A STRANGE NEW WORLD OF TEENAGE DRUG USE

Baby boomer parents, the most drug-savvy generation yet, are confronting an
entirely new universe of drugs as their children explore Ecstasy, ketamine
and GHB, in addition to marijuana, cocaine, heroin and LSD.

This new universe -- which many parents may encounter for the first time as
the school year begins -- has its own lingo and social conventions that
color the conversations in teen chat rooms on the Internet and the
all-night dance parties called raves. Even the names for illicit drugs
that permeated boomer youth have changed. You won't hear teens today call
marijuana "Mary Jane," and joints are being overtaken by "blunts."

And it's not just the names. The drugs themselves have changed. Heroin now
is far purer than it was 20 years ago. The powder is so pure that users can
get high by snorting or smoking it, rather than injecting.

Overall, drug use by high school students decreased or remained stable over
the past four years, according to data from the 2000 Monitoring the Future
study. But Ecstasy, steroid and heroin use grew. Ecstasy use among 10th-
and 12th-graders increased in 2000 for the second year in a row. More than
half of the kids surveyed said Ecstasy is readily available.

The following chart lists some of the most popular illicit drugs, what they
do and how kids talk about them. The lingo, prices and popularity vary by
region.

GRAPHIC: PHOTO, B/W, Tomas Munita, AP; One toke over the line: Teens have
unprecedented access to drugs their parents have never even heard of.
Experts say so-called club drugs have spread to schools and neighborhoods.