cannabisnews.com: More Youths Abusing Prescription Drugs





More Youths Abusing Prescription Drugs
Posted by CN Staff on September 09, 2004 at 07:57:56 PT
By Siobhan McDonough, The Associated Press
Source: Associated Press 
Washington -- Fewer American youths are using marijuana, LSD and Ecstasy, but more are abusing prescription drugs, says a government report released Thursday.The 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health also found youths and young adults are more aware of the risks of using pot once a month or more frequently.
A highlight of the study was a 5 percent decline in the number of 12- to 17-year-olds who ever have used pot. Among 12- and 13-year olds, current marijuana smokers - those who said they used it within a month of the survey - declined nearly 30 percent."It is encouraging news that more American youths are getting the message that drugs are dangerous, including marijuana," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said.For youths age 12 to 17, use of Ecstasy and LSD in the year leading up to the survey dropped significantly - by 41 percent for Ecstasy and 54 percent for LSD, the study said. The study, which also included adults, found that overall nearly 20 million people aged 12 and over use illegal drugs.But there was a 20 percent decline between 2002 and 2003 in the number of youths that were 'heavy users' of pot - those who smoke it either daily or at least 20 days each month, according to the findings released by the Department of Health and Human Services.Survey results on alcohol use showed the numbers of binge and heavy drinkers not changing between 2002 and 2003. About 54 million Americans ages 12 and older binged on alcohol at least once in the 30 days before being surveyed. These people had five or more drinks on five or more occasions in the past month.People 18 to 25 showed the highest prevalence of binge and heavy drinking.But while the findings on drinking showed little change, the study found more people had tried prescription pain relievers who did not need them for medical reasons. The most striking increase was a 15 percent rise in prescription drug abuse by people 18 to 25. In the broader population of 12 and over, 5 percent more people took those drugs recreationally.The study found that young people who were exposed to anti-drug messages outside school took notice - with rates of current pot use 25 percent lower than those who did not get those messages.And youths who believed their parents would strongly disapprove of marijuana used it 80 percent less than others.Among the other findings were these:* Drunk driving declined from 2002, but drugged driving held steady.* Smoking rates remained largely unchanged overall, with 71 million people who had used tobacco in the previous month. But fewer youths reported smoking in the previous year or ever.* About 2.3 million people had used cocaine in the previous month, 1 million had used hallucinogens and 119,000 had used heroin.* Of the nearly 17 million adult users of illegal drugs last year, nearly three-quarters worked full time or part time.* Marijuana continues to be the most commonly used illegal drug, with 14.6 million who had used it in the previous month, or 6.2 percent of the population. About two-thirds of new users were under 18.On The Net: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: http://www.samhsa.gov/Source: Associated Press Author: Siobhan McDonough, The Associated PressPublished:  September 9, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Associated Press Related Articles:Study Focuses On Marijuana Use by Teenshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19429.shtmlPotent Argument: The Latest Marijuana Scare http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19330.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #16 posted by FoM on September 10, 2004 at 11:10:38 PT
News Article from The Associated Press
Rolling Stone: UC Santa Cruz 'Most Stoned Campus On Earth'September 10, 2004SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- Students and administrators at the University of California, Santa Cruz, say they're insulted by a Rolling Stone magazine cover story proclaiming the university "the most stoned campus on Earth."In the article for the Sept. 16 issue, writer Vanessa Grigoriadis describes her adventures following two seniors, Molly and Moppy (no last name given), among the redwoods that dot the picturesque seaside campus.The article's depiction of marijuana use doesn't recognize the university's reputation as a place known for pioneering organic agriculture research and predatory bird preservation. "It's so stupid," said Elanna Grossman, a junior linguistics major."It's not what I expected from Rolling Stone. Is this a slow month? For my major, this is one of the best places in the country.""This is what sells," said Benjamin Schlotz, a senior linguistics major. "It doesn't sell to talk about organic farm research."Math professor Richard Montgomery said that, in his experience, "a small minority" of students fall into the Molly-and-Moppy category."We have very serious math undergraduates," he said.But Maya Pope-Chappell, a junior from Oakland, said the article wasn't entirely wrong about pot on campus."Its definitely here, but I don't participate," she said. "I'm here to get an education." Copyright 2004 by The Associated Presshttp://www.nbc11.com/news/3721593/detail.html
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #15 posted by siege on September 09, 2004 at 20:03:47 PT
PHARM
I think the big pharmaceutical corporations have helped set up the INTERNET PHARM. so the young people don't have to go to the doctors, to get there drugs, so they CAN sell there poison and there BAD side effects they said there  poison well help what every is wrong with you. the side effects will KILL you. So they can make more money  What I found out when I was 1 mo. to 16 years old we had HEMP to EAT. there was very little of the sickness that they have today.  My GGranddad passed when I was 16 live lived to 104 years old and EAT HEMP every day of his life. this could be another reason they don't want it around.  
