Alcohol and Drug Use in the Marine Corps in 1983, Volume I, Main Text
Published Date: July 1, 1984
The prevalence of alcohol and drug use in the Marine Corps and the effectiveness of programs to combat it are assessed in this study. The analysis is based on the answers to an anonymous survey administered to 18,000 randomly chosen enlisted and officer personnel. The survey results were compared to those of similar surveys in 1980 and 1982 to discern trends. The analysis showed that, while the proportion of drinkers has remained constant, the proportion of heavy drinkers declined by a factor of two from 1980 to 1983. Drug use showed an even sharper drop: from 37 percent of all Marines in 1980 to 17 percent in 1983. These trends are attributed to the Marine Corps education and urinalysis programs.
