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Study: Hispanic Teens More Likely To Use Drugs

SACRAMENTO (CBS 13) - Compared with African-American and Caucasian teens, Hispanics are more likely to use illicit drugs such as ecstasy, cocaine, and marijuana.

A new study published by The Partnership at Drug Free Organization says 54 percent of Hispanic teens reported having used illicit drugs while 45 percent of African-American teens and 43 percent of Caucasians teens have used them.

The organization didn't have a definitive answer as to why the numbers are higher for Hispanics than others, but the study found that a larger number of Hispanic teens have been offered illicit drugs compared to the other ethnic groups.

The study found that 62 percent of Hispanic teens say they have been offered drugs like ecstasy, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine at least once.  Only 53 percent of Caucasians and 46 percent of African-Americans have been offered the same drugs.

Also, when it comes to "smoking marijuana sometimes", 21 percent of Hispanic parents said they were okay if their teen did it.  Eleven percent of African-American parents and only 6 percent of Caucasian parents agreed.

Roughly 3,322 teens in grades 9-12 participated in the study administered in private, public and parochial schools.  The parent survey was conducted through in-home interviews with 821 parents.

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