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #14 posted by kaptinemo on September 09, 2004 at 16:26:01 PT:
"Figures don't lie..."
Nearly all who read this knows how the rest of the phrase ends, so I needn't bother.But as someone who considers himself an observer of social 'trends', I cannot help but notice something. Namely, the fact that there have been a rash of stories in the news media concerning official government pronouncements regarding prescription drugs, particularly their abuse.When (tacitly acknowledged) 'former' substance abuser George W. Bush makes public statements about how US citizens should be tested for mental illnesses, alarm bells *should* have begun ringing in the minds of anyone familiar with the history of drug policy in this country. Historically, calls for action against *any* drug, licit or not, have originated, not as a result of popular outcry directed at Congress, but as part of Executive branch policy. This historically verifiable process goes back as far as 1914. Such policy has at times caused so much bad legislation to be proposed that the end result has been more disastrous to the American polity than the actual effects of the substances themselves ever could. Obviously, cannabis policy in the US is the unequivocal proof of this process at work.But the process is derived, not from genuine concern for public health, but *always* with an eye towards *acquiring power* that would otherwise never be granted legislatively to that same Executive Branch...which controls the various agencies involved in implimenting those policies. So now? Now the Executive Branch has simultaneously declared itself the arbiter of what constitutes mental health...and is moving to acquire the power to regulate the degree of mental health that is appropriate for Americans to experience. (A hint: in the former Communist countries, individualism was diagnosed as a mental aberration to be treated with personality nullifying drugs. Does any reformer here doubt for a moment that some of our more rabid opponents consider US to be 'mentally ill' and in need of both incarceration and personality 'modification'?) Be afraid. Be very afraid. For the mad are striving to become the determinants of sanity...
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #13 posted by CorvallisEric on September 09, 2004 at 15:32:27 PT
That college student
She was 19. Alcohol was an illegal drug for her. RAVE Act, indeed!A couple quotes from one of the articles: ... list of accomplishments included being homecoming queen, a national honor student and a leader in the local DARE program in her hometown ... Preliminary results show Spady's blood-alcohol level was 0.43, more than five times the legal limit for driving.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by drfistusa on September 09, 2004 at 14:32:28 PT
 what are "The Risks of NOT using marijuana"
research indicates cannabis prevents cancer and or cures it. In this world i would say it would be risky not using it!
Who knows if you have a pre cancerous cell or not!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by E_Johnson on September 09, 2004 at 13:07:35 PT
The biggest risk of using marijuana
You will become alienated from some aspects of society and government that you used to accept without question -- and people who still accept those things will begin to look at you strangely.Marijuana is a gateway drug. It is a gateway to hemp and omega three fatty acids and treating trauma and saving the world. It is a gateway to thinking differently about how our world is put together, what is appropriate technology, what is appropriate authority, what is health and what is disease?But the rest of the world isn't clued in just yet and their ignorance creates enormous risk for marijuana users.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by Hope on September 09, 2004 at 12:50:53 PT
drfistusa, the risks?
