Guam Drug and Alcohol Statistics - Methadone dot org (NAMA Recovery)

Statistical Data on Drugs in Guam

Guam faces a persistent substance abuse crisis with youth marijuana and methamphetamine use rates consistently exceeding national averages over the past two decades, and school campuses serving as primary drug distribution points where over one-third of students are offered illegal drugs. This comprehensive statistical overview reveals persistent substance abuse challenges in Guam, particularly regarding marijuana and methamphetamine use among youth, significant ethnic disparities in drug consumption patterns, school campuses as drug distribution points, and a dramatic increase in methamphetamine-related deaths by 2023.

Methamphetamine-Related Deaths

2022

Total meth-related deaths: 36
Deaths coded as directly from methamphetamine: 1 (2.78%)

2023

Total meth-related deaths: 51 (42% increase from 2022)
Deaths coded as directly from methamphetamine: 24 (47.06%)
Methamphetamine became the third leading cause of death in Guam

Guam Methamphetamine Related Deaths Statistics

Methamphetamine-related deaths increased 42% from 2022 to 2023, with a dramatic shift in how deaths were classified.

Youth Substance Use Statistics

High School Students – Marijuana Use

Lifetime Marijuana Use Trends

Year	Guam HS (%)	US HS (%)	Difference
1999	50.9%	47.2%	+3.7
2001	50.6%	42.4%	+8.2
2003	46.9%	40.2%	+6.7
2005	47.3%	38.4%	+8.9
2007	45.5%	38.1%	+7.4
2009	48.8%	36.8%	+12.0
2011	49.8%	39.9%	+9.9
2013	49.2%	40.7%	+8.5
2015	46.3%	38.6%	+7.7
2017	45.3%	35.6%	+9.7
2019	–	36.8%	–

Nearly half of Guam high school students consistently reported lifetime marijuana use from 1999-2017, persistently exceeding US rates by 6-12 percentage points.

Current Marijuana Use (Past 30 Days)

Year	Guam HS (%)	US HS (%)	Difference
1999	25.1%	26.7%	-1.6
2001	26.6%	23.9%	+2.7
2003	27.1%	22.4%	+4.7
2005	27.3%	20.2%	+7.1
2007	23.3%	19.7%	+3.6
2009	32.0%	20.8%	+11.2
2011	28.8%	23.1%	+5.7
2013	30.2%	23.4%	+6.8
2015	28.2%	21.7%	+6.5
2017	25.9%	19.8%	+6.1
2019	–	21.7%	–

Recent Data

2019: 25% of high school students use marijuana (one in four)
2024: 25% of high school students use marijuana

Guam High School Marijuana Usage Statistics

Current marijuana use among Guam high school students consistently exceeded US rates, particularly notable in 2009 when the gap reached 11.2 percentage points.

Current Marijuana Use by Sex (High School)

Year	Male (%)	Female (%)	Gender Gap
1999	31.8%	19.6%	12.2
2001	33.3%	19.5%	13.8
2003	31.4%	22.8%	8.6
2005	32.6%	23.0%	9.6
2007	25.6%	20.5%	5.1
2009	38.1%	25.6%	12.5
2011	31.0%	26.5%	4.5
2013	33.1%	26.9%	6.2
2015	30.4%	26.5%	3.9
2017	28.0%	23.9%	4.1

Male students consistently reported higher marijuana use than females.

Current Marijuana Use by Ethnicity (High School)

Year	Chamorro (%)	Filipino (%)	Other Micronesian (%)
1999	34.7%	16.0%	–
2001	33.7%	14.5%	–
2003	40.1%	9.6%	25.3%
2005	37.0%	12.0%	12.5%
2007	35.8%	8.0%	22.4%
2009	44.2%	13.2%	17.0%
2011	35.8%	14.1%	23.8%
2013	41.5%	13.1%	20.4%
2015	39.4%	8.2%	26.8%
2017	32.8%	7.1%	29.9%
2019	–	–	33.7%

Stark ethnic disparities persisted throughout the period.

Age at First Marijuana Use (High School)

Year	Total (%)	Male (%)	Female (%)	Gender Gap
1999	13.4%	19.1%	8.5%	10.6
2001	15.5%	22.9%	7.8%	15.1
2003	14.9%	19.7%	9.9%	9.8
2005	14.8%	19.7%	10.5%	9.2
2007	15.4%	20.2%	9.9%	10.3
2009	14.3%	19.0%	9.2%	9.8
2011	15.1%	19.3%	10.4%	8.9
2013	14.6%	17.6%	11.1%	6.5
2015	12.8%	17.6%	8.9%	8.7
2017	14.5%	17.0%	11.3%	5.7

Approximately 13-15% of high school students initiated marijuana use before age 13.

