JUVENILE ARRESTEES SHOW LOWER RATES OF DRUG USAGE

SAN DIEGO - A study of 175 juveniles arrested in San Diego last year
revealed that 47 percent tested positive for some type of drug, down from
56 percent the year before, according to a report released Wednesday.

Results were compiled by the San Diego Association of Governments' Criminal
Justice Research Division through its Substance Abuse Monitoring project.

Forty-two percent of the 142 boys and 33 girls who consented to a urine
sample tested positive for marijuana; 13 percent for methamphetamine; 6
percent for cocaine; and one percent for heroin, according to the report.

The number of juveniles who tested positive for marijuana was down from 49
percent in 2003, when 344 provided a urine sample. The number that tested
positive for methamphetamine was also down from 15 percent in 2003.

Seventy-eight percent of the 182 youth who were interviewed for the 2004
study reported that they had tried tobacco; 85 percent had sampled
marijuana and alcohol; and 35 percent said they had tried methamphetamine.

The 2004 study revealed that age, school enrollment, gang involvement and
having parents who use drugs were factors in juvenile drug use.