Marijuana prevalence

Compton WM, Grant BF, Colliver JD, et al Prevalence of marijuana use disorders in the United States 1991-1992 and2001-2002. JAMA291 2114-2121,2004 Cook SA, Lowe JA, Martin BR CBl receptor antagonist precipitates withdrawal in mice exposed to delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 285 1150— 1156, 1998... 

Cannabinoid receptors, the binding sites for THC from marijuana, are prevalent in the brain and concentrated in areas like the basal ganglia, hippocampus, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex (indicated in pink on this illustration). THC interrupts the normal communication between neurotransmitters and results in changes of behavior and physical effects controlled by these areas of the brain. 

The NHSDA is directed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Since 1971, it has provided annual estimates of the prevalence (patterns of use) of illicit drug, alcohol, and tobacco use in the United States, monitoring trends since that time. Results from this survey are based on a representative sample of the U.S. population 12 years and older. Marijuana-specific data are presented as a subcategory of illicit drugs. ... 

As with several other drugs, for example marijuana, PCP, and LSD, cocaine can precipitate panic disorder, which continues long after drug withdrawal (177). Among 280 patients in a methadone maintenance clinic, the prevalence of panic disorder increased from 1% to 6% over a decade (178). A marked rise in the frequency of cocaine abuse coincided with this outbreak. The authors suggested that episodes of panic occurring in cocaine users can result in hospitalization for either psychiatric or medical illnesses. 

In 177 heavy cocaine users (compared with 75 noncocaine users), some of whom were also tobacco or marijuana users, cocaine use was associated with a higher prevalence of acute respiratory symptoms, including... 

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the Western world and the third most commonly used recreational drug after alcohol and tobacco (Iverson, 2000). A review of surveys of marijuana use conducted by the World Health Organization in 1997 (WHO, 1997) summarized lifetime prevalence of marijuana use (specifically, the percentage of 15-50 year olds who had ever used marijuana). In several countries the rates exceeded 30% (Denmark at 37%, Australia at 34%, the United States at 32%). Jamaica s rate was 29%, and the prevalence for the United Kingdom was 20%. 

Trends in the prevalence of lifetime use, annual use, and current use of marijuana or hashish among Americans aged 12 and over (from SAMHSA, 2005)... 

Trends in the prevalence of marijuana or hashish use among high school seniors (from Johnston, O Malley, Bachman, Schulenberg, 2006)... 

The Eighteenth Amendment, prohibiting the use of alcohol, had the paradoxical effect of increasing the prevalence of marijuana use in the United States. 

Data recently gathered both in national surveys and in annual surveys of high school seniors demonstrate a lower prevalence of marijuana use relative to the late 1970s. 

T The prevalence of annual and current marijuana use is markedly lower than the rates observed in the late 1970s. 

The paucity of literature on solvent abuse compared with other drug abuse contrasts with its prevalence and medical importance. In New York State, adolescent solvent abuse approximated that of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) (Stephens et al. 1978). Solvent abuse parallels marijuana use until the eighth grade, when solvent use declines and marijuana use increases (Beauvais 1992). Solvent use appears on the rise, reflected by a 1991 study that found greater use of solvents than cocaine by adolescents (Beauvais 1992). One study in the United States found that 11.2% of high school students... 

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