cannabisnews.com: Teen Drug Use Drops After 1990s Rise!


cannabisnews.com: Teen Drug Use Drops After 1990s Rise!





Teen Drug Use Drops After 1990s Rise!
Posted by FoM on August 18, 1999 at 07:20:57 PT
By Laura Meckler
Source: Nando Times
Teen drug use fell in 1998, with about one in 10 teenagers using marijuana and other drugs, the government reported Wednesday. Officials cite the findings as solid evidence that the nation has turned a corner after rising drug use through the mid-1990s. 
Overall, drug use among Americans of all ages remained level, but use among young adults continued its steady rise, according to the annual household survey of 25,500 people ages 12 and up. All told, 78 million Americans had tried illegal drugs at some point in their lives. Marijuana remained far and away the most popular drug, but 41.3 million Americans also had tried another heroin, cocaine or some other illegal drug, the survey said. Of them, 13.6 million were current users, about half what it was at its 1979 peak. The survey results were being released Wednesday by Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and Barry McCaffrey, President Clinton's drug policy adviser. The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse also measured cigarette smoking and found it down to 27.7 percent overall, the lowest rate recorded. But smoking remained steady among teens and continued to rise among young adults. Cigar use edged up. The survey is most carefully watched as a gauge of teen drug use. It found 9.9 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds had used some sort of drugs within the past month, down from 11.4 percent in 1997. A second government survey, which uses a different method to measure teen drug use, has found that drug use was stable over the past two years after years on the rise. "We can really say we're making progress," a Clinton administration official said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. Earlier reports signaling a leveling off of teen drug use have been greeted with cautious optimism, but the official said researchers were now confident that the nation had "turned a corner." The portion of teens saying they had ever used drugs was also down, from 18.8 percent in 1997 to 16.4 percent last year. The declines were driven by older teens - those ages 16 and 17 - with the percentage having used drugs in the past year falling from 30.7 percent to 26.8 percent. Marijuana - the most popular drug - tends to fuel the overall rate, though its usage has fluctuated over the past few years. Last year it fell to 8.3 percent among teens, back to its 1995 level and still significantly higher than the 3.4 percent recorded in 1992. Overall, teen drug use rose through much of the 1990s and is still much higher than it was in 1991 and 1992. Researchers attribute the rise to a relaxing of the intense prevention efforts of the 1980s. Wednesday's news was not as good for young adults aged 18 to 25. The survey found 16.1 percent of them were "current users," meaning they had used drugs in the past month. That rate has been gradually rising, up from 13.3 percent in 1994. In particular, cocaine use was up, from 1.2 percent in 1997 to 2 percent in 1998. Officials suspect that the rising statistics relate to this particular group of people - the same people who were more likely to use drugs when they were teen-agers, who have now become young adults. Overall, drug use among all ages remained level in 1998, with 13.6 million current users. That's 6.2 percent of the population, statistically unchanged from 6.4 percent in 1997. But the rates have increased among minority groups. The percent of blacks currently using drugs jumped from 5.8 percent in 1993 to 8.2 percent last year. Hispanics saw a similar rise, from 4.4 percent to 6.1 percent over those five years. Teen and adult drug use is driven largely by use of marijuana, which attracts nearly twice as many users as cocaine, heroine, LSD and other drugs combined. Overall use of marijuana was steady in 1998, with about 11 million Americans smoking it in the month preceding the survey. Other findings from the survey: Heroin: A total of 130,000 people were currently using heroin, double the number in 1993. And the age of users was dropping. In 1997, the typical heroin user was 17.6 years old the first time they tried it, down from 18.3 in 1996. Cocaine: The number of users was stable in 1998, with about 1.75 million, though there were increases among teens and young adults. Cigarettes: Some 60 million Americans age 12 and up said they were current smokers, down from 29.6 percent in 1997. Among young adults, the percentage has steadily increased from 34.6 percent in 1994 to 41.6 percent last year. Cigars: Use increased to 6.9 percent last year from 5.9 percent in 1997. WASHINGTON August 18, 19998:38 a.m. EDThttp://www.nandotimes.comPubdate: August 18, 1999Copyright © 1999 Nando Media
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Comment #4 posted by Jamie on April 30, 2001 at 18:21:51 PT:
Teen usage is higher than you think.
