Hispanic Adolescents Have Highest Use of Illegal Drugs: Scientists Meet in Miami to Address Impact of Drug Abuse on Hispanics

Hispanics comprise one of the youngest segments of the U.S. population, with a third of the population under 18 years of age. The greatest risk for becoming dependent on drugs occurs between the ages of 15 and 29, according to Drug Use Among Racial/Ethnic Minorities, a 2003 report issued by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. These facts together are of particular importance to Hispanics, considering that Hispanic adolescents have higher rates of drug use than other groups in the U.S. Recent national data on current (defined as last month) illegal drug use among 12th-graders reveal that Hispanic high-school seniors have the highest rates for use of cocaine, crack and heroin. Even so, these are underestimates of actual drug use rates for Hispanics, given that a large proportion of Hispanics do not make it to 12th grade.

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