Figure 5.2. Trends in Perceived Availability and Annual Use of Marijuana Among Texas Secondary Students, Grades 7 and 12: 1994 80% 30% 70% 25% 60% 50% 20% 15% 40% 30% 10% 20% 5% 10% 0% 0% 1988 1990 1992 1994 Availability: Grade 7 Availability: Grade 12 Annual Use: Grade 7 Annual Use: Grade 12 declines. About 1990-1992, but rose to 28 percent in 1994. For crack and 76 percent of hallucino- gens, the percentages remained almost the same seniors in 1988 between 1988 and said that 1992 but increased slightly in 1994. marijuana was Substance use is closely related to the perceived availability some- what or of various substances. The easier it is to obtain a substance, the very easy to higher the rate of use. Table 5.2 shows the past-month use of six obtain; this substances broken down by how the students perceived the decreased to 56 availability of the substances. For example, 52 percent of all percent in 1992 secondary students in 1994 who said alcohol was very easy to and obtain actually drank alcohol dur- ing the previous month. By contrast, only 17 percent of those who said alcohol was very difficult to get drank in the past month. The relationship is The easier it is to consistent for other substances, including tobacco, marijuana, obtain a substance, cocaine, crack, and hallucinogens. the higher its rate of The substantial differences in the reported availability of sub- use. stances between 1988 and 1994 probably helped generate the ob- served changes in the prevalence of substance use by secondary stu- dents. Figure 5.2 uses seniors and seventh graders to illustrate that the trend in the secondary perceived availability of students’ mari- juana is consistent with the trend of their annual marijuana use between 1988 and 1994—use declines when availability
Figure 5.2. Trends in Perceived Availability and Annual Use of Marijuana Among Texas Secondary Students, Grades 7 and 12: 1994 80% 30% 70% 60% 50% 25% 20% 40% 30% 20% 10% 15% 10% 5% 0% 0% 1988 1990 1992 1994 Availability: Grade 7 Availability: Grade 12 Annual Use: Grade 7 Annual Use: Grade 12 1990-1992, but rose to 28 percent in 1994. For crack and hallucino- gens, the percentages remained almost the same between 1988 and 1992 but increased slightly in 1994. Substance use is closely related to the perceived availability of various substances. The easier it is to obtain a substance, the higher the rate of use. Table 5.2 shows the past-month use of six substances broken down by how the students perceived the availability of the substances. For example, 52 percent of all secondary students in 1994 who said alcohol was very easy to obtain actually drank alcohol dur- ing the previous month. By contrast, only 17 percent of those who said alcohol was very difficult to get drank in the past month. The relationship is consistent for other substances, including tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, crack, and hallucinogens. The substantial differences in the reported availability of sub- stances between 1988 and 1994 probably helped generate the ob- served changes in the prevalence of substance use by secondary stu- dents. Figure 5.2 uses seniors and seventh graders to illustrate that the trend in the secondary students’ perceived availability of mari- juana is consistent with the trend of their annual marijuana use between 1988 and 1994—use declines when availability declines. About 76 percent of seniors in 1988 said that marijuana was some- what or very easy to obtain; this decreased to 56 percent in 1992 and The easier it is to obtain a substance, the higher its rate of use.