Report finds vast majority of marijuana users aged 12 to 14 get it free from friends and family

A new spotlight report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that 70.1-percent of the 523,000 teens aged 12 to 14 who had used marijuana in the past year received the drug for free the last time they used. Only 26.6-percent of these young marijuana users purchased the drug.

A majority of marijuana users aged 12 to 14 (55.6-percent) received their free marijuana from friends, while 10.1-percent received it free from someone in their family.

The spotlight report Young Marijuana Users Often Get Marijuana for Free from Friends, is available at http://oas.samhsa.gov/spotlight/WEB_SPOT_028.pdf . This report is based on data from the 2006 to 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).   NSDUH is a scientifically conducted annual survey of approximately 67,500 people throughout the country, aged 12 and older. Because of its statistical power, it is the nation’s premier source of statistical information on the scope and nature of many substance abuse behavioral health issues affecting the nation.

For further information about marijuana, see Marijuana:Facts Parents Need to Know, at http://www.nida.nih.gov/PDF/PARENTS_Marijuana_brochure.pdf .