Hispanic teens more likely to use drugs, study says - CNN.com

Hispanic teens more likely to use drugs, study says - CNN.com: Hispanic teens are more likely to use illicit drugs such as marijuana, ecstasy and cocaine, compared with their African-American and Caucasian counterparts, according to a new study.

The study was released this month by the Partnership at Drug Free organization.

It says that 54% of Hispanic teens reported having used an illicit drug, followed by African-American teens at 45%. Caucasians came third at 43%.

Why? There is no definitive answer, but there are contributing factors involved, according to Sean Clarkin, director of strategy and programs at The Partnership at Drugfree.org.

A larger percentage -- 62% of Hispanic teens -- have been offered drugs such as ecstasy, crack/cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine at least once, compared with 53% of Caucasian teens and 46% of African-Americans.

When it came to Hispanic parents, 21% said they were OK if their teen "smoked marijuana sometimes," compared with 11% of African-American parents and 6% of Caucasian parents.

"Parental permissiveness is another factor we document as being linked to teen substance abuse. Hispanic parents appear to have some misconceptions regarding prescription drug misuse and abuse," Clarkin said. "Both of these factors could have an influence on a child's substance abuse."