Pride Survey shows high substance use rates in Shelby County

The recent Pride survey administered in Shelby County Schools showed that while a minority of students are using cigarettes, alcohol and other addictive substances, their usage rates are at or above the national average.

The Pride Survey is an anonymous questionnaire given to students across the country. In Shelby County, it was given to seventh, ninth and 11th-graders. The survey covers not only substance abuse over the past year, but also bullying and student attitudes toward addictive substances. Shelby County student services coordinator David Calhoun provided the data from the latest survey.

This year’s results found that 38 percent of students used alcohol within the past year, and 10 percent of alcohol-using students had their first drink at or before the age of 10. The national average of reported alcohol use for 2013-2014 was 30.9 percent. More than half of Shelby County students said they did not consider it dangerous to have five or more drinks at one time.

The students’ cigarette use was also above the national average. Nineteen percent of Shelby County students reported cigarette use, compared to 16.6 percent nationwide. Another 11 percent said they had used smokeless tobacco, but 37 percent did not consider it to be risky behavior. 

About 16 percent of students reported marijuana use, just under the national average of 16.8 percent. Most of these students said their use began between the ages of 13 and 16, and 57 percent did not perceive marijuana to be dangerous.

The survey also showed that prescription medication abuse, while less frequent than alcohol abuse, was still above the national average. Nine percent of Shelby County students used prescription medications within the last year, as opposed to 5.3 percent nationwide.