REPORT: TEEN DRUG USE UNCHANGED

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 yesterday found.

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

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.

Trends are seen first in the eighth-graders, said Lloyd Johnston, a social
psychologist at the University of Michigan, who conducted the study.

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 found.

Cigarette use dropped significantly, according to a report on the study,
issued jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services, the National
Institute on Drug Abuse and Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, head of the Office of
National Drug Control Policy.

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

There were few changes in the percentages of teens who said they drank
alcohol. Fourteen percent of eighth-graders and 30 percent of seniors said
they drank five 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 eighth-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 eighth-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 eighth-graders, 32.2
percent of 10th-graders and 36.5 percent of 12th-graders saying they had
used the drug 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.