Middle School Students – Marijuana Use

Lifetime Marijuana Use

2003: 11.9%
2005: 13.9%
2007: 20.6%
2009: 14.9%
2011: 12.6%
2013: 17.6%
2015: 12.7%
2017: 18.9%
2019: 20.2%
2020: 20.5%

One in five middle school students (20.5%) had tried marijuana by 2020.

Lifetime Marijuana Use by Sex (Middle School)

Year	Male (%)	Female (%)	Gender Gap
1999	15.4%	9.6%	5.8
2001	18.4%	9.7%	8.7
2003	24.9%	17.1%	7.8
2005	20.0%	9.8%	10.2
2007	15.2%	9.8%	5.4
2009	22.5%	12.1%	10.4
2011	17.1%	12.7%	4.4
2013	22.4%	15.4%	7.0
2015	24.2%	16.8%	7.4
2017	21.6%	19.3%	2.3

Age at First Marijuana Use (Middle School, 2019)

5.1% tried marijuana before age 11

One in twenty middle school students initiated marijuana use in elementary school.

Youth Methamphetamine Use

Lifetime Methamphetamine Use (High School)

Year	Guam HS (%)	US HS (%)	Difference
1999	12.9%	9.1%	+3.8
2001	9.6%	9.8%	-0.2
2003	6.4%	7.6%	-1.2
2005	5.6%	6.2%	-0.6
2007	5.9%	4.4%	+1.5
2009	3.2%	4.1%	-0.9
2011	4.6%	3.8%	+0.8
2013	4.5%	3.2%	+1.3
2015	5.0%	3.0%	+2.0
2017	5.6%	2.5%	+3.1
2019	–	2.1%	–

Recent Data

2019: 5.6% of high school students reported ever using methamphetamines
2024: ~6% of high school students tried methamphetamines

Guam High School Methamphetamine Use Statistics

After declining from 12.9% (1999) to 3.2% (2009), methamphetamine use among Guam high schoolers stabilized around 5-6%.

Lifetime Methamphetamine Use by Sex (High School)

Year	Male (%)	Female (%)	Gender Gap	Higher Gender
1999	12.3%	13.5%	1.2	Female
2001	12.0%	7.0%	5.0	Male
2003	7.2%	5.5%	1.7	Male
2005	3.4%	8.0%	4.6	Female
2007	7.5%	3.7%	3.8	Male
2009	4.0%	2.3%	1.7	Male
2011	5.3%	3.5%	1.8	Male
2013	5.8%	3.1%	2.7	Male
2015	7.5%	2.4%	5.1	Male
2017	7.7%	2.8%	4.9	Male

Gender patterns fluctuated in early years but stabilized with males showing higher use by 2007-2017.

Lifetime Methamphetamine Use by Ethnicity (High School)

Year	Chamorro (%)	Filipino (%)	Other Micronesian (%)
1999	17.7%	6.5%	–
2001	10.2%	6.5%	–
2003	8.0%	3.7%	7.1%
2005	7.2%	3.7%	2.2%
2007	5.7%	2.5%	6.4%
2009	4.1%	1.4%	6.4%
2011	4.5%	2.2%	1.6%
2013	6.6%	1.4%	3.1%
2015	6.7%	1.6%	5.9%
2017	5.8%	2.9%	3.6%
2019	–	–	8.2%

Chamorro students consistently reported the highest methamphetamine use rates.

Youth Prescription Drug Misuse

Prescription Pain Medication Misuse (2017-2019)

2017: 10.9% of high school students
2019: 15.5% of high school students (higher than US rate of 14.3%)
2019: 6.7% of middle school students

By Sex (High School, 2019)

Males: 18.4%
Females: 12.3%
Gender gap: 6.1 percentage points

By Sex (Middle School, 2019)

Males: 6.9%
Females: 6.3%
Gender gap: 0.6 percentage points

By Ethnicity (2019)

School Level	Chamorro (%)	Filipino (%)	Other Micronesian (%)
Middle School	5.7%	6.0%	8.0%
High School	15.5%	12.1%	21.4%

Prescription pain medication misuse increased 42% among high school students between 2017-2019.

Other Illicit Drug Use Among Youth (High School, 2019)

Drug Type	USA (%)	Guam (%)	Difference
Synthetic Marijuana	7.3%	13.5%	+6.2
Cocaine	3.9%	5.2%	+1.3
Heroin	1.8%	4.0%	+2.2
Steroids	1.9%	4.0%	+2.1
Ecstasy	3.6%	3.6%	0.0
Injecting Drug Use	1.6%	3.2%	+1.6

Guam youth exceeded US rates for nearly all illicit drugs surveyed.

Drug Exposure on School Property

Offered, Sold, or Given Illegal Drugs on School Property (High School)

Year	Guam HS (%)	US HS (%)	Guam-US Gap
1999	46.7%	30.2%	+16.5
2001	36.1%	28.5%	+7.6
2003	44.1%	28.7%	+15.4
2005	41.1%	25.4%	+15.7
2007	36.8%	22.3%	+14.5
2009	39.0%	22.7%	+16.3
2011	40.9%	25.6%	+15.3
2013	37.2%	22.1%	+15.1
2015	40.1%	21.7%	+18.4
2017	36.2%	19.8%	+16.4
2019	–	21.8%	–

Recent Data

2013: More than 40% of high school youth
2014: More than 40% of high school youth
2019: 36% of high school youth

Guam High School Recent Data Statistics

School campuses remained critical drug distribution points.

By Sex (High School)

Year	Male (%)	Female (%)	Gender Gap
1999	56.0%	38.5%	17.5
2001	42.5%	29.3%	13.2
2003	47.1%	41.0%	6.1
2005	44.0%	39.1%	4.9
2007	42.0%	30.7%	11.3
2009	44.0%	33.5%	10.5
2011	42.7%	38.6%	4.1
2013	37.0%	37.4%	-0.4

The gender gap in drug exposure on school property narrowed dramatically.

Adult Substance Use Statistics

Marijuana Use Among Adults

Current Use Trends (Past 30 Days)

2011: 17.0%
2012: 13.0%
2013: 13.0%
2016: 12.0%
2018: 6.3%
2019: 11.7%
2020: 8.4%
2021: 12.6%

Adult marijuana use fluctuated considerably, ranging from 6.3% to 17% over the decade, with no clear linear trend.

Daily Marijuana Use (2016)

3.7% of adults reported daily marijuana use

Nearly 1 in 27 adults used marijuana every day, indicating a significant population with potential dependency.

Demographics of Marijuana Use (2021)

Demographic	Prevalence (%)
Sex
Adult men	16.5%
Adult women	8.3%
Age
18-24 years	Highest among adults
25-34 years	17.6%
Education
High school or GED	13.3%
Income
Below $25,000	Highest rates
Ethnicity
Other	27.4%
Asian	19.8%
Filipino	16.1%
White/Caucasian	11.9%
Micronesian	2.7%

Men were twice as likely as women to use marijuana.

Age at First Marijuana Use (2020)

23% of lifetime users first used before age 17
12.3% first used between ages 18-24
Nearly 60% of lifetime users (2012 data) started between ages 13-17

Lifetime Marijuana Use (2012-2013)

32% of adults reported ever using marijuana

Perceived Risk of Marijuana Use Among Adults

Year	No Risk (%)	Slight Risk (%)	Moderate Risk (%)	Great Risk (%)
2011	10.5%	14.6%	24.6%	49.7%
2012	12.9%	13.6%	23.8%	49.4%
2013	17.3%	14.4%	23.7%	44.1%
2016	25.3%	17.6%	18.4%	28.2%
2018	29.0%	19.3%	18.0%	21.9%
2019	29.1%	18.6%	19.2%	17.8%
2020	32.1%	20.5%	15.9%	20.7%

Risk perception declined dramatically over the decade.

Other Illicit Drug Use Among Adults

Illicit Drug Use (Other Than Marijuana)

Year	Illicit Drug Use (%)	Illicit Prescription Drug Use (%)	Narcotic Pain Reliever Use (%)
2017	5.7%	4.9%	3.0%
2018	17.0%	2.8%	3.5%
2019	5.4%	2.2%	2.6%
2020	15.5%	1.8%	2.6%
2021	10.2%	1.6%	–

Illicit drug use showed high volatility, with spikes in 2018 (17.0%) and 2020 (15.5%).

Recent Statistics (2024)

3.5% of adults misuse prescription drugs
10.4% use illicit drugs other than marijuana
15% smoke daily
11.1% use e-cigarettes (highest rate in the nation)

Guam leads the nation in e-cigarette use at more than double typical state rates.

Methamphetamine Use (2012-2013)

5% of adults reported lifetime methamphetamine use
Males reported higher rates than females
Lower educational attainment and lower income associated with use
Highest lifetime use among those aged 25-34
Over 40% of lifetime users started between ages 18-24

Methamphetamine use disproportionately affected economically disadvantaged populations.

Other Illicit Drugs (2012-2013)

4.4% of adults reported lifetime use of other illicit drugs
Males more likely to report use than females
Higher educational attainment and income associated with use
Highest percentage among those aged 45-54
Over 50% started between ages 18-24
34.2% started between ages 13-17

Unlike methamphetamine, other illicit drug use correlated with higher socioeconomic status and peaked among older adults.

Prescription Drug Risk Perception (2020)

63.7% believed great risk in using prescription drugs improperly
7.4% believed no risk
13.5% of Micronesians perceived no risk
8% of Filipinos perceived no risk
6.8% of other Asians perceived no risk
6.3% of CHamorus perceived no risk
2.3% of Caucasians perceived no risk

Significant ethnic disparities in risk perception existed, with Micronesians nearly six times more likely than Caucasians to perceive no risk from prescription drug misuse.

Age at First Illicit Drug Use (2020, 2013)

3.6% of adults who used illicit drugs started before age 18 (2020)
43% started between ages 13-17 (2013)
43% started between ages 18-24 (2013)

The vast majority (86%) of illicit drug users initiated use before age 25.

Workplace Drug Testing (2013, 2020)

51% of adults worked for employers conducting random drug testing (2013)
38.5% worked for such employers (2020)
10% less likely to work for such employers (2013)
13.2% less likely (2020)

The proportion of employees subject to workplace drug testing declined 25% between 2013-2020.

Treatment Facility Statistics

2010 N-SSATS Data

Facility Overview

Total facilities: 6
Total clients in treatment: 257
Clients under 18: 45 (17.5% of total)
Survey response rate: 100%

Guam 2010 Facility Overview Statistics

Facility Operation by Type

Operation Type	Facilities	%	All Clients	%	Clients Under 18	%
Private non-profit	5	83.3%	67	26.1%	1	2.2%
State government	1	16.7%	190	73.9%	44	97.8%
Private for-profit	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Local/county/community government	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%

State government facilities served nearly three-quarters of all clients and the vast majority of youth clients.

Type of Care Provided (2010)

Care Type	Facilities	%	All Clients	%	Clients Under 18	%
Outpatient	5	83.3%	167	65.0%	38	84.4%
Regular outpatient	5	83.3%	102	39.7%	–	–
Intensive outpatient	5	83.3%	59	23.0%	–	–
Residential (non-hospital)	4	66.7%	78	30.4%	7	15.6%
Short term residential	4	66.7%	33	12.8%	–	–
Long term residential	4	66.7%	38	14.8%	–	–
Hospital Inpatient	1	16.7%	12	4.7%	0	0%

Outpatient care dominated treatment delivery, serving two-thirds of all clients.

Substance Abuse Problems Treated (2010)

Problem Type	All Clients	%
Alcohol abuse only	126	49.0%
Drug abuse only	104	40.5%
Both alcohol and drug abuse	27	10.5%

Alcohol remained the single most common substance of abuse, though drug-only cases comprised a substantial proportion.

2012 N-SSATS Data

Facility Overview

Total facilities: 4 (decreased from 6 in 2010)
Total clients in treatment: 115 (decreased from 257 in 2010)
Clients under 18: 30 (26.1% of total)
Survey response rate: 100%

Guam 2012 Facility Overview Statistics

Facility Operation by Type (2012)

Operation Type	Facilities	%	All Clients	%	Clients Under 18	%
Private non-profit	3	75.0%	83	72.2%	30	100%
Private for-profit	1	25.0%	32	27.8%	0	0%
Government (all types)	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%

Between 2010 and 2012, treatment facilities decreased by one-third, and total clients in treatment dropped by 55%.

Substance Abuse Problems Treated (2012)

Problem Type	All Clients	%
Both alcohol and drug abuse	81	70.4%
Drug abuse only	20	17.4%
Alcohol abuse only	14	12.2%

By 2012, the pattern reversed dramatically from 2010, with co-occurring alcohol and drug abuse becoming the dominant problem type (70.4% vs. 10.5% in 2010).

Residential Facility Capacity and Utilization (2012)

Number of residential facilities: 3
Number of clients: 35
Number of designated beds: 42
Utilization rate: 83.3%
Average beds per facility: 14

Guam Residential Facility Capacity and Utilization Statistics

High utilization rates (83.3%) indicated strong demand for residential treatment services.

Law Enforcement and Drug Seizures

Drug-Related Arrests

Year	Number of Cases	% Change from Previous Year	Rate per 1,000 Population
2010	130	-17.2%	1.0
2011	221	+70.0%	1.4
2012	293	+32.6%	1.8
2013	271	-7.5%	1.7
2014	369	+36.2%	2.3
2015	477	+29.3%	3.0
2016	494	+3.5%	3.0
2017	230	-53.4%	1.5
2018	421	+83.0%	2.6
2019	494	+17.3%	3.0
2020	802	+62.3%	4.9
2021	880	+9.7%	5.2

Drug-related arrests more than tripled from 2017 (230 cases) to 2021 (880 cases).

2021 Arrest Details

76% of drug offenders arrested for possession of illegal substances
Majority of arrests involved possession rather than distribution

Youth in Drug Arrests (2014)

Nearly half (46%) of persons arrested for drug abuse violations were under age 18

Superior Court Drug Cases (Fiscal Years)

FY 2014: 176 cases
FY 2015: 229 cases (+30.1%)
FY 2016: 261 cases (+14.0%)
Represents 47% increase from FY 2014 to FY 2016
Primarily involved Schedule II controlled substances (methamphetamine)

Guam Superior Court Drug Cases Statistics

The steady 47% increase in drug cases over three years strained judicial system capacity and foreshadowed the more dramatic arrest increases seen in 2018-2021.

Drug Seizures by Type

Year	Cannabis (g)	Methamphetamines (g)	Total (g)	Dominant Drug
2013	1,739	19,023	20,762	Meth
2014	3,041	6,833	9,874	Meth
2015	8,873	28,082	36,955	Meth
2016	8,073	58,442	66,515	Meth
2017	727	9,733	10,460	Meth
2018	15,249	14,159	29,408	Cannabis
2019	24,486	3,173	27,659	Cannabis
2020	11,207	36,336	47,543	Meth
2021	88,016	75,839	163,855	Cannabis

Drug seizures showed extreme volatility.

2024 Seizure Data

Approximately 31,000 grams of methamphetamine seized
Street value: $3 million

The substantial seizure demonstrates continued high-volume methamphetamine trafficking into Guam.

Law Enforcement Resources

Police Staffing

2.3 officers per 1,000 residents (Guam)
3.4 officers per 1,000 residents (US national average)
Guam staffing 32% below national average

Guam Police Staffing Statistics

Understaffing of law enforcement likely impacted drug enforcement capabilities during a period of rising drug arrests and seizures.

Guam’s substance abuse crisis demands urgent, comprehensive intervention as the data reveals a perfect storm of persistently high youth drug use rates, stark ethnic disparities, methamphetamine deaths surging to become the third leading cause of death by 2023, school campuses functioning as entrenched drug marketplaces, treatment infrastructure contracting precisely when polysubstance abuse patterns intensified, and law enforcement resources stretched 32% below national staffing levels even as drug-related arrests nearly quadrupled and seizures reached record levels—all indicators pointing to an escalating multi-generational public health emergency requiring immediate expansion of culturally-targeted prevention programs, treatment capacity, and coordinated Supply-and-demand reduction strategies.

Statistical Data on Alcohol in Guam

Guam demonstrates lower overall alcohol consumption rates compared to national averages, yet faces elevated binge drinking among adults and persistent youth drinking challenges despite significant policy interventions. This comprehensive statistical overview examines alcohol use patterns across Guam’s population, revealing the impact of key policy changes. The data encompasses consumption behaviors across age groups, sex, and ethnicity, risk behaviors including drinking and driving, health consequences particularly related to alcohol-associated cancers, and law enforcement outcomes.

Youth Alcohol Consumption

Current Alcohol Use Among High School Students

Guam vs. United States (1995-2019)

Year	Guam HS (%)	US HS (%)
1995	34.1	51.6
1997	42.0	50.8
1999	42.5	50.0
2001	44.5	47.1
2003	37.9	44.9
2005	36.2	43.3
2007	34.9	44.7
2009	24.7	41.8
2011	23.5	38.7
2013	25.3	34.9
2015	18.2	32.8
2017	25.3	29.8

Current alcohol use among Guam youth increased until 2001, then declined significantly following the 2003 tax increase and 2010 drinking age elevation.

By Sex (2019)

Males: 28.4%
Females: 21.6%

Males show moderately higher current alcohol use than females.

By Ethnicity (2019)

Chamorro: 31.2%
Micronesian: 31.3%
Filipino: 11.9%

Chamorro and Micronesian youth demonstrate nearly identical and substantially elevated alcohol use rates.

Binge Drinking Among High School Students

Guam vs. United States (1995-2019)

Year	Guam HS (%)	US HS (%)
1995	14.7	32.6
1997	22.9	33.4
1999	21.1	31.5
2001	24.9	29.9
2003	17.3	28.3
2005	18.5	25.5
2007	19.2	26.0
2009	13.6	24.2
2011	12.7	21.9
2013	13.3	20.8
2015	7.9	17.7
2017	8.2	13.5

Youth binge drinking in Guam increased from 1995-2001, then declined substantially following policy interventions.

By Sex (2019)

Males: 7.9%
Females: 8.6%

Female youth show slightly higher binge drinking rates than males.

By Ethnicity (2019)

Micronesian: 13.7%
Chamorro: 8.7%
Filipino: 3.4%

There exists significant ethnic disparities in high-risk drinking behaviors among young people.

High-Risk Out-of-School Youth (2011)

Alcohol Use Comparison: DYA vs. Sanctuary, Inc. vs. Public School Students

Indicator	DYA (%)	Sanctuary, Inc. (%)	Public School (%)
Lifetime use	42.3	57.5	58.4
Current use	26.8	28.8	24.2
First use before age 13	13.0	13.8	18.2
Binge drinking	20.5	18.8	13.6
Riding with drinking driver	22.1	20.0	30.2
Drinking and driving	8.6	2.5	5.8
Parent discussions	48.9	53.8	42.2

Out-of-school high-risk youth showed higher binge drinking rates than public school students.

Adult Alcohol Consumption Patterns

Guam vs. United States Comparison (2011-2021)

Year	Guam (%)	USA (%)
2011	41.8	57.0
2012	40.9	55.1
2013	40.9	54.4
2014	46.6	53.1
2015	43.5	53.6
2016	42.2	54.0
2017	43.7	54.7
2018	41.0	53.5
2019	41.6	53.8
2020	41.4	52.4
2021	39.8	53.2

Current alcohol use in Guam consistently remained lower than US national rates throughout the decade.

Sex Differences in Adult Drinking (2021)

Current use: 43.9% of males compared to 35.4% of females
Binge drinking: 21.7% of males compared to 12.1% of females
Heavy drinking: 6.4% of males compared to 4.6% of females

Guam Sex Differences in Adult Drinking Statistics

Males demonstrated consistently higher rates across all drinking patterns.

Heavy Drinking Trends

Guam vs. United States (2011-2021)

Year	Guam (%)	USA (%)
2011	6.8	6.6
2012	7.5	6.1
2013	7.0	6.2
2014	8.7	5.9
2015	8.1	5.9
2016	8.3	6.5
2017	7.8	6.3
2018	7.4	6.5
2019	9.0	6.5
2020	6.7	6.7
2021	5.5	6.2

Heavy drinking rates in Guam fluctuated more than US rates but converged by 2021, with Guam slightly below the national average at 5.5% compared to 6.2%.

Binge Drinking Among Adults

Guam vs. United States (2011-2021)

Year	Guam (%)	USA (%)
2011	18.3	18.3
2012	19.4	16.9
2013	20.9	16.8
2014	23.0	16.0
2015	21.2	16.3
2016	20.7	16.9
2017	22.7	17.4
2018	17.9	16.2
2019	18.0	16.8
2020	16.2	15.7
2021	17.1	15.3

Binge drinking rates in Guam surpassed US levels throughout most of the decade.

Binge Drinking by Age Group (2021)

18-24 years: 21.2%
25-34 years: 17.0%
35-44 years: 26.6%
45-54 years: 17.0%
55-64 years: 5.8%

Binge drinking peaks among adults aged 35-44 and declines sharply after age 55

Binge Drinking by Ethnicity

Whites/Caucasians: 25.0%
Micronesians: 22.5%
Chamorros: 17.0%
Other Asians: 15.2%
Filipinos: 8.5%

Ethnic disparities in binge drinking are substantial

Age at First Alcohol Use

Before age 12: 4%
Ages 13-17: 32%
Ages 18-24: 51%
Age 17 or younger: 34.8%

Over one-third of Guam adults first consumed alcohol before the legal age of 21.

Risk Behaviors and Consequences

Drinking and Driving Among High School Students

Guam (1995-2019) – Males vs. Females

Year	Males (%)	Females (%)
1995	13.2	4.4
2001	16.4	6.4
2005	14.6	5.4
2009	6.0	5.6
2011	12.1	6.0
2013	10.2	6.8
2015	6.8	4.1
2017	12.5	2.1

Males consistently showed higher rates of drinking and driving.

Health Consequences: Cancer

Top Cancer Deaths Related to Alcohol (2013-2017)

Rank	Cancer Site	Deaths	% of Total
2	Colon-Rectum-Anus	82	10.2%
3	Liver	79	9.8%
4	Breast	69	8.6%
7	Mouth and Pharynx	24	3.0%

Liver cancer, directly related to alcohol use, rose from the 5th leading cause of cancer death (2003-2007) to 3rd place (2013-2017).

Alcohol-Related Arrests

Adult Population (2016-2021)

Year	DUI Arrests	Liquor Laws	Drunkenness	% of Total Arrests
2016	145	80	7	5.9%
2017	122	52	12	5.0%
2018	96	129	159	9.8%
2019	269	228	308	10.1%
2020	293	81	187	8.1%
2021	461	51	161	6.8%

DUI Arrest Trends

2016: 140 arrests (0.9 per 1,000 population)
2018: 348 arrests (2.1 per 1,000) – 178.4% increase
2019: 350 arrests (2.1 per 1,000)
2021: 358 arrests (2.1 per 1,000)

Juvenile Arrests (2016-2021)

Year	Total Arrests	DUI	Liquor Laws	Drunkenness	% Alcohol-Related
2016	410	1	46	1	11.7%
2017	337	5	122	0	35.1%
2018	317	1	34	11	14.5%
2019	1,241	5	148	50	16.4%
2020	1,026	0	70	27	9.4%
2021	436	1	22	43	15.1%

Alcohol-related arrests comprised 8.1% of all cleared arrests in 2020 and 6.8% in 2021. Juvenile alcohol-related arrests showed significant volatility, peaking at 35.1% in 2017.

Traffic Fatalities

2011: 27.3% of traffic fatalities involved alcohol (6 of 22 deaths)
2013: 44% of traffic-related deaths involved alcohol

Guam Traffic Fatalities Statistics

Alcohol remained a significant factor in traffic fatalities.

Guam’s alcohol consumption data reveals a complex public health landscape characterized by successful policy interventions that reduced youth drinking rates, yet persistent challenges remain with adult binge drinking rates exceeding national averages and significant ethnic disparities across all age groups. The dramatic rise of liver cancer from the 5th to 3rd leading cause of cancer death, coupled with alcohol’s involvement in over one-quarter of traffic fatalities and fluctuating arrest patterns, underscores the ongoing need for sustained prevention efforts, particularly targeting high-risk populations including Micronesian and Chamorro communities, young adults aged 35-44, and males who consistently demonstrate the highest consumption rates across all drinking behaviors.

Conclusion

In general, Guam faces a severe dual substance abuse crisis characterized by persistently high youth marijuana and methamphetamine use rates that consistently exceed national averages, with school campuses serving as primary drug distribution points where over one-third of students are offered illegal substances. While alcohol policy interventions successfully reduced youth drinking after 2003 and 2010, adult binge drinking remains elevated, liver cancer has risen to the third leading cause of cancer death, and methamphetamine-related deaths surged 42%. Stark ethnic disparities disproportionately affect Chamorro and Micronesian populations, while treatment infrastructure contracted 55% and law enforcement resources remain 32% below national levels even as drug arrests nearly quadrupled from 2017 to 2021. This escalating multi-generational public health emergency demands immediate expansion of culturally-targeted prevention, treatment capacity, and coordinated intervention strategies addressing Guam’s unique challenges.