THE RESEARCH HYPOTHESIZES THAT FOUR BELIEF ITEMS--CERTAINTY OF APPREHENSION, BELIEF IN SPEEDY LEGAL PUNISHMENT, BELIEF IN IMMORALITY OF MARIJUANA USE, AND PERCEPTION OF MARIJUANA AS PHYSICALLY DEBILITATING--AND TWO SOCIAL SUPPORT FACTORS--ATTACHMENT TO PEERS AND LEVEL OF FRIENDS' MARIJUANA USE--ARE RELATED TO ADOLESCENTS' USE AND NONUSE OF MARIJUANA. A CROSS SECTIONAL, EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS USING A SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE WAS EMPLOYED WITH A SAMPLE OF 571 STUDENTS IN 2 PUBLIC SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS AND 4 PUBLIC JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN A MEDIUM-SIZED CITY IN WASHINGTON STATE. A TABULAR ANALYSIS EXAMINED BIVARIATE AND ELABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE BELIEF ITEMS AND SOCIAL FACTORS. RESULTS SHOWED THAT RESPONDENTS HAVING A STRONG PERCEPTION OF POSSIBLE NEGATIVE SANCTIONS FROM MARIJUANA USE WERE MUCH LESS LIKELY TO BE USERS THAN WERE RESPONDENTS WITH LOW PERCEPTIONS OF THE POSSIBILITY OF NEGATIVE SANCTIONS. THE STRONGEST RELATIONSHIPS WERE BETWEEN SUBJECTS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE CERTAINTY OF THEIR APPREHENSION AND MARIJUANA USE AND THAT OF THE SUBJECTS. A PARTICULARLY SIGNIFICANT FINDING WAS THAT ABSENT SOCIAL SUPPORT FOR MARIJUANA USE, A DISBELIEF IN THE LIKELIHOOD OF NEGATIVE SANCTIONS DERIVED FROM MARIJUANA USE WAS NOT SUFFICIENT TO INDUCE USE. IMPLICATIONS OF THESE FINDINGS FOR SOCIAL CONTROL TECHNIQUES ARE DISCUSSED. THE APPENDIX DISCUSSES ATTACHMENT TO PEERS AND PROVIDES PEARSON CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS FOR INDEPENDENT VARIABLES AND A QUESTIONNAIRE SAMPLE. TABULAR DATA AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED---RCB)