MORE SCHOOLS DRUG-FREE, SURVEY SAYS

But Marijuana Easier To Buy Than Alcohol

Washington -- Nearly two-thirds of teenagers say their schools are
drug-free, according to a survey released Tuesday.

But it's good news, bad news for parents, because the survey group of 1,000
12- to 17-year-olds also says that marijuana is as easy to get as tobacco
and even easier to buy than alcohol.

The survey, conducted by Columbia University's National Center on Addiction
and Substance Abuse, reported that 63 percent of teens said their schools
were drug-free, slightly more than double the number reported in 1998. In
1999 and 2000, 44 percent and 45 percent of teens called their schools
drug-free. The center did not conduct a survey in 2001.

CASA President Joseph Califano said the increase might be a result of a
greater awareness of the dangers of drug use or an increase in drug testing
in schools. He said Sept. 11 might also have played a part -- citing
greater parental involvement, increased patriotism among teens or a
heightened association between drug-dealing and terrorism as possible
factors in lowering drug use.

The annual survey is designed to analyze all the factors that may come into
play as teens decide whether to use alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs,
Califano said.

Surveys have stressed the importance of parental involvement and two-
parent households in reducing teen drug use. But this survey shows that the
541 parents interviewed are more pessimistic about the likelihood that
their children are using drugs.

Although parents listed drug use as their biggest concern, 35 percent say
they have "little influence" over whether their teen uses drugs, up from 25
percent in 1999, and only 51 percent of parents described their children's
schools as drug-free.

Califano also said that controls on the underage purchase of tobacco seemed
to be working, but that marijuana was becoming easier to obtain.

The percentage of teens who listed cigarettes as the easiest illegal drug
to purchase fell from 47 percent in 1999 to 31 percent in 2002. Marijuana
was rated as easiest to obtain by 27 percent of teens in 1999 and 34
percent in 2002, but the difference in the ease of obtaining tobacco and
pot was within the survey's margin of error. Alcohol was listed as the most
easily purchased by 12 percent in 1999 and 14 percent this year.

One-quarter of teens said they had seen drugs being sold in school or on
school grounds, and almost half said they could buy pot in 24 hours or less
- -- 27 percent in an hour or less.

The average age for that first cigarette puff was just over 12 years,
according to the study. Drinkers started at 12 1/2 and marijuana users a
year later.