Alcohol edged out marijuana as Sonoma County teens' drug of choice, but both are readily available and occasional use is not considered harmful, students said in the most recent survey of risky behaviors.
The California Healthy Kids Survey, conducted in the fall of 2011, found that 38 percent of high school juniors had at least one drink of alcohol in the past month, while 27 percent reported smoking pot.
Use of all other drugs, including inhalants, cocaine and methamphetamine, was in the single-digit range.
A national survey cited by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said 30.4 percent of 10th graders reported using alcohol in the past 30 days, compared with 15.9 percent using marijuana.
In a region noted for its wine and marijuana production, the 11,474 students included in the Sonoma County Healthy Kids Survey said alcohol and pot were easy to get.
Seven out of 10 high school juniors (73 percent) said alcohol was "fairly easy" for "very easy" to obtain, and 76 percent said the same about marijuana.
More than half of ninth graders said the same about access to alcohol and marijuana.
Intoxication is the goal of teen drinking and pot smoking, the survey reported.
-- 37 percent of juniors said they drink "enough to feel it a lot" or "until really drunk."
-- 32 percent said they smoke marijuana or consume other drugs to get "moderately high" or "very high."
The perceived harm of drinking occasionally was rated "slight" or "none" by 60 percent of high school juniors, and the harm of occasional pot smoking was rated the same by 59 percent.
Consuming five or more drinks once or twice a week was rated a "great" or "moderate" risk by 76 percent of juniors.
Smoking marijuana once or twice a week got the same risk rating from 57 percent.
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