TEEN DRUG USE IN UNITED STATES UNCHANGED STUDY

WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - American teenagers are using illegal drugs
just as much as they were last year and they are using the "club drug"
ecstasy more, but they are smoking less, a government report issued on
Thursday finds.

An annual survey of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders -- aged 13 to 18 -- found
the use of illicit drugs, including marijuana, generally remained unchanged
in the last year. It is the fourth year in a row that the use of any
illicit drugs among teenagers has stayed level or declined.

"This year's survey confirms that teens' use of marijuana and most other
drugs has leveled off and even decreased among younger students," Health
and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Donna Shalala said in a statement.

"And we've also begun to have a positive impact on teen smoking. But we
must remain vigilant to new threats, particularly that of so-called club
drugs such as ecstasy."

The survey of 45,000 students in 435 schools across the nation shows a
higher use of ecstasy, also known as MDMA, among all teens and slightly
more heroin use among some.

"Our research shows that ecstasy is a dangerous drug," Dr. Alan Leshner,
director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), said. "Serious
consequences include dehydration, hypertension (high blood pressure),
hyperthermia, and heart or kidney failure."

As in the past, trends are seen first in the 8th graders, Lloyd Johnston, a
social psychologist at the University of Michigan, who conducted the study,
said in an interview.

"Among drugs that declined particularly among younger kids are marijuana,
crack cocaine, powder cocaine, tranquilizers, rohypnol, and there has also
a been an important reduction in cigarette and smokeless tobacco use,"
Johnston said.

More 10th graders were using steroids, which have been touted as a way to
build muscle and athletic ability although studies suggest they have
dangerous side-effects, the study, which can be found on the Internet at
http:/monitoringthefuture.org, found.

"It's partly because they much are less likely to see it as dangerous,"
Johnston said, noting that famous athletes such as baseball slugger Mark
McGwire had admitted publicly they had used steroids.

FEWER TEENS ARE SMOKING

Cigarette use dropped significantly, the report, issued jointly by HHS,
NIDA and General Barry McCaffrey, head of the White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy, found.

The percentage of teens who said they had smoked within the past month fell
to 14.6 percent from 17.5 percent over the past year among 8th graders and
to 31.4 percent from 34.6 percent among 12th graders.

"We are seeing a steady increase since 1995 in the degree to which kids see
smoking as dangerous, which is encouraging, and that may have had to do
with tremendous amount of adverse publicity that the industry has had,"
Johnston said.

"We are also beginning to see their personal disapproval of smoking
increase. But I think also ... there have been some important increases in
price and that almost surely has had some effect."

There were few changes in the percentages of teens who said they drank
alcohol. Fourteen percent of 8th graders and 30 percent of seniors said
they drank 5 or more drinks in a row within the past two weeks.

The survey found that:

- -- Use of any illicit drug in the past year by 8th graders declined to 19.5
percent in 2000 from 22.1 percent in 1997. For 10th graders, drug use was
down to 36.4 percent in 2000 from 38.5 percent in 1997. For seniors, the
percentages were 40.9 percent in 2000 and 42.4 percent in 1997.

- -- The percentage of 10th graders who said they used steroids in the past
year rose to 2.2 percent from 1.7 percent.

- -- Use of ecstasy in the past year rose significantly among 8th graders, to
3.1 percent from 1.7 percent, and to 8.2 percent from 5.6 percent among
12th graders.

- -- Marijuana use was unchanged, with 15.6 percent of 8th graders, 32.2
percent of 10th graders, and 36.5 percent of 12th graders saying they had
used cannabis in the past year.

- -- Among seniors, heroin use in the past year increased to 1.5 percent from
1.1 percent in 1999. It is the highest rate of heroin use among seniors
since the survey began 26 years ago. The survey found that 1.1 percent of
8th graders used heroin, a decrease from 1.4 percent in 1999.

- -- Cocaine use by seniors decreased to 5 percent from 6.2 percent, while
crack use fell to 2.2 percent from 2.7 percent.