The number of 12- to 17-year-olds admitted to substance abuse treatment rose 20 percent between 1994 and 1999, according to a report released last month by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Those admitted for marijuana use, half of whom were referred through the justice system, accounted for 60 percent of all admissions within that age group in 1999. When all ages are taken into account, alcohol abuse accounted for almost half all treatment cases.
