According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, 17,604 defendants were convicted for drug offenses in federal courts between August 1993 and September 1994. (Ibid., pg.1)

Federal correctional facilities report that drug offenders accounted for 61 percent of the federal inmate population in 1994, an increase of nine percent since 1990. (Ibid., pg.3)

The average incarceration sentence length imposed on federal offenders increased from 44 months in 1980 to 62 months in 1992, while the average sentence imposed on drug offenders increased from 47 months to 82 months during that same time period. The average incarceration sentence length imposed on defendants convicted of state drug charges in 1992 was 67 months. (Ibid. pg.2)

A total of 8,541 drug abuse deaths were reported in 1993 by 145 medical examiners in 43 metropolitan areas. Drug abuse deaths usually involve drug overdoses, but they also include deaths in which drug usage was a contributory factor. (Ibid., pg.4)

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse 1994 High School Senior Survey, 45.6 percent of high school seniors reported use of an illicit drug at least once in their live, 35.8 percent reported use of an illicit drug within the past year, and 21.9 percent

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 1993 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 77 million (37.2 percent) of Americans aged 12 and older reported some use of an illicit drug at least once during their lifetime. (Ibid., pg.4)

The National Pretrial Reporting Program found that in 1992, of all released defendants rearrested for a drug offense, 59 percent were once again granted pretrial release. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1995, "Drugs and Crime Facts, 1994," page 16, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.)

In 1993, the Drug Use Forecasting Report on Drug Use Among Juvenile Arrestees/

Detainees found the percent positive for marijuana ranged from 14 to 51 percent, with a median value of 26 percent; in 1992, the range was from 5 to 38 percent with a median of 16.5 percent (an almost ten percent increase in the median). (National Institute of Justice, 1994, "1993 Annual Report on Juvenile Arrestees/Detainees: Drugs and Crime in America's Cities," page 3, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.)

Ninety percent of 12th graders have friends who use alcohol; 63 percent know someone who has a drinking problem; and 26 percent have friends who use LSD, cocaine or heroin. (Luntz Research Companies, 1995, "National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse," Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, New York, NY)

Note: OVC makes no representation concerning the accuracy of data from non-Department of Justice sources