White Kids in Florida Do So Many More Drugs Than Minorities, According to DCF Survey

By Kyle Munzenrieder Thu., Feb. 9 2012 at 12:16 PM

The amount of Florida middle and high school students who have used drugs, cigarettes or alcohol continues to decline according to the latest survey by the State's Department of Children and Families. The findings represent a steady decline in substance abuse by teens in the state since 2002, with use of all drugs except for marijuana falling every since '02. Even the use of marijuana fell this year, though the survey found that once again white kids are getting high and drunk a lot more than other students.

Only 10 percent of students had tried a drug other than marijuana within 30 days of taking the survey. Twelve percent had used marijuana in that time.

Almost 50 percent said that they had used alcohol in their lifetime, and almost one in eight reported that they had binge drank in the past two weeks.

Interestingly, there's a deep divide in alcohol use among races. Nearly 51 percent of white and Hispanic/Latino students reported use of alcohol, while only 40 percent of African-American students did. Only 7.9 percent of African-American students reported binge drinking, while 15.5 and 15.6 percent of Hispanic/Latino and white students respectively did.

White students were also more likely to have smokes a cigarette or used marijuana. White students were four times more likely to have smoked a cigarette in the past 30 days than African-American students. White students also reported higher usage of synthetic marijuana, LSD, PCP or hallucinogenic mushrooms, cocaine or crack, depressants, prescription pain pills.

Latino students reported slightly higher rates of using inhalants, club drugs, and meth.

Overall, 34 percent of white students said they had used any illicit drug in their lifetime compared to 31.3 percent of Latino students, and 28.0 percent of African-American students. 18.6 percent of White students had used in the past 30 days compared to 17.3 percent of Latino students and 16 percent of African-American students.

6.2 percent of White students reported selling drugs compared to 5.0 percent of African American students. Though 5.5 percent of African-American students said they had been arrested, compared to just 3.3 percent of white students.

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It is very sad to see that kids do that. I hope they will do something better for that.

michael wind

just take a walk in the condos in sunny isles beach with drug sniffing dogs and the are millions of dollars drugs there,just let the dogs walk in the hallways,do not inform local police they are partners in crime....

oOBlackHandOo

I would expect as much from the porch monkey's that are running DCF...

carlos f

Jeffrey you are 100% correct, i also think it has to do with what this country considers drugs. Marijuana quite frankly being at the bottom of the list of physical addictions, is still considered one of the worst 'drugs' by many. Parents have to do a better job, plain and simple, although even doing to much as a parent can turn the situation into a double edged sword. It is in fact quite foolish to rate this through ethnicity.

Re-posting due to good purpose: We need to stop experimentation from turning into addiction. Often times it is in fact to late, although experimentation is not a bad thing, it also becomes a double edged sword all to quickly.

oOBlackHandOo

I would not trust anything that comes from DCF... Hell have you seen the rate of children that are tortured and murdered in South Florida while under the watchful eye's of the dysfunctional morons at DCF?

WOMP WOOOOOMP

I think in Miami the amount of Latinos gettin crunked is higher... being there is barely any white peeps left! But all in all you KNOW whitey got the best CHRONIC muthaf*ckasssss ; p

One Love.

Whitey does not know what the fuck he is talking about.

Jorge Navarro

This study is based on honesty from middle and high school students? I know when I was in high school I'd try to make myself look cool in front of my friends by stating something I may have never done in my life. Call me a poser... but that's how most kids are. Lying is fun. Hell, if everyone including the clergy lie from time to time why should we expect honesty from adolescents? I knew people who used to lie just to lie. I don't denounce the drug use trend in Florida but I also tend not to believe people until they give me a reason to trust them.

Jeffrey Steven

It's ridiculous to break this down by ethnicity The bottom line is drug use spans across all gender, ethnic, and social barriers. It comes down to bad parenting, black, white, brown, green, blue, yellow, orange. Parents need to take some accountability and monitor their teens closer. This stuff ends up at school and in the hands of other teens. And by this stuff, we are talking more than marijuana. Kids are sneaking pills from the medicine cabinet at alarming rates. When the pills run out, they often turn to heroin.

Parents can be more pro-active in preventing this drug use from the start. Myteensavers counselors treat teen addicts. They say that the parents are not reinforcing the anti-drug message. They also say they would be much less likely to have every started using drugs if they had been home drug tested by their parents.

We need to stop the experimentation from turning into addiction. Often times you can't tell until it's too late.

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