Whether or not to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana has been one of the most hotly debated policy issues to come onto the U.S. scene over the last decade. This study sought to determine whether decriminalization has had an effect on marijuana use in high school seniors and young adults. In 10 states, marijuana possession…

This document provides critical reviews of 18 computer software programs designed to provide some form of substance abuse education for students in elementary and secondary schools. Evaluation and review procedures used to create this publication are discussed in the introduction and the products which were evaluated are listed. Overall results of…

Project Oz is a not-for-profit special services agency providing drug education and crisis intervention services. Project Oz curricula provide compact and well-researched information for teachers, supplemented by student learning activities that reinforce the lecture portions of the topic. These activities are grade-appropriate and incorporate…

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning for individuals with substance abuse problems. The intent is to provide information to professional counselors in school, rehabilitation, school psychology, social work, public mental health, and private treatment settings. Information to be…

Continuing surveillance of drug use among American Indian adolescents living on reservations shows them to have rates of use higher than those of their non-Indian counterparts. Marijuana use is particularly high. By the seventh grade, a significant number of youth have tried drugs. Few significant gender differences exist. (Author/BJV)

Studies alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use by fourth graders in Washington, DC (n=4,675 in 1988-89 and n=4,678 in 1990-91). Lifetime prevalence of self-reported alcohol use, alcohol use without parental knowledge, and smoking more than a puff of a cigarette declined, although marijuana use and cigarette experimentation did not decline. (SLD)

This article reviews current research on the long-term outcomes of children exposed to alcohol, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and multiple drugs in utero. Differential intervention efforts based primarily on knowledge of a child's intrauterine exposure to drugs were unsupported by available evidence. The use of an ecological model for assessment and…

Examined data from repeated cross-sectional probability surveys of alcohol/drug use conducted biennially since 1979 in Ontario schools to determine relationships between classroom alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis education and student use of these substances. Found strong inverse association between increases in exposure to alcohol and drug…

Investigates group differences in the relationship between stress-coping variables and substance use with urban middle school students. African-American adolescents had the lowest rate of substance use, Hispanics were intermediate, and Whites had the highest rate. The strength of predictive relationships for stress-coping variables was lower for…

Examines substance use trends among rural 12th-grade students, 1976-97, based on the national triennial study "Monitoring the Future." Finds that youth from more rural locations generally displayed lower rates of substance use, but as urbanization spread, differences declined. Compares data on farm, rural nonfarm, and small-town youth in both…

Reported rates of recreational drug use among gay and bisexual men are currently rising. Although there has been much empirical research documenting current trends in drug use among gay and bisexual men, little research has empirically contrasted differential rates across urban epicenters, while even less has addressed racial or ethnic variation…

This study tests the impact of an in-school mediated communication campaign based on social marketing principles, in combination with a participatory, community-based media effort, on marijuana, alcohol and tobacco uptake among middle-school students. Eight media treatment and eight control communities throughout the US were randomly assigned to…

This article documents patterns of take-up of traditional religious and primary school education in Chefchaouen, one of the most disadvantaged provinces in Morocco located in the impoverished northwestern region of the country. First, the author provides some background on the socioeconomic and cultural characteristics of the province of…

Public schools are under increased pressure to implement evidence-based substance abuse prevention programs. A number of model programs have been identified, but little research has examined the effectiveness of these programs when "brought to scale" or implemented district-wide. The current paper summarizes the application of the Adelman and…

This study examined the relation of conduct problems and depressed mood to tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other drug use in 6th through 11th grades. A total of 200 at-risk 6th-grade boys completed an extensive assessment that involved interviews, home observations, questionnaires, test data, telephone interviews, court records, and school…