This teacher's guide is part of a series of three interactive books on tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana; three informational books containing parallel content; and three teacher guides designed to give students in grades five through eight practice in using the information and skills presented in the books. The guide provides teachers with a…

This informational book on marijuana is part of a series of three interactive books on tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana; three informational books containing parallel content; and three teacher guides designed to give students in grades five through eight practice in using the information and skills presented in the books. The goal of this book and…

Two of the major topics treated in this report are the current prevalence of drug use among American high school seniors, and trends in use since 1975. Also reported are data on school grade of first use, trends in use at earlier grade levels, intensity of drug use, attitudes and beliefs among seniors concerning various types of drug use, and…

Examined effects of mixed affective-cognitive drug education program on rural northern Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin sixth and seventh graders' (N=265) substance use health beliefs and behaviors. Alcohol use in this population was determined to be much higher than national average for similar age groups while marijuana, cigarette, and…

Examined relationship between demographic variables and recreational substance use in college students (N=832). Results revealed that persons using certain recreational substances differed significantly from nonusers. Marijuana users differed from nonusers on parental income, high school grade point average, and political orientation. No…

Questionnaires administered to 2,589 adolescents attempted to determine usage of various substances. Significant relations were found between substance use and (1) susceptibility to peer pressure, (2) self-esteem, and (3) internal health locus of control. (CH)

The primary aim of this study was to describe the movement of adolescents and young adults into and out of drug use and to predict heavy drug use. The data source is the Department of Labor's National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, which began in 1979 with a sample of 12,686 adolescents aged 14-21. After 17 rounds and 19 years, the response rate in…

Collected data to describe clients who presented with alcohol and other drug problems. Of the 190 students examined, over half of them met the criteria for alcohol abuse. Findings are discussed in relationship to a counseling center's practice of clinical assessment of drug and alcohol use. (RJM)

Uses longitudinal national survey data to examine relationships between cocaine and marijuana use. Results show that weekly marijuana users were over 10 times more likely to initiate cocaine use within the next year. Also, many psychosocial predictors are not predictive of initial cocaine use after controlling for prior weekly marijuana use. (RJM)

Investigates the effects of the use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine on the following aspects of labor force experience: (1) earnings; (2) stability of employment; (3) gaps between employment spells; and (4) duration of unemployment. Illicit drug use was found to have an impact on all factors except earnings. (JS)

In 1985 the United States Supreme Court concluded that the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures does apply to public school officials. Offers some hypothetical examples for public school officials to consider regarding mandatory urine testing and the reasonable suspicion standard. (MLF)

Examined interactive nature of age in predicting alcohol, marijuana, and drug use among 435 seventh and eleventh graders. Found statistically significant interaction terms for age with peer and social control factors for each type of usage. Findings suggest that many factors commonly associated with adolescent usage may be conditioned by age.…

Evaluation with over 4,000 seventh and eighth graders in California and Oregon showed that Project ALERT, a curriculum to curb drug use by teaching resistance to pressures, successfully dampened cognitive risk factors for cigarette and marijuana use but had limited impact on beliefs about alcohol. (SK)

A longitudinal sample of 3,454 urban and rural school students in grades 6 through 8 at baseline was used to examine developmental changes in peer factors and their influence on marijuana initiation. Friends' drug-related behaviors, rather then attitudes, were more strongly related to respondents' likelihood of initiating drug use. (TJH)

Difficulties accompanying large-scale field tests of a health promotion program in middle schools are reviewed, focusing on Healthy for Life, a health promotion research project that recruited 22 schools. The practical lessons and strategies of program recruitment and implementation are useful for anyone planning school-based programs or research.…