| WASHINGTON STATE STATISTICS |  |
"U.S. Customs Service inspectors seized more than 1,400 pounds of potent "B.C. Bud" marijuana from the back of a beer truck at the U.S.-Canadian border crossing at Blaine Tuesday evening. Customs officials called the bust the biggest ever along the northern border, exceeding the 980 pounds seized in October." (1,400 pounds of 'B.C. Bud' seized at border, Seattle Post Intelligencer, January 17, 2002)
In 1996 the federal government classified a seven county area of Washington state as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). The HIDTA areas include only seven counties (King, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston,Whatcom, and Yakima), although drugs are a problem throughout the state.
Washington state marijuana use statistics are compared with national statistics in the report entitled "Tobacco, Alcohol, & Other Drug Abuse Trends in Washington State." This report is compiled by the state Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA) in conjunction with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Additionally, excerpts from the 1998 Washington State Survey of Adolescent Health Behaviors (WSSAHB) Analytic Report are provided.
Hot Quotes are taken from news stories and show the prevalence of drug use in our state. (Look for your area in bold print) Teenage drug use is a major concern. See: Teen Use, Hot Quotes.)
"'Snohomish County is the state's leading marijuana producer, based on the number of indoor growing operations busted by polices, said Pat Slack, Commander of the drug task force.'" (County tops list of best pot farms, The Herald, January 27, 2002)
"Washington-grown marijuana is reputedly the Cadillac of pot, fetching up to $3,000 a pound in California and up to $6,000 a pound in New York, where it is prized for its high level of the chemical tetrahydrocannibinbol, or THC, which produces the marijuana high, Perniciaro said. (Lt. Ron Pernicairo of the Snohomish County Drug Task Force.)" (County tops list of best pot farms, The Herald, January 27, 2002)
"Since October, customs officials say they have nabbed more than 2 tons of marijuana at the border, placing its street value at about $12 million." (1,400 pounds of 'B.C. Bud' seized at border, Seattle Post Intelligencer, January 17, 2002)
"Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug. The annual prevalence rates in grades 8, 10, and 12, respectively, are 16%, 32%, and 37%." (Malignant Neglect: Substance Abuse and America's Schools, September 2001, National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse)
"'Efforts to reach early teens with anti-drug messages successfully reduced drug use by junior high (grade 6-8) students over the past five years,' according to Thomas Gleaton, who led the survey." (High school senior drug use edges up, CNN, July 20, 2001)
The survey found teen drug use was higher, at 38.4 percent, among those who lived with their father only, compared to a 20.4 percent rate among those living with both parents. (High school senior drug use edges up, CNN, July 20, 2001)
"A recent survey showed that 44 percent (of teens) have experienced with alcohol, drugs or tobacco by the end of the seventh grade and 25 percent have consumed alcohol by the age of 12. Teens who attend parties are 18 times more likely to use marijuana, and 23 times more likely to drink beer and 12 times more likely to smoke cigarettes." (Marijuana easy to get teens say, The Cincinnati Enquirer, February 22, 2001)
(More Hot Quotes for teen use in 1998)
(More Hot Quotes for teen use in 1997)