Adults in the Golden State are abusing marijuana at alarming levels, but California’s children are at risk of even greater drug abuse, according to a new statewide poll commissioned by KeepComingBack.com, an online resource for addiction and substance abuse information.

The poll, which randomly surveyed 505 adults in the state, found that nearly half (45%) of Californians have tried marijuana at least once and 1 in 6 residents have used the drug within the last year. Overall adult cannabis usage is slightly greater than the national average – the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found in its latest analysis (2005) that 43% of Americans aged 18 or older have tried marijuana. Despite the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996, the ballot measure that legalized medicinal marijuana in California, few state residents in fact consume pot for medicinal purposes – only 23% of those who reported using pot do so for physical or psychological treatment. Marijuana use tends to occur more often among males (52%), Baby Boomers, African-Americans (53%), those with some college education (51%), and residents of the San Francisco Bay Area (64%). Cannabis is the most commonly abused illegal drug in California, smoked and consumed at rates far greater than cocaine (13%), and prescription drugs (9%). However, the poll found that Californian methamphetamine abuse (9%) is nearly twice the national average (5%), affecting about 2.5 million state residents.

Though many Californians have experimented with drugs in their lives, few adults acknowledge active substance abuse. Overall, 19% of California adults are “current” drug users, meaning they have tried drugs at least once in the last year. The survey also revealed that six percent of California adults have used marijuana twelve times or more in the past year, affecting 965,000 state residents on a monthly basis. An analysis of poll respondents found that current drug users tend to be male, single, and have less education than non-users. State residents who have experimented with different types of drugs are also more likely to be current users – only 9% of adults who have tried one drug in their life are now users, compared to 24% of those who have tried two drugs, and 38% of those who have tried three different drugs. This tends to suggest that keeping children away from drugs at an early age shapes their later choices and views on illegal substances, and allows them to live healthy and addiction-free later in their adult years.

KeepComingBack.com explored how Californians view the social impact of drug use, and its affect on their personal well-being. When asked if they believe that drug addiction is either a disease or a personal weakness, 55% of poll respondents agreed with the latter statement. Perceptions of actual harm caused by drug use varied drug-to-drug; heroin registered the highest amount of responses for “very harmful,” while marijuana received the fewest (30%). A full 22% of Californians stated that marijuana was “not too harmful” to users, and 27% stated the same for steroids. Shockingly, nearly 1 out of ten adults agreed with the statement that marijuana was “not at all” harmful to users. This contrasts with the harm that participants believe results from using cocaine (91% saying it was very harmful) or heroin (96% saying it was very harmful).

In the state of California, drug abuse is rampant among children. Of those poll respondents who indicated prior substance abuse, 25% of meth users, 37% of prescription drug abusers and half (50%) of marijuana users first experimented with the respective drug before their eighteenth birthday. Many parents are aware of drug abuse in their homes; 26% of parents with at least one child older than 10 years of age acknowledged that their young ones have tried an illegal drug. Many parents are also unsure if child drug use has occurred (12% of those with multiple children and 9% of those with one child), suggesting that the numbers of adolescent addicts may be larger than what is known. Of those that do know their children are using drugs, 61% stated marijuana was being abused, 12% said meth, and 4% cocaine. California children, who are already exposed to drugs at an early age, fare worse under parents who currently suffer from addiction. Adolescent drug abuse is more likely in households where parents are current drug users; an astonishing 65% of parents who currently use drugs say their children have tried drugs as well. There is also an apparent relationship between using drugs as a youth, and abusing harsher drugs in the future, suggesting the “gateway drug” phenomenon is thriving in California.

Though significant gains have been made in the War on Drugs over the last three decades, children will continue to be center stage in the fight. Every other year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conduct a national “Youth Risk Behavior Survey” (YRBS) among 9th and 12th grade students, to determine trends in substance abuse and personal behavior. According to the most recent figures, the percentage of American teens that have ever used marijuana at least once during their life has declined, from 47.2% in 1999 to 38.1% in 2007. Current teen cannabis users have also dwindled in numbers, from a peak of 26.7% in 1999, to 19.7% in 2007. However, as the KeepComingBack.com poll has found, adolescent drug abuse will persist so long as parents are not doing their part to educate their children and provide a positive role model for sobriety and clean living.

For California families and elected officials, the importance of enrolling substance abusers into addiction treatment and 12 step programs can’t be greater emphasized. Among poll respondents who indicated drug use in the past year, only one sought treatment or counseling. Nearly half stated they were not ready to stop using drugs, or that they did not need treatment, while only a handful (9%) said they failed to get treatment because they didn’t know where to go, or (4%) suggested that treatment programs would affect their job. Taking steps today to introduce more Californians to substance abuse and addiction treatment programs can help keep the Golden State shining for years to come.