About One-Third to One-Half of Youth Report That They Can Get Alcohol, Cigarettes, Prescription Drugs to Get High, or Marijuana Within a Day or Less.

Between 31% and 50% of youth ages 12 to 17 report that they can get alcohol, cigarettes, prescription drugs to get high, or marijuana within a day or less, according to data from the 2012 National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse.

Alcohol and cigarettes were the most readily accessible substances, with 50% and 44%, respectively, of youth reporting that they could obtain them within a day. Youth were least likely to report that they could get marijuana within a day (31%); 45% report that they would be unable to get marijuana at all. It will be interesting to see if reported access to marijuana increases if more states pass medical marijuana and marijuana decriminalization laws.

While marijuana use remains illegal under federal law, 17 states and the District of Columbia have some type of law allowing for the medical use of marijuana and 14 states have some type of marijuana decriminalization law.

SOURCE: Adapted by CESAR from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA), National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XVII: Teens, 2012.

Youth can learn more by clicking here and reading about Frequently Asked Questions and Facts.