In contrast with existing studies that mostly focus on drug consumption patterns in juvenile detainees, the present study quantified the severity of problems based on an adolescent drug abuse scale score. The participants were 611 juveniles from four of six detention centers in Minnesota. The sample was primarily white and male. In addition, among the valid questionnaires, about 90 percent of the youths had used at least one drug during the past 12 months, and 52.3 percent of the juvenile detainees scored in an elevated range that indicated a possible need for drug treatment. This percentage compares to elevated scores among 18.3 percent of a general high school sample and among 84 percent of a drug clinic sample of adolescents receiving formal drug abuse evaluations. Tables and 24 references (Author abstract modified)