cannabisnews.com: More Students Say Schools Drug Free 





More Students Say Schools Drug Free 
Posted by CN Staff on August 22, 2002 at 12:54:19 PT
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff
Source: Boston Globe 
The percentage of students between ages 12 and 17 who perceive that their schools are ''drug free'' has nearly doubled in the last four years to 63 percent, even though students said for the first time that it is easier to get marijuana than cigarettes or beer, according a private national survey released yesterday. Like many drug surveys, the one by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University was filled with good and bad news. 
On the positive side, the director of the study speculated that an information campaign linking drug dealers with terrorists has made drug use less appealing after the Sept. 11 attacks and, as a result, that has improved students' perceptions of their schools as drug free. But officials said the study is disturbing because marijuana continues to be easily available, even though marijuana use may have slightly declined. In one example, teenagers said marijuana is easier to buy than cigarettes or beer. Twenty-seven percent of those surveyed said they could acquire marijuana in an hour or less. It was the first time since the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse began its annual survey in 1996 that marijuana was said to be easier to acquire than cigarettes or beer. Thirty-four percent of those surveyed said it was easiest to obtain marijuana, compared to 31 percent who said cigarettes and 14 percent who said beer. One-fourth of those surveyed said they had tried marijuana. Separately, a federal study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 47 percent of teenagers have smoked marijuana by the time they leave high school. The most heartening finding for antidrug advocates was the conclusion that 63 percent of those surveyed believe they attend drug-free schools. Four years ago, 31 percent of those surveyed said their schools were drug free. The report did not say why the number of drug-free schools has increased so dramatically, but it said students at drug-free schools were twice as likely to report seeing a student using or selling illegal drugs. Joseph Califano, who oversaw the study as president of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, said the new perception may stem from a combination of increased educational campaigns and a changed national attitude following the Sept. 11 attacks. ''Most kids buy drugs from classmates, and this issue of being `unpatriotic' or `helping terrorists' may be cooling off the classmate drug sellers,'' Califano said. ''They [drug dealers] may just not be as acceptable since Sept. 11. And parents may be more engaged in kids' lives since Sept. 11. I'm speculating. We really don't know for sure, but it is probably some of all of those things.'' Glen Hanson, acting director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a federal agency, said it is not clear whether students perceive a school to be ''drug free'' only because there are signs proclaiming drug-free zones. But he said it is clear that increased education about the dangers of drug abuse has had an effect. While lauding the improvements, Hanson cautioned that marijuana is still very easy to get at many schools. ''Because one person says, `My school is drug free,' that probably doesn't mean there never has been a marijuana cigarette smoked on the playground,'' Hanson said. Since access to beer and cigarettes is restricted at the retail stage, Hanson said, youths have significant hurdles to obtaining them. ''As far as marijuana is concerned, there is not any control there,'' he said. ''If you want it, you can get it. That is not good news.'' The survey was based on a telephone poll of 1,000 students conducted from December 2001 to February 2002. It had a margin of error of 3.1 percent. Note: Yet survey finds marijuana easier to get than beer.This story ran on page A2 of the Boston Globe on 8/21/2002. Source: Boston Globe (MA)Author: Michael Kranish, Globe StaffPublished: August 21, 2002Copyright: 2002 Globe Newspaper CompanyContact: letter globe.comWebsite: http://www.boston.com/globe/Related Articles:Teens Say Buying Marijuana Is Easyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13818.shtmlSurvey: Teens Say Marijuana Easy To Gethttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13814.shtmlMajority of Teens Say Their School is Drug-Free http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13813.shtml 
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Comment #4 posted by b4daylight on August 24, 2002 at 01:10:06 PT
recess
that is cause they do it before and after school.so school is drug free .I base that on those kids that say they can get it on their way to school and comming back from school."Thirty-four percent of those surveyed said it was easiest to obtain marijuana, compared to 31 percent who said cigarettes and 14 percent who said beer." 
if you support anything which in my opinion sucks go here!
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Comment #3 posted by aocp on August 23, 2002 at 06:21:43 PT
yuck
The most heartening finding for antidrug advocates was the conclusion that 63 percent of those surveyed believe they attend drug-free schools. Four years ago, 31 percent of those surveyed said their schools were drug free.I think dan's right. This only proves that the kids are way smarter than the idiot adults who design these loaded surveys.The report did not say why the number of drug-free schools has increased so dramatically, but it said students at drug-free schools were twice as likely to report seeing a student using or selling illegal drugs.Allegedly drug-free. Take a look in the teacher's lounge ... oops! Anyway, the above proves that teaching our children to be snitches for rewards yields better results on loaded surveys. This country sucks.
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Comment #2 posted by VitaminT on August 22, 2002 at 15:23:51 PT
Has this drawn a collective yawn?
Take note: This guy, Glen Hanson holds the position formerly occupied by our "good" friend Dr. Alan Leshner! Leshner has never made such an astute remark in public! If in the future, NIDA's policy positions are to be based on science rather than politics, well LOOK OUT I think the sky is falling! READ ON >>>>>>>>Since access to beer and cigarettes is restricted at the retail stage, Hanson said, youths have significant hurdles to obtaining them.''As far as marijuana is concerned, there is not any control there,'' he said. ''If you want it, you can get it. That is not good news.''Careful NIDA - This could balloon into a full blown credibility scare!And folks - this belongs in many LTE's!
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Comment #1 posted by Dan B on August 22, 2002 at 13:14:31 PT:
Clever tactic, but it won't work
Let's say we conclude it is true that if you subject students to random searches of their persons, their lockers, and their possessions, subject them to random tests of their bodily fluids, have armed police roaming the halls at all hours of the school day, and generally trample on all freedoms that are supposed to be guaranteed to all members of our society, including kids, then yes, you will end up with "drug free schools."Big deal.So, kids aren't selling or using drugs at school. Is this supposed to make me think that kids are not selling and using drugs before and after school? How was "drug free school" defined for these kids? Could it be that some of these kids are assuming that because these measures are in place, they are working? Does the fact that 2/3 of the kids surveyed believe that their schools are "drug free" mean that the schools are, in fact, drug free? How do you square that with the fact that the other 1/3 do not believe their schools are "drug free"? What does the 1/3 know that the 2/3 does not know? How many kids who sell and use illegal drugs said that their schools were "drug free" in an effort to get the narcs to back off? This entire survey is bogus from the get-go. The only thing it proves is that kids are smarter than the adults to devise these stupid surveys.Dan B
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