Respondents' Reports of Having Been Approached by Someone Selling Drugs (Table 11.5)

Table 11.5 shows the percentage of respondents who reported that they had been approached by someone selling illicit drugs in the past month. Overall, nearly 7% of the total population aged 12 or older said they had been approached. Adolescents (14%) and young adults aged 18 to 25 (16%) were more likely than adults aged 26 or older (3% to 7%) to have reported being approached by an illicit drug seller. Overall and among each of the age groups (except adolescents), males were two to three times more likely than females to report having been approached by someone selling illicit drugs. Male adolescents also were statistically more likely than females to report having been approached, but the differences in percentages were relatively small (16% vs. 13%).

Overall and for the two older age groups, blacks and Hispanics were more likely than whites to report having been approached by someone selling illicit drugs.24 Among 12 to 17 year olds, Hispanic youths were more likely than black youths to report having been approached by an illicit drug seller.

Overall and for the two youngest age groups, respondents living in large metropolitan areas were more likely than those in nonmetropolitan areas to report having been approached by someone who was selling illicit drugs. Among those aged 12 to 17, the percentage reporting such contact also was higher in small metropolitan than nonmetropolitan places. The only significant differences in being approached by an illicit drug seller by region occurred in the youngest age group, where respondents in the West were more likely those in the Northeast and South to report such contact.

Adult education and current employment were factors associated with whether one had been approached by someone selling illicit drugs. Overall and among those aged 18 to 25, college graduates were significantly less likely than respondents in each of the other educational categories to report such contact. Additionally, in the other age groups, college graduates were less likely than those who had not completed high school to report having been approached. Overall and among those aged 26 to 34, unemployed adults were more likely than those in the other employment categories to report having been approached by someone selling illicit drugs.

24 In the interest of readability for this report, "white" is used to indicate "white, non-Hispanic," and "black" to indicate "black, non-Hispanic."