O T: 98%???

[KCMiller]

OK, I don't usually post OT, but this has been irking the heck out of me. I'm sure everyone has seen this in some peoples' sig lines:

-98% of the teenage population does or has tried smoking pot. If you're one of the 2% who hasn't, copy & paste this into your signature

What the heck? Who came up with this statistic? Can someone show me where this comes from? I don't for a second believe that 98% of the teenage population does ANYTHING but get zits.

Really, I'd like to be shown the legitimate website that backs this silly stat up.


KC

 

[3littleHalls]

Not a teen anymore, but never tried pot. So many better/other things to do in life than smoke pot. Hope my kids grow up smart enough to never be tempted.

 

[pezpam]

Not perfect, but a far cry from 98% - no surprise there.

From http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/pot/f/mjp_faq04.htm



Q. At What Age Do Children Generally Start Smoking Pot?
from National Institute on Drug Abuse

A.
A recent government survey tells us:
Marijuana is the most frequently used illegal drug in the United States. Over 83 million Americans over the age of 12 have tried marijuana at least once. Over 12 million had used the drug in the month before the survey.

The Monitoring the Future Survey, which is conducted yearly, includes students from 8th, 10th, and 12th grades. In 2001, the survey showed that 20 percent of 8th-graders have tried marijuana at least once, and by 10th grade, 20 percent are "current" users (that is, used within the past month). Among 12th-graders, nearly 50 percent have tried marijuana or hash at least once, and about 22 percent were current users.

Other researchers have found that use of marijuana and other drugs usually peaks in the late teens and early twenties, then declines in later years.

 

[KCMiller]

I'd be more likely to believe a 'nearly 50%' statistic. But it's still an odd thing to put in a sig line - it's sort of like saying "hey, look at me - I'm better that 98% of y'all !"

Just for the record, it's nobodies business what I did or didn't do in high school ...


KC

 

[Allison]

Yeah, I don't know where that came from because it certainly is not an accurate statistic.

 

[salmoneous]

Who came up with this statistic?

Probably some dude baked on pot.

 

[KilleriMac17]

mmmm pot...




just kidding, never done it, tried it, have no interest! thats what disney brand crack is for instead!

 

[pezpam]

Probably some dude baked on pot.

 

[curiouser]

Someone on this board, and I can't remember who, I'm sorry, has a retaliation posted in their sig about how inaccurate that statement is. Its really funny.. I wish I could remember who it is!!

 

[KCMiller]

I do notice that none of the posters who HAVE this in their sig lines are chiming in with the source for this statistic. It reminds me of that old quote:

There are three kinds of lies - lies, damned lies and statistics. ~Benjamin Disraeli, commonly misattributed to Mark Twain because he quotes Disraeli in Autobiography

KC (feeling better knowing that others think it's wack, too)

 

[Ziva]

I always thought it was bizarre too.

 

[Maleficent13]

Originally Posted by KCMiller
Who came up with this statistic?

Probably some dude baked on pot.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

KC, I don't know where they came up with the % for that one, either. Doesn't seem too accurate to me, that is unless they only observed my school in the small, boring, Oregon town.

I do have a question, though...what is OT? I assume off topic, but maybe not since there isn't really an off topic on the community board.

 

[Allison]

KC, I don't know where they came up with the % for that one, either. Doesn't seem too accurate to me, that is unless they only observed my school in the small, boring, Oregon town.

I do have a question, though...what is OT? I assume off topic, but maybe not since there isn't really an off topic on the community board.

It was originally posted on a different board.

 

[KCMiller]

NOT, let me add, that I think that anyone who HAS this in their sig line DID smoke pot! Or didn't. Or would. Or wouldn't. Or would represent themselves in any way but totally and completely honestly in this, our little DIS world.



KC

 

[Spaceship Earthfan]

I do have a question, though...what is OT? I assume off topic, but maybe not since there isn't really an off topic on the community board.

This was originally posted on the Strategies board, hence the off topic.

Thanks for the information in this thread. I've seen that 98% bit in signatures and always felt it was way inflated.

 

[Twinkles6892]

Ya know, 40% of all statistics are wrong.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

This was originally posted on the Strategies board, hence the off topic.

That didn't even dawn on me, but makes perfect sense. Sometimes I'll see "off topic" in a thread title and I always wonder how they could be off topic on the community board and now I know!

 

[Maleficent13]

Ya know, 40% of all statistics are wrong.

Actually, it's 63% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

 

[KCMiller]

I'm enjoying the Community Board !


KC