ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to provide a comprehensive picture of drug and alcohol use among American Indian adolescents. It deals with the trends in drug use for reservation-based Indian youth whom we have monitored since 1975. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse have been, historically, issues of major concern for Indians. The history of drag use and anti-drug use efforts in the United States may provide a clue as to why there was an increase in drug use followed by a consistent decrease. In the 1970s, as drug use became very common among younger adolescents, there were very few efforts in place to counter this use. Anti-drug laws were passed, and the penalties for possession and sale of drugs were radically increased. The National Household Survey is given every two to three years and includes a representative sample of 12- to 17-year-old youth.