You're right, the main risk seems to be getting persecuted and prosecuted by the "system". I guess the only other real risk, is getting "ripped off" in one way or another, and that's because of the way the system, illegality, is set up at the moment. Perhaps another risk could be stumbling upon an illegal grow guarded by "dangerous" people or traps. That danger would surely be diminished by legalization.One risk...during the seventies...was smoking paraquat laced marijuana...thanks to our government. It could happen, as has happened to our poor brother, Brian Carlisle, that one could be persecuted, tortured, or even murdered by gangland activities to protect their system of supplying or by rogue cops posing as such.The dangers and risks are all man made. Looks to me like.And of course…there is always the guy who is allergic or it doesn’t agree with him in some way. That’s when an individual has to make his “personal pact” to avoid it’s use. Peanuts are more dangerous than marijuana…yet we don’t make them illegal.Something rotten in more places than Denmark.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by drfistusa on September 09, 2004 at 12:18:30 PT
just what are "The Risks of using marijuana"
I am around people who have used cannabis for 30 yrs or more, at least weekly if not daily, I still am not sure what the risks they are talking about , the only risk i know is getting busted!!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by Hope on September 09, 2004 at 12:14:38 PT
"accomodating when it comes to alcohol"
It is amazing. Shows the power of propaganda and lies. If that girl had had a smidgen of proof of cannabis use in her system...it could have all been blamed on the cannabis with a great hullabaloo. The very least that they could conclude would be that the cannabis took away her good sense and "made" her drink too much. Or perhaps, that the combination "often" proves deadly.People can be so strange.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by FoM on September 09, 2004 at 09:01:48 PT
Drug and Alcohol Ads On TV
I don't know why they allow drug and alcohol advertising on TV. That promotes the use of those substances. That amazes me.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by E_Johnson on September 09, 2004 at 08:49:23 PT
Joyce Nalepka, where are you?
Maybe she doesn't care about alcohol ODs.People are so forgiving and accomodating when it comes to alcohol, it never ceases to amaze me.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by E_Johnson on September 09, 2004 at 08:47:08 PT
Now this is what doesn't make sense
"Fort Collins - A 19-year-old Colorado State University student felt safe in the fraternity house where she was found dead Sunday from apparently drinking too much alcohol, a family friend said Wednesday.Nile Dragoo said the family of Samantha Spady holds no animosity toward the Sigma Pi fraternity. Spady was found at the fraternity house at 6:22 p.m. Sunday, an estimated 12 hours after she died."Now why isn't this dfamily calling for the fraternity to be prosecuted and fined according to the RAVE Act?When a student dies from an OD on a club drug, the parents sure do blame the people who held the rave.This doesn't really make sense.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by E_Johnson on September 09, 2004 at 08:43:11 PT
Colorado college student dies from alcohol OD
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E23827%257E2384544,00.htmlhttp://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2388948,00.html
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on September 09, 2004 at 08:31:15 PT
Big Pharm
I've got a great article from 2002 - as of 2 years ago, 6 million kids in the US were using Ritalin or Ritalin-like stimulations - their doctors, nurses, parents, and Big Pharm were giving it to them. I'll say it again: 6 million, using cocaine-like pills, too young to have any say in the matter whatsoever.10% of kids in Massachusetts had used Ritalin recreationally at that time. And they call us "pushers"? Doublethink.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by Truth on September 09, 2004 at 08:29:47 PT
The Pharmies
The big pharmacuticle corporations win with prohibition, they win big.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by TroutMask on September 09, 2004 at 08:20:16 PT
Also mushrooms.
There were never so many psychedelic mushrooms around when I was younger, back when LSD was relatively plentiful. Psilocybin mushrooms vary widely in potency even within a single mushroom, can affect different people differently at different times, and can and do sometimes cause blackouts and/or a complete loss of reality. Plus anyone can grow them. I'm not bashing shrooms (though I avoid them since I'm one of the blackout crowd). My point is: The reduction in supply of LSD specifically has caused an extreme increase in the availability of an arguably much more dangerous substance, namely mushrooms. The feds claim a huge reduction in hospital emergencies related to LSD, but what has been the magnitude of the increase in hospital emergencies related to the drugs that have stepped in to take its place? You can't win with prohibition.
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment