First opportunities to try drugs and the transition to first drug use: Evidence from a national school survey in Panama

In recent evidence from the United States, there generally are no male-fema le differences in the probability of drug use among persons who report an o pportunity to try the drugs. This is an important observation that might he lp us understand male-female differences in later drug use and dependence, but the observation needs to be replicated elsewhere. We begin this replica tion process using data from a 1996 national school survey of drug involvem ent among 6,477 students age 12-18 in Panama. We first examine the occurren ce of an opportunity to use drugs by grade. We then follow these analyses w ith an examination of male-female differences in drug opportunity patterns. We found opportunities to use drugs and actual drug use to be greater at h igher grade levels. Also, we found the probability of making a transition t o use, given an opportunity to be more likely among upper-grade students. C onsistent with results observed in the United States, we found males in Pan ama to be more likely to have an opportunity to use marijuana, crack-cocain e, and other forms of cocaine, but not more likely than females to make a t ransition into drug use once an opportunity had occurred to try each drug. These findings are discussed in relation to the epidemiology and prevention of drug use in Panama and elsewhere, and future research on male-female di fferences in drug involvement.