Drugs Contribute to High Rates of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among Juvenile Offenders
In a study of 948 newly arrested youths undergoing criminal justice intake processing in Tampa, Florida, more than 19 percent of girls and 11 percent of boys tested positive for chlamydia, gonorrhea, or both infections. Dr. Richard Dembo and colleagues from the University of South Florida, Tampa, and Temple University, Philadelphia, found correlations between the youths' prevalence of these sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and their cocaine and marijuana use, as confirmed by urine tests. The youths' responses to a survey provided additional evidence of a prominent role for drug abuse as a