SLOW, STEADY DROP IN TEEN USE OF MARIJUANA

Marijuana use among US teenagers has dropped for a third straight year, but
a jump in the use of the "club drug" Ecstasy is raising new concerns.

Use of Ecstasy, a favorite at dance clubs and all-night raves, has doubled
among teens since 1995. One in 10 teens has experimented with the drug,
according to a report by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

The annual report, released yesterday, found the number of teens who have
tried Ecstasy at least once rose from 7 percent to 10 percent in the past year.

In contrast, the percentage of teens who tried marijuana dropped from 41
percent last year to 40 percent this year. It was the third consecutive
dropoff in teen marijuana use since 1997, when 44 percent of teens said
they had used the drug at least once.

Many experts attribute the decline to teens' changing attitudes toward
marijuana - and some credit antidrug ad campaigns with helping to discredit
what many experts believe to be a "gateway" drug.

Indeed, the survey found that 54 percent of teens felt smoking pot would
make them behave foolishly, up from 51 percent in 1997. Fewer believe most
teens will try marijuana (36 percent now versus 41 percent in 1997). Just
21 percent said they had used marijuana in the past month, down from 24
percent in 1997.

"We appear to be turning a very important corner," said Richard Bonnette,
the partnership's president. "But as we turn one corner, troubling
developments are coming at us from other directions - specifically with
Ecstasy."

The national ad campaign - started in July 1998 by the partnership and the
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy - appears to be getting
through to about half of America's teens. Forty-nine percent reported
seeing antidrug advertising on a daily basis, compared with 32 percent in 1998.

"This study confirms the trends we've seen over the last three years - a
steady decline in the number of teens using drugs," said Barry McCaffrey of
the Office of National Drug Control Policy. "This is good news."