USE OF DRUG ECSTASY RISING AMONG TEENS, SURVEY SAYS

NEW YORK -- Teen-age marijuana use has dropped for a third straight year,
but a jump in the use of the "club drug" ecstasy raises concerns, according
to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America's annual report.

The nonprofit group's 13th survey, being released today, questioned 7,290
students in seventh through 12th grades nationwide. The margin of error is
plus or minus 1.5 percentage points.

Use of ecstasy, a favorite at dance clubs and all-night raves, has doubled
among teens since 1995, the survey said. One in 10 teens has experimented
with the drug, it said.

The report said the number of teens who have tried ecstasy at least once
increased to 10 percent from 7 percent during the past year. In contrast,
the 40 percent of teens saying they had tried marijuana was down from 41
percent last year.

It was the third consecutive drop in teen marijuana use since 1997, when 44
percent of teens said they had used the drug at least once.

"We appear to be turning a very important corner," said Richard D.
Bonnette, the partnership's president and chief executive officer.

"But as we turn one corner, troubling developments are coming at us from
other directions -- specifically with ecstasy."

The survey said that more teens were turned off than on by marijuana; 54
percent felt smoking pot would make them behave foolishly, up from 51
percent in 1997.

Fewer believe most people will try marijuana: 36 percent now, compared with
41 percent in 1997. And just 21 percent said they had used marijuana in the
past month, down from 24 percent in 1997.

The partnership, launched in 1987, is a coalition of communications
industry professionals aimed at reducing the demand for illegal drugs.