TEEN DRUG USE DOWN; COLLEGE KIDS STILL AT RISK

A generation gap has emerged in U.S. drug use, with teen-agers turning
away from marijuana and cocaine even as more of their college-age
brothers and sisters are using illicit drugs, a national survey
indicates.

Since 1997, the number of 12- to 17-year-olds using illegal drugs has
fallen from 11.4 percent to 9 percent, according to the National
Household Survey, an annual snapshot of the nation's drug use, released
Thursday.

"More of our young people are obviously getting the message that drugs
are not the stuff of dreams, they are the stuff of nightmares," said
Donna Shalala, Health and Human Services secretary.

But that same message has not resonated with 18- to 25-year-olds, whose
drug use is increasing. The survey found that nearly 19 percent in that
age group used drugs in 1999, rising from just under 15 percent in
1997. That is an increase of about 28 percent.

Shalala said the disparity was caused by the aging of a group of teen-
agers that had used drugs in their early years more than those older or
younger than themselves.

"It also suggests to us that we have to target 18- to 25-year-olds,"
Shalala said, referring to education programs and a $200 million
advertising campaign commissioned by the federal government which has
been pitched mostly at teen-agers.

"This is a big issue for colleges and universities to really put the
pressure on to target those groups at the same time," she said.

The survey found Americans of all ages using drugs at about the same
rate as in the past couple of years.

An estimated 14.8 million Americans used an illegal drug at least once
in the past month, the survey found. That number is little changed from
last year. But it is significantly lower than the peak of illegal drug
use in the United States, 1979, when 25 million people were considered
current drug users.

The report was released one day after President Clinton's visit to
Colombia to support that nation's war on cocaine barons who have been
operating with, and under the protection of, leftist guerrillas
fighting the government.

The administration has pledged $1.3 billion to Colombia next year to
fund helicopters and other equipment for fighting the traffickers.

U.S. drug czar Barry McCaffrey said the slackening of drug use by U.S.
teen-agers is not a reason to re-examine an expensive war on drugs. The
national anti-drug budget is $19.2 billion, officials said.

"We've got 5 million chronic addicts; they consume two-thirds of all
the illegal drugs in America. ... So we've still got a giant drug
problem in America," McCaffrey said.

He also noted that although U.S. drug consumption is stable, it is
increasing around the world. "We're consuming, arguably, 2 or 3 percent
of the world's heroin, and probably less than a quarter of the world's
cocaine. ... This is not an American problem, it's a global problem,"
he said.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., who accompanied Clinton to
Colombia, also backed the $1.3 billion aid package to that nation
Thursday. "If we attack a source of America's drugs with this aid, we
will have a better chance of keeping drugs out of our children's
reach," he said.

For the first time since its inception in 1971, the survey this year
included looks at drug, alcohol and tobacco use in the states.

Texas was in the lowest one-fifth of states for drug use in the past 30
days by all people older than 12. Roughly 5 percent of Texans older
than 12 used illicit drugs in the month before the survey was taken in
1999, significantly lower than the national average of about 7 percent.

The state also was in the lowest fifth for tobacco use, with a rate of
between 19 and 24 smokers out of 100 people. The national average was
about 26 per 100.

But Texas was in the middle range for binge alcohol drinking, defined
as having five or more drinks at one time. Between 11 percent and 12
percent of Texans had had a binge-drinking episode in the past 30 days
at the time of the survey last year.

In one subcategory, Texas was worse than the national average: illicit
drug use other than marijuana by teen-agers. Between 6 percent and 8
percent of Texas youths ages 12 to 17 had used cocaine, heroin,
ecstasy, methamphetamines or other hard drugs. The national average was
about 5 percent.

McCaffrey said it was important to focus on preventing the habit of
using injurious substances among the young. For college students, a
combination of drugs and alcohol can blunt efforts to succeed, he said.

"The worst problem college students face is a combination of beer and
pot. That's why they end up dropping out of school, don't play sports,
fail to learn, end up pregnant and vulnerable to assault or commit
criminal behavior. It's pot and beer," he said.

President Clinton applauded the survey results. "These findings prove
that we are successfully reversing dangerous trends and making
important progress. However, none of us can afford to let down our
guard in the fight against drug, tobacco and alcohol abuse --
especially when it comes to our children."

Also Thursday, HHS released a separate report that monitors emergency
room visits by people injured by drugs.

In 1999, there were 554,932 drug-related hospital emergency department
episodes in the United States. That number has remained fairly constant
for the past five years, HHS officials said.

But among 12- to 17-year-olds, drug-related emergency department visits
dropped 11 percent from 1998 to 1999.

For the first time in a decade, there were more emergency room visits
by people using marijuana and hashish than by those using heroin and
morphine-based drugs. Experts said that underscored the growing potency
of the marijuana being produced.

One finding in the study appeared to question the long-held belief that
cigarettes were a "gateway" to the use of illegal drugs.

The survey found that the states with the highest rates of teen-age
smoking, including North Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, Oklahoma and West
Virginia, all had very low or below average rates of drug use.

Asked if the findings put into question a connection between cigarette
use and later drug use, Shalala said, "I simply