DRUG USE RISES IN 50s, DIPS AMONG TEENS

Boomers, Young Adults Push Up Overall Rates

Baby boomers' use of marijuana and other drugs is increasing usage
rates among older adults, while teens' drug use is declining,
according to a national survey released Thursday.

Overall, illicit drug use among Americans rose slightly from 2004 to
2005, driven in part by small increases in cocaine and
prescription-drug abuse by young adults 18-25 and by rising drug use
- -- mostly marijuana -- among adults 50-59, the National Survey on
Drug Use and Health said. The survey said 8.1% of Americans 12 and
older were illicit drug users in 2005, up from 7.9% in 2004 but down
from 8.3% in 2002.

The use of illicit drugs among baby boomers 50-59 rose 63% from 2002
to 2005, according to the survey, which was sponsored by the federal
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The survey
questioned 68,308 people 12 and older about their substance abuse,
smoking and drinking habits.

In 2005, 4.4% of adults in their 50s said they had used an illicit
drug in the previous month, up from 2.7% in 2002. Drug use among
youths 12-17, however, fell slightly for the third straight year,
with 9.9% reporting illicit drug use during the previous month in
2005 compared with 10.6% in 2004.

Federal anti-drug officials say the survey indicates that while some
baby boomers who were in their teens and 20s when drug-use rates
peaked in the 1970s are taking their drug habits well into middle
age, today's youths aren't embracing drugs as enthusiastically.

The Census Bureau says there are 78.2 million baby boomers, the
generation born from 1946 to 1964. This year, the oldest of them are
turning 60. When they were young, "substance abuse became seen as
part of coming of age," says John Walters, director of the Office of
National Drug Control Policy. Some "have carried (it) on throughout
their lifetimes."

Steve Hager, 55, editor of the marijuana advocacy magazine High
Times, says some ailing people his age choose marijuana over sleeping
pills or anti-depressants. "People in their 60s are rediscovering
it," Hager says of marijuana, which has been used as a pain reliever
for glaucoma and other maladies. "If you're using it sparingly, it's
the most wondrous medicine."

The U.S. government does not recognize marijuana as having a
medicinal benefit, but 11 states allow its use for medical purposes.
Marijuana is the most popular illicit drug. About 6% of those
surveyed reported using it in the previous month. Stimulants and
prescription drugs were the second-most-used illicit drugs; 2.6%
reported using them illicitly in the prior month.