Drug use among young people booked in juvenile hall dropped dramatically in 2016, with 44 percent of youth interviewed testing positive for an illicit substance, the lowest percentage in the past 17 years and a decrease of 13 percent from 2015.

The information is included in the 2016 Juvenile Arrestee Drug Use in the San Diego Region bulletin released last week by the SANDAG Criminal Justice Research Division.

During two separate time periods in 2016, a total of 112 youth booked into Juvenile Hall agreed to be interviewed by researchers for the annual report.

In 2016, 92 percent of the youth interviewed reported trying an illicit substance, which includes alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, crack, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine meth, and ecstasy.

The 106 youths interviewed, 81 males and 25 females, also provided urine samples for drug testing. Of those, 44 percent tested positive for an illicit substance or opiates.

The most commonly used substance juveniles tested positive for every year is marijuana, with 35 percent positive results in 2016. This was the lowest rate since 2000 and a considerable drop from the 52 percent positive in 2015.

Meth is the second most commonly used illicit drug by juveniles, with 14 percent positive in 2016, up from 8 percent in 2015.

“While it is good news that the percent positive for any drugs was down in 2016, it’s important to note that this rate is driven by the percent positive for marijuana, as it is the most commonly used illicit drug by youth,” said SANDAG Director of Criminal Justice Cynthia Burke, Ph.D. “However, the percent who were positive for methamphetamine was up to 14 percent in 2016, from 8 percent in 2015.”

The report also indicates that fewer youth reported that it was “very easy” to obtain prescription drugs illegally – from 29 percent in 2015 to 10 percent in 2016.

Since 1980, SANDAG has been reporting criminal justice statistics for the San Diego region through a cooperative agreement with local law enforcement agencies.

These data offer program and policy leaders support for continued prevention and targeted intervention services at a time when resources are limited.

Specific areas of prevention and intervention focus could include ensuring treatment availability that is family-based; education for parents regarding the importance of prevention including strategies for effectively interacting with their children about this topic; coordination with educational units to address truancy, as well as facilitating prevention messages; and continued support of pro-social activities.