cannabisnews.com: Teen Drug Use Steady in 1998





Teen Drug Use Steady in 1998
Posted by FoM on December 18, 1998 at 05:29:58 PT

Washington -- Teen-age use of alcohol, marijuana and other drugs remained stable for a second straight year after years on the rise, with younger teen-agers even less likely to have used drugs over the past year, according to a government report being released today. 
The annual report offers a comprehensive look at drug, alcohol and cigarette use among 8th, 10th and 12th graders. With a few exceptions, it paints an optimistic picture of American teen-agers, according to a summary of the findings provided by a Clinton administration official on condition of anonymity. The Monitoring the Future survey, which has tracked teen-age drug use since 1975, asks nearly 50,000 teen-agers questions about drug use and attitudes and offers the first look at adolescent drug use in 1998. Teen-agers were surveyed anonymously at 422 schools across the country over the 1997-98 school year. The findings were being released today by Donna Shalala, secretary of the Health and Human Services Department, and Barry McCaffrey, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. "This consistent progress gives reason for optimism," McCaffrey said. "It demonstrates that our balanced approach -- focusing on preventing children from turning to drugs, treating drug addicts, and breaking trafficking organizations -- works." He added, "Our commitment must be to continuing to make progress through a 10-year generational effort to lock in and build on today's gains. If at any point during this long-term process we let down our guard or squander our momentum we risk repeating with today's youth the wasted mistakes of past generations." Last year's report found drug use stabilizing for the first time after several years on the rise. It also found more adolescents disapproving of drug use. This year, the survey finds a drop in the number of 8th and 10th graders reporting the use of any type of illegal drug. Use among high school seniors was steady. Overall, 35 percent of 10th graders said they had used drugs during the past year, down from 38.5 percent in 1997. Use among 8th graders in the past year dropped to 21 percent from 23.6 percent. Use of marijuana, by far the most popular drug, dropped among 10th graders, with just under 40 percent saying they had smoked pot at some point in their lives. Marijuana use was steady among 8th and 12th graders. More young teen-agers said there was a "great risk" in trying marijuana once or twice, up to 28.1 percent from 25.3 percent among 8th graders. A full 45 percent of them said there was great risk in occasional pot smoking, also up from 1997. But the news was not all good among 8th graders. There was an increase in the number who had tried crack or cocaine, with 3.2 percent having tried it at some point and 2.1 percent using it in the past year. Crack use among older teen-agers was steady. Also, fewer 8th graders said they disapproved of people taking LSD or saw great risk in LSD use. The survey, conducted for the government by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, also found: -- Use of heroin, a drug on the rise in recent years, stable across all the age groups. -- Some declines in the use of inhalants and LSD. -- A drop in cigarette smoking from last year -- an all-time high _ among high school seniors, with 22.4 percent smoking daily. That still was higher than the low point of 17.2 percent in 1992. Black teen-agers continue to have the lowest smoking rates, with just under 15 percent of black seniors saying they smoked in the past month. -- Continued stable use of alcohol among 8th and 10th graders. After increasing among 12th graders last year, it was stable among them, too, this year. About seven in 10 sophomores said they have drunk alcohol. There was a drop in the number of those who reported having been drunk at some point. The government gauges teen-age drug use twice each year: once through this school-based survey, and a second time as part of a survey at homes that looks at drug use among both teen-agers and adults. The household survey shows significantly smaller percentages of teen-agers using drugs, perhaps because teen-agers are being surveyed at home where their parents' presence might influence answers. This year's household survey, released in August, showed an increase in drug use among 12- to 17-year-olds, led by rising marijuana smoking, though the overall percentages were still lower. But the administration official noted that, taken together, several surveys in the last two years have pointed to a slowdown in illicit drug use. 
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on December 18, 1998 at 11:48:49 PT
It's just a medicinal plant!
Thanks for you comment! I agree! Cannabis is a medicinal herb and it has been used since recorded time and it never should have been made illegal. I do understand the concern about kids and drugs but what about adults? 
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Comment #1 posted by Matthew Miller on December 18, 1998 at 08:17:23 PT
drugs are good!
	Dear whoever wrote this,  I am a regular marijuana smoker. While I think that constant use of the drug can be very harmful, there is nothing wrong with trying the drug once or twice, or just smoking it occasionally. I think that if many people knew this they would use marijuana instead of other drugs. I believe that education on the true facts about drugs will help the most to prevent drug "abuse".
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