As the number of daily users goes up, a host of problems accompany that. They drop out of school more often, their dependence problems go up, emergency room admissions go up, arrests. Twenty percent of all adolescent homicides involve marijuana. There s a drug component to most significant adolescent problems today. In the last six years, adolescents have told surveyors that drugs are a leading problem they face.
Temptation is there.
Peer pressure is there. Drugs are readily available. You ask the average teenager today and he ll say that marijuana is easier to obtain at school than alcohol or tobacco. And that s tragic. The kids perceive the danger, but they re not going to tell on their friends.