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05/07/08 |
       
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* DRUG USE
AMONG YOUTH AGES 12 TO 17 DECLINED
13 percent between 1997 and 1998, according to the 1999 National
Household Survey on Drug Abuse. This is the first statistically
significant drop in four years.
* Overall drug use remains level. While there is notable improvement in the youngest age group (ages 12 to 17), THERE IS STILL A SERIOUS PROBLEM AMONG YOUNG ADULTS (ages 18-25). Cocaine use, in particular, increased significantly, from 1.2 percent in 1997 to 2.0 percent in 1998. * TEENS WANT MORE GUIDANCE FROM PARENTS. In the nationally representative 199 Uhlich Report Card, filled out by teenagers from throughout the United States, teens gave adults a "D+" on thier efforts to stop teenagers from using alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. * TEENS HAVE AN INFLATED VIEW OF PEER DRUG USE. In a 1997 study, teenagers thought that more than 70 percent of their peers used marijuana at least occasionally. In truth, less than half of teenagers surveyed (44 percent) reported ever trying marijuana. * PARENTS TEND TO UNDERESTIMATE DRUG USE AMONG THIER OWN TEENS. The same study found that only 21 percent of parents believed their teens might have tried drugs-less than half of the actual amount (44 percent). * DRUG CHOICE VARIES BY ETHNICITY. Overall reates of drug use are roughtly equal among Histpanic and while (non-Hispanic) adolescents, and slightly lower among African American adolescents. Specific drugs used varies somewhat: Data show that non-Hispanic, while adolescents use marijuana, hallucinogens, amphetamines, barbiturates, and opiates other then heroin more often than other drugs, while Hispanic adolescents have high use rates for crack and heroin. Hispanic children also have high rates of drug use in the 8th grade, but white children catch up to thier Hispanic peers by 10th grade. * THOUGH DANGEROUS, INHALANTS ARE OVERLOOKED. According to The National Inhalant Prevention Coalition, inhalants can kill on the first use, and are often the first substance used, before marijuana and cocaine. In fact, inhalant use often appears before the onset of tobacco and alcohol use. One in five students will have used inhalants by the time they enter the 8th grade. * ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO ARE GATEWAY DRUGS. Eighth graders who smoke are three times more likely to try illicit drugs than nonsmokers, while those who smoke a pack a day or more are nine times more likely. Similarly, 8th graders who smoke are twice as likely to drink alcohol then their nonsmoking classmates. * DRUG USE AND CRIME ARE CONNECTED. Of adult males arrested in 20 major cities in 1997, more than 60 percent tested positive for drugs. Drug offenders account for 25 percent of the growth in state prison populations and 72 percent of the growth in federal prison populations since 1990. * POPULAR CULTURE OFTEN DISTORTS DRUG USE. A study analyzing the content of 200 of the most popular movie rentals and 1,000 of the most popular songs from 1996 and 1997 found that illicit drugs appeared in about one-fifth of movies (22 percent) and songs (18 percent). PDF Files
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This site was last updated 05/07/08