To whom it may concern,   Good afternoon,my name is Jamie, and i'm 16 and a friend to many who use drugs. I just wanted to tell you that you may think drug use is at what you think it is, but it's not. My school has atleast half its population using drugs currently. I first came apon this website looking for information for my motivational speech i was going to make about drugs and the harmful side effects and how dangerous it is, and I just wanted to say that I think you need to make more postive websites for people who are currently using and want to get off of drugs. Tell them their gonig to be ok, and help them on there problems and incourage them in a positive way to stop using. I also was wondering if you have any usefull information I may use. thank you for taking your time and reading my comment.                jamie
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on August 19, 1999 at 08:50:21 PT:
Related Article
Administration Hails Decline in Illegal Drug Use:Big One-Year Drop Among YouthsBy Muriel DobbinBee Washington BureauPublished Aug. 19, 1999http://www.capitolalert.com/WASHINGTON A one-year drop in illicit drug use by youths under 18 was hailed by the Clinton administration Wednesday as a sign of significant progress in the nation's battle against narcotics.Youths and drugs, alcohol, tobaccoChart tracks the use of illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco by Americans ages 12 to 17 since 1979. Figures are not available for some years in the 1980s: 1979Percentage using illegal drugs in the past month: 16.3%Percentage using alcohol in the past month: 49.6%Percentage using cigarettes in the past month: Not Available 1985Percentage using illegal drugs in the past month: 13.2%Percentage using alcohol in the past month: 41.2%Percentage using cigarettes in the past month: 29.4% 1991Percentage using illegal drugs in the past month: 5.8%Percentage using alcohol in the past month: 27.0%Percentage using cigarettes in the past month: 20.9% 1992Percentage using illegal drugs in the past month: 5.3%Percentage using alcohol in the past month: 20.9%Percentage using cigarettes in the past month: 18.4% 1993Percentage using illegal drugs in the past month: 5.7%Percentage using alcohol in the past month: 23.9%Percentage using cigarettes in the past month: 18.5% 1994Percentage using illegal drugs in the past month: 8.2%Percentage using alcohol in the past month: 21.6%Percentage using cigarettes in the past month: 18.9% 1995Percentage using illegal drugs in the past month: 10.9% Percentage using alcohol in the past month: 21.1%Percentage using cigarettes in the past month: 20.2% 1996Percentage using illegal drugs in the past month: 9.0%Percentage using alcohol in the past month: 18.8%Percentage using cigarettes in the past month: 18.3% 1997Percentage using illegal drugs in the past month: 11.4%Percentage using alcohol in the past month: 20.5%Percentage using cigarettes in the past month: 19.9% 1998Percentage using illegal drugs in the past month: 9.9%Percentage using alcohol in the past month: 19.1%Percentage using cigarettes in the past month: 18.2%Source: National Household Survey on Drug AbuseDonna Shalala, secretary of health and human services, said the 13 percent reduction was a sign that "we have turned the corner." The number of children ages 12 to 17 reporting drug use in the most recent month fell to 9.9 percent in 1998 from 11.4 percent in 1997, according to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.Shalala and White House drug policy director Barry McCaffrey said that while the new data point to diminishing drug use, an estimated 13.6 million Americans 12 and over were still classified as current drug users, meaning they used an illegal drug within a month of being interviewed. That number was not significantly different from the 1997 figure.Drug use among Americans hit a peak in 1979, when 25 million people were identified as current users.The report showed California and Arizona with the highest incidence of illicit drug use in 1998 among those over age 12, with 7.2 percent of Californians and 7.4 percent of Arizonans termed users. Across the rest of the country, the incidence of drug use was about 6 percent.Marijuana remains the No. 1 illegal drug, with about 60 percent of all drug users reporting only marijuana use. An additional 21 percent reported using marijuana along with some other illegal drug.An estimated 1.8 million Americans were current cocaine users, unchanged from the previous year but down sharply from the peak of 5.7 million in 1985.Marijuana use in the 12-to-17 age range reached a peak of 14.2 percent in 1979, then declined gradually over the next 13 years. But starting in 1992, marijuana incidence shot up, doubling over the next three years. The rise coincided with the first three years of the Clinton administration, and Republicans seized on the data as evidence that President Clinton had bungled drug enforcement.McCaffrey, appointed in the wake of that criticism, defended the administration's response. "The findings are good news demonstrating that America's team effort is working," he said Wednesday.However, last year's dip is not part of a solid pattern. Among the young, illicit drug use went up in 1995, down in 1996, but back up in 1997 before falling in 1998.Shalala acknowledged that the good news about youth drug trends was leavened by the fact that in 1998 there were still 1.1 million young people dependent on drugs. "We have a long way to go," she observed.Still, administration officials found plenty of good news in the new data, including evidence that the perceived risk of smoking marijuana once or twice a week leveled off in 1998 after years of decline. The drop in drug use by 12- to 17-year-olds, said Shalala, was important because it was a harbinger of that group's future habits."If we prevent drug abuse by a child through the teens, that child is more likely to remain drug-free as an adult," she said.McCaffrey said that point was supported by new statistics showing that upper teens had the highest rates of drug use, ranging from 16.4 percent to 19.9 percent. Those rates reflected patterns that began in earlier years, he said, and might have been avoided by a more intensive effort at early drug education.Shalala stressed continuing concern about the 10 million in the 12-to-20 age group who use alcohol, with more than half of them characterized as "binge drinkers," meaning they had five or more drinks on the same occasion at least once a month."The conventional view among young people is that underage drinking is cool, that it is normal, and, most wrongheaded of all, that it is safe," said Shalala.Alcohol use among those age 12 to 17 fell just below 20 percent in 1998, but officials said that was not statistically different from rates going back to 1994.There was mixed news about the use of tobacco by an estimated 60 million Americans.In the population at large, smoking fell to 28 percent in 1998, a slight drop from the previous year and the lowest percentage on record. But among young adults 18 to 25, the smoking rate hit 41.6 percent last year -- up from 34.6 percent in 1994. There was no significant change in smoking among those 12 to 17 (18.2 percent).
Administration Hails Decline in Illegal Drug Use
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on August 18, 1999 at 17:17:14 PT:
Clinton's Statement On Drug Use Report 
WASHINGTONAugust 18, 199911:43 a.m. EDThttp://www.nandotimes.comThe following statement from President Clinton was released Wednesday by the White House: Statement By The President Today's 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse reveals that we have turned an important corner on youth drug use. Last year, youth drug use declined significantly, and fewer young people tried marijuana for the first time. This encouraging news shows that more young people are getting the message that drugs are wrong and illegal, and can kill you. And today's report contains even more good news: current cigarette use dropped to the lowest rate ever recorded by the Survey. While these results give us reason to be optimistic, we cannot let up on our efforts. We must continue our unprecedented media campaign to reach our children with powerful anti-drug messages, not cut it back just as it is making an impact. We must expand our partnerships with community anti-drug coalitions, and work to enact our long-term drug strategy. Together, we can steer our children away from drugs and toward a brighter future. Copyright © 1999 Nando MediaCopyright © 1999 U.S. Newswire
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on August 18, 1999 at 09:33:43 PT:
Related Article
USA Todayhttp://www.usatoday.com/08/18/99- Updated 10:42 AM ETTeen Drug Use Falls After '90s RiseWASHINGTON (AP) - Teen drug use fell last year, with about one in 10 teen-agers using marijuana and other drugs, the government reported Wednesday. Officials say it's solid evidence that the nation has turned a corner after rising drug use through the mid-1990s. Overall, drug use among Americans of all ages remained level, but use among young adults continued its steady rise, according to the annual household survey of 25,500 people ages 12 and up. All told, 78 million Americans had tried illegal drugs at some point in their lives. Marijuana remained far and away the most popular drug, but 41.3 million Americans also had tried another heroin, cocaine or some other illegal drug, the survey said. Of them, 13.6 million were current users, about half what it was at its 1979 peak. The survey results were released Wednesday by Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and Barry McCaffrey, President Clinton's drug policy adviser. The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse also measured cigarette smoking and found it down to 27.7% overall, the lowest rate recorded. But smoking remained steady among teens and continued to rise among young adults. Cigar use edged up. The survey is most carefully watched as a gauge of teen drug use. It found 9.9% of 12- to 17-year-olds had used some sort of drugs within the past month, down from 11.4% in 1997. A second government survey, which uses a different method to measure teen drug use, has found that drug use was stable over the past two years after years on the rise. ''It looks like we have turned the corner with Wednesday's report,'' Shalala said in a statement. ''We can really say we're making progress,'' a Clinton administration official said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. Earlier reports signaling a leveling off of teen drug use have been greeted with cautious optimism, but the official said researchers were now confident that the nation had ''turned a corner.'' The portion of teens saying they had ever used drugs was also down, from 18.8% in 1997 to 16.4% last year. The declines were driven by older teens - those ages 16 and 17 - with the percentage having used drugs in the past year falling from 30.7% to 26.8 percent. Marijuana - the most popular drug - tends to fuel the overall rate, though its usage has fluctuated over the past few years. Last year it fell to 8.3% among teens, back to its 1995 level and still significantly higher than the 3.4% recorded in 1992. Overall, teen drug use rose through much of the 1990s and is still much higher than it was in 1991 and 1992. Researchers attribute the rise to a relaxing of the intense prevention efforts of the 1980s. Wednesday's news was not as good for young adults aged 18 to 25. The survey found 16.1% of them were ''current users,'' meaning they had used drugs in the past month. That rate has been gradually rising, up from 13.3% in 1994. In particular, cocaine use was up, from 1.2% in 1997 to 2% in 1998. Officials suspect that the rising statistics relate to this particular group of people - the same people who were more likely to use drugs when they were teen-agers, who have now become young adults. Overall, drug use among all ages remained level in 1998, with 13.6 million current users. That's 6.2% of the population, statistically unchanged from 6.4% in 1997. But the rates have increased among minority groups. The percentage of blacks currently using drugs jumped from 5.8% in 1993 to 8.2% last year. Hispanics saw a similar rise, from 4.4% to 6.1% over those five years. Teen and adult drug use is driven largely by use of marijuana, which attracts nearly twice as many users as cocaine, heroine, LSD and other drugs combined. Overall use of marijuana was steady in 1998, with about 11 million Americans smoking it in the month preceding the survey. Other findings from the survey: Heroin: A total of 130,000 people were currently using heroin, double the number in 1993. And the age of users was dropping. In 1997, the typical heroin user was 17.6 years old the first time they tried it, down from 18.3 years in 1996. Cocaine: The number of users was stable in 1998, with about 1.75 million, though there were increases among teens and young adults. Cigarettes: Some 60 million Americans age 12 and up said they were current smokers, down from 29.6% in 1997. Among young adults, the percentage has steadily increased from 34.6% in 1994 to 41.6% last year. Cigars: Use increased to 6.9% last year from 5.9% in 1997.
Teen Drug Use Falls After '90s Rise
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