Guam Drug and Alcohol Statistics - World Forum for Mental Health

Statistical Data on Drugs in Guam

Guam has been dealing with a persistent substance abuse crisis, where rates of marijuana and methamphetamine use among youth have continuously surpassed national averages over the past two decades. School campuses function as key drug distribution hubs, with more than one-third of students being offered illegal substances. This thorough statistical summary highlights ongoing substance abuse difficulties in Guam, especially concerning marijuana and methamphetamine consumption among young people, notable ethnic differences in drug use patterns, school grounds as drug access points, and a sharp rise in methamphetamine-related fatalities by 2023.

Methamphetamine-Related Deaths

2022

Total meth-related deaths: 36
Deaths directly attributed to methamphetamine: 1 (2.78%)

2023

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

Guam Methamphetamine Related Deaths

Fatalities linked to methamphetamine climbed 42% from 2022 to 2023, accompanied by a significant shift in how those deaths were categorized.

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%	—

Close to half of all Guam high school students consistently reported having used marijuana at some point in their lives from 1999 to 2017.

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%	—

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 reported greater marijuana use than their female counterparts 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

Roughly 13–15% of high school students began using marijuana before reaching age 13.

Recent Data

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

Active marijuana use among high school students in Guam consistently surpassed US levels.

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%

By 2020, one in five middle school students (20.5%) had experimented with marijuana.

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 every twenty middle school students had first used marijuana while still 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

Following a decline from 12.9% in 1999 to 3.2% in 2009, methamphetamine use among Guam high schoolers leveled off at 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 trends were inconsistent in earlier years but settled into a pattern of higher male use from 2007 to 2017.

Youth Prescription Drug Misuse

Prescription Pain Medication Misuse (2017–2019)

2017: 10.9% of high school students
2019: 15.5% of high school students (above the 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

Prescription pain medication misuse among high school students rose by 42% between 2017 and 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 surpassed US rates for nearly every illicit substance included in the survey.

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: Over 40% of high school youth
2014: Over 40% of high school youth
2019: 36% of high school youth

School grounds continued to serve as major drug distribution locations.

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 over the decade, ranging from 6.3% to 17%, with no clear directional trend.

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 two times more likely than women to report marijuana use.

Age at First Marijuana Use (2020)

23% of lifetime users first used before age 17
12.3% first used between ages 18–24
Close to 60% of lifetime users (2012 data) began between ages 13–17

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%

Perceptions of risk associated with marijuana use declined sharply over the course of 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 displayed considerable volatility, with notable 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 (the highest rate in the nation)

Guam leads the entire country in e-cigarette use at more than double the rates typical of US states.

Prescription Drug Risk Perception (2020)

63.7% believed there was great risk in using prescription drugs improperly
7.4% believed there was 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 differences in risk perception were evident, with Micronesians nearly six times more likely than Caucasians to view prescription drug misuse as carrying no risk.

Methamphetamine Use (2012–2013)

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

Methamphetamine use was disproportionately concentrated among economically disadvantaged groups.

Other Illicit Drugs (2012–2013)

4.4% of adults reported lifetime use of other illicit drugs
Males were more likely than females to report use
Higher educational attainment and income were associated with use
The highest proportion was found among those aged 45–54
Over 50% of users started between ages 18–24
34.2% started between ages 13–17

In contrast to methamphetamine, use of other illicit substances was associated with higher socioeconomic status and was most prevalent among older adults.

Age at First Illicit Drug Use (2020, 2013)

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

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

Workplace Drug Testing (2013, 2020)

51% of adults worked for employers that conducted 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 share of employees subject to workplace drug screening declined by 25% between 2013 and 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 Treatment Facility 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 were responsible for 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 was the predominant mode of treatment delivery, accounting for two-thirds of all clients.

Substance Abuse Problems Treated (201)

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 alone remained the most frequently treated substance, though cases involving only drug abuse also made up a considerable share.

2012 N-SSATS Data

Facility Overview

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

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 declined by one-third, and the total number of clients in treatment fell 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 had shifted drastically from 2010, with co-occurring alcohol and drug abuse becoming the most prevalent problem type.

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 Statistics

The high utilization rate of 83.3% reflected 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 between 2017 (230 cases) and 2021 (880 cases).

2021 Arrest Details

76% of individuals arrested for drug offenses were charged with possession of illegal substances
Possession rather than distribution accounted for the majority of arrests

Youth in Drug Arrests (2014)

Close to half (46%) of individuals 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 a 47% increase from FY 2014 to FY 2016
Primarily involved Schedule II controlled substances (methamphetamine)

The consistent 47% increase in drug cases across three years placed strain on the judicial system’s capacity and foreshadowed the more dramatic surge in arrests observed from 2018 to 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 seizure volumes exhibited extreme variability over the period.

2024 Seizure Data

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

The scale of this seizure reflects the continued high-volume trafficking of methamphetamine into Guam.

Police Staffing

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

This understaffing of law enforcement likely hampered drug enforcement capacity during a period of increasing drug arrests and seizures.

Final Words

Guam’s substance abuse crisis demands urgent, wide-ranging intervention. The data points to a convergence of persistently elevated youth drug use rates, pronounced ethnic disparities, methamphetamine deaths surging to become the third leading cause of death by 2023, and law enforcement resources stretched 32% below national staffing norms. All of these indicators point to an escalating, multi-generational public health emergency that requires the immediate expansion of culturally targeted prevention programs, greater treatment capacity, and coordinated supply-and-demand reduction strategies.

Statistical Data on Alcohol in Guam

Guam exhibits lower overall alcohol consumption rates relative to national averages, yet continues to face elevated binge drinking among adults and persistent alcohol use challenges among young people, despite meaningful policy interventions. This comprehensive statistical overview examines alcohol use patterns across Guam’s population, revealing the impact of key policy changes. The data covers consumption behaviors across age groups, sex, and ethnicity; health consequences particularly involving alcohol-related 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 rose through 2001 before declining noticeably following the 2003 tax increase and the 2010 elevation of the drinking age.

By Sex (2019)

Males: 28.4%
Females: 21.6%

Male students showed moderately higher rates of current alcohol use than females.

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 grew from 1995 through 2001 before declining substantially in the wake of policy measures.

By Sex (2019)

Males: 7.9%
Females: 8.6%

Female youth exhibited slightly higher binge drinking rates than males.

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 recorded higher rates of binge drinking than students attending public school.

Adult Alcohol Consumption Patterns

Current Alcohol Use (Past 30 Days) — Guam vs. United States (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

Adult alcohol consumption in Guam remained consistently below 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

Males demonstrated higher rates across all categories of drinking behavior.

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 were more variable than US rates but converged by 2021, with Guam falling slightly below the national average at 5.5% versus 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

Adult binge drinking in Guam exceeded US levels for 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 was highest among adults aged 35–44 and fell sharply after age 55.

Age at First Alcohol Use

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

More than one-third of adults in Guam consumed alcohol for the first time before reaching the legal drinking 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 recorded higher rates of drinking and driving than females.

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, which is directly associated with alcohol consumption, rose from the 5th leading cause of cancer death during 2003–2007 to 3rd place during 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) — a 178.4% increase
2019: 350 arrests (2.1 per 1,000)
2021: 358 arrests (2.1 per 1,000)

Guam Alcohol DUI Arrests Statistics

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 accounted for 8.1% of all cleared arrests in 2020 and 6.8% in 2021. Juvenile alcohol-related arrests showed significant variability, reaching their highest point 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

Alcohol remained a significant contributing factor in traffic fatality outcomes.

Final Words

Guam’s alcohol consumption data reveals a complex public health landscape shaped by policy successes that reduced youth drinking rates, alongside persistent challenges including adult binge drinking rates that exceed national averages. The rise of liver cancer from the 5th to the 3rd leading cause of cancer death, combined with alcohol’s involvement in more than one-quarter of traffic fatalities, underscores the continued need for sustained prevention efforts, particularly targeting higher-risk groups including adults aged 35–44, and males, who consistently show the highest consumption rates across all drinking behaviors.

Conclusion

In general, Guam confronts a severe dual substance abuse crisis defined by persistently elevated youth marijuana and methamphetamine use rates that consistently surpass national averages, with school campuses functioning as primary drug distribution points where more than one-third of students are offered illegal substances. While alcohol policy interventions successfully lowered youth drinking rates after 2003 and 2010, adult binge drinking remains above national norms, liver cancer has advanced to the third leading cause of cancer-related death, and methamphetamine-related fatalities have surged by 42%. This escalating public health emergency calls for the immediate expansion of culturally targeted prevention initiatives, increased treatment capacity, and coordinated intervention strategies that address the distinct challenges faced by Guam.