Drug use decreases when drugs are perceived as harmful and vice versa

This is two run charts discussing cigarette use (at least half a pack per day) & perception of harm by 12th grade students and discussing marijuana use & perception of harm by 12th grade students. Both run charts have years on the x-axis (from 1975 to 2013) and perceived risk of harm on the y-axis (expressed as a percentage from 0 to 100). In both run charts the general trend is that drug use and perceived risk of harm are very strongly correlated - that is drug use decreases as the perceived risk of harm rises - although both variables are more volatile for marijuana than they are for cigarettes (for which usage has declined steadily while perceived risk of harm has risen steadily).

• Graph or Chart

• Outreach and Education