5 Things Teens Say About Drugs, Binge Drinking

According to the San Diego Association of Governments:

1. 81 percent surveyed said they had taken at least one substance in the month before they were interviewed.

2. 75 percent said they had used alcohol, marijuana or tobacco before and started doing so by the age of 13.

3. Most teens reported first trying a substance with a friend, but 10 percent said an adult had given them their first taste – 6 percent from an adult relative and 4 percent from a parent.

4. Street drugs are not the only problem, even among teens – 44 percent reported taking prescription drugs, such as oxycodin and vicodin, illegally.

5. The teens offered insight into their behavior after they drink or use drugs – 35 percent engage in a sex act, while 27 percent say they pass out. Nearly 30 percent have no recall of what they did.

The statistics are taken from a study based on interviews with 124 youths detained by law enforcement in San Diego County in 2012. Officials also took urine samples from 95 boys and 24 girls. The interviews took place within 48 hours of the youths being taken into custody, in March and September of 2012. Their average age was nearly 16. Most of the teens interviewed were from central San Diego, but nearly 20 percent were from the South Bay suburbs, which include Coronado, Chula Vista and Imperial Beach, while about 10 percent came from East County suburbs, which include La Mesa, Lemon Grove and Santee.