• Methamphetamine
  • Methamphetamine is the biggest drug threat in Nebraska and is currently found in every community in the state.⁸
  • New figures released by the Nebraska State Patrol indicate that last year more than 300 methamphetamine labs were dismantled.⁵
  • The Nebraska State Patrol estimates that between 80 and 90 percent of their resources dedicated to battling methamphetamine are used to uncover and dismantle meth labs.⁵
  • Nebraska ranks second in meth labs per capita.⁶
  • Increased restrictions on cold preparations and other medicines containing pseudoephedrine in many states have contributed to sharp declines in the number of small-scale methamphetamine laboratories in those states.⁷
  • In 2004, a record 2,064 residents sought treatment for meth addiction, or about 13.6 percent of all persons seeking substance abuse treatment.⁸
     
• Marijuana
  • Marijuana is the most prevalent illicit drug in Nebraska.⁹
  • Of the 2, 933 Nebraska youth, grades 9-12 surveyed…
    • 18% admitted to using marijuana within the last 30 days.¹
  • Someone that smokes 5 joints a week may be taking in as many cancer causing chemicals as someone who smokes a pack of cigarettes every day.¹⁰
  • One joint deposits about four times more tar into the lungs than a filtered cigarette.¹⁰
  • Adults who used marijuana before age 15 were 6 times more likely to be dependent on an illicit drug than adults who first used marijuana at age 21 or older.¹¹
     
• Tobacco
  • Tobacco use causes over 400,000 deaths in the United States each year. Approximately 2,600 people in Nebraska die each year as a result of smoking-related diseases.⁴
  • 90 % of all tobacco users begin their use by age 19. Adults rarely start using tobacco for the first time. 37% of all Nebraska high school seniors are regular smokers.⁴
  • Young people who use tobacco are much more likely to try other drugs than those who do not use tobacco. Illegal drug use is rare among those who have never smoked.⁴
  • Tobacco use teaches children how to sneak, how to lie, how to steal, how to inhale a drug and how to take risks and pleasure from using a drug. Tobacco use is often the first crime a child commits.⁴
     
• Alcohol
  • Of the 2, 933 Nebraska youth, grades 9-12 surveyed…
    • 78% drank alcohol during their lifetime.¹¹
    • 67% of Nebraska youth drinking underage received alcohol from a parent or another adult.¹
    • 39% rode in a car during the past 30 days with someone who had been drinking alcohol.¹
    • 32% admitted to binge drinking (5 or more drinks in a row).¹
  • It is estimated that over 3 million teens between the ages of 14 and 17 in the United States today are problem drinkers.³
  • Youth who begin drinking before they turn 15 are twice as likely to develop and alcohol abuse problem and are 4x more likely to develop alcohol dependence compared with persons who did not begin drinking before age 21.²
     
• Inhalants
  • The term "inhalants" refers to more than a thousand household and commercial products that can be abused by inhaling them through one's mouth or nose for an intoxicating effect.
  • Their easy accessibility, low cost, and ease of concealment make inhalants one of the first substances abused.
  • Of the 2, 933 Nebraska youth, grades 9-12 surveyed…
    • 12% of Nebraska students admitted to sniffing glue, breathing in the contents of aerosol spray cans, or inhaling and paints or sprays to get high one or more times during their lifetime.¹

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References

1. Nebraska Risk & Protective Factor Student Survey, 2003, Nebraska Partners in Prevention, Health & Human Services
2. www.ncadd.org/facts/youthalc.html
3. www.alcoholaddiction.info
4. www.pride.org/tobacco
5. http://gov.nol.org/columns/2005/0207.html
6. http://www.unicam.state.ne.us/update/stories/2005/judiciary/lb117_148_481.htm
7. http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs11/18862/meth.htm
8. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/map/textonly.html
9. http://parentingteens.about.com/library/sp/drugs/bl-marijuana-nebraska.htm
10. National Institutes of Health
11. Initiation of Marijuana Use: Trends, Patterns, and Implications