more kids are turning to drugs. Recently released annual studies that track drug use trends among youth and adults are indicating rapid increases in drug use among all age groups. The most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicates drug use among people aged 12 and older increased by 9 percent since 2008. According to this survey, over 7 million people in the past year are estimated to have used drugs. Among these numbers, it is estimated that over 4 million people have abused marijuana, which is well over half of all drug abusers in this survey. Even more disturbing are the rapid increases in drug use among America's youth. New figures from the Monitoring the Future Study, which is conducted by the University of Michigan and surveys school age kids' drug use from 8th grade to 12th grade, have shot up significantly. The rapid increases are due to higher use rates of marijuana among all age groups. Among the youngest surveyed, marijuana use jumped to 16 percent from 14.5 percent in the past year. Marijuana use has increased so much among high school seniors that more are now smoking marijuana than tobacco in the past 30 days. According to this survey, more than one in three high school seniors have smoked marijuana in the past year. Also troubling are the increases in the use of ecstasy, heroin, and the ongoing high abuse rates of prescription and over-the-counter medicines.”