PROGRAM TARGETS TEENS, MARIJUANA

WASHINGTON - Summer is when many kids first try marijuana, so the
government last week announced an effort aimed at stopping children from
lighting up while they're on break from school.

The "School's Out" initiative, an extension of an anti-marijuana campaign
begun last September, includes anti-drug Internet resources for parents,
community organizations, employers and teens.

Summer is the riskiest time of year for teens when it comes to drug use,
says John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control
Policy. Data released last year in the National Household Survey on Drug
Abuse indicate that nearly 40 percent of teens who had used marijuana first
tried it during the summer. Each day in June and July, about 5,800 teens
try marijuana for the first time.

The anti-marijuana initiative is "going to be led by parents if it's going
to work," Mr. Walters says. "But kids are not going to spend all their time
at home." The YMCA of the USA, the American Camping Association and
shopping mall operator The Mills Corp. are joining the White House's drug
policy office and the Health and Human Services Department in efforts to
spread the word about marijuana dangers.

"Every day, kids make important decisions about their own self-images,"
says Marla Coleman, president of the American Camping Association, adding
that kids are natural risk takers.

In addition to Web information, the summer initiative also includes post
cards with information about marijuana, parenting tips and e-mail updates
and posters for teens.

"The consequences of marijuana are much greater than people understand,"
says Mr. Walters, who says it is a mistake to see the drug as soft or
harmless. "What we're trying to do is respond to what the research shows,"
he says, referring to the "burst" of first-time use in summer.

ONLINE - The Media Campaign's resources for parents: www.theantidrug.com
The campaign's resources for community organizations: www.mediacampaign.org
Resources for youth: www.freevibe.com Office of National Drug Control
Policy: www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov