Politics & Government

By the Numbers: Poway Unified Student Drug Use

Nearly half of 11th-graders reported drinking alcohol or using some type of illegal drug or pill.

Student drug use—whether it be alcohol or cigarettes—is nothing new. But what is new, and alarming parents and school officials, are the changing ways students are using and feeling about drugs.

, such as fake marijuana (spice) and bath salts (which give a methamphetamine-like high), have attracted attention at the state and federal levels, and were recently added to the Poway Unified School District's .

The district is preparing for a s, with the first coming Wednesday at .

Find out what's happening in Powaywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Before then, let's take a look at some of the figures related to drug use among PUSD students, based on the results of the 2010-11 California Healthy Kids Survey, which was featured at Tuesday's .

Percentage of Students Who Have Ever Used Marijuana

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  • Grade 7: 3 percent
  • Grade 9: 13 percent
  • Grade 11: 29 percent

Note: Not only are more students using marijuana by 11th grade, but they are using it more often. In ninth grade, only 7 percent of students reported using marijuana four or more times. By 11th grade, the figure triples to 21 percent.

Percent of Students Ever Had One Full Alcoholic Drink

  • Grade 7: 8 percent
  • Grade 9: 23 percent
  • Grade 11: 47 percent

Note: Most students who had started drinking by 11th grade had their first drink by the time they were 14 years old (26 percent).

Percentage of Students Who Had Used Alcohol or Any Other Illegal Drug or Pill

  • Grade 7: 13 percent
  • Grade 9: 27 percent
  • Grade 11: 49 percent

Note: Alcohol was the most prevalently used drug at each grade level, with the highest and most constant use among 11th graders (30 percent reported having a full drink four or more times). Other drugs surveyed: marijuana, inhalants, cocaine, methamphetamine or any amphetamine, LSD or other psychedelics, ecstasy and heroin. Seventh-graders were not surveyed specifically about using cocaine, meth, LSD, ecstasy or heroin.

Percentage of Students Ever Drunk or High on School Property

  • Grade 7: 1 percent
  • Grade 9: 7 percent
  • Grade 11: 13 percent

Note: Most students see a great harm in smoking marijuana occasionally, though the percentage of students who feel that way declines as they get older (50 percent of seventh-graders, compared to 33 percent of 11th-graders).

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