Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug among youths and adults and is used by an estimated 75 percent of all illegal drug users. An estimated 4 million youths in the United States (16 percent of all youths), ages 12–17, reported using marijuana in the past year.
Of all the youth’s ages 12–17 years who were in drug treatment in 2000, about 62 percent had a primary marijuana diagnosis. Approximately half of them were referred to treatment from the criminal justice system, and the other half were referred from other sources. According to the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, there were 14.6 million marijuana users of all ages in 2002.
Of these individuals, 4.8 million were heavy users and reported using marijuana for 20 or more days in a month. There were about 2.6 million new marijuana users in 2002.
Males generally use marijuana more than females. Most people obtain their marijuana from a friend, whether they receive it for free or they purchase the drug.
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 79 percent of marijuana users received the drug at no cost from a friend and 81.8 percent purchased their marijuana from a friend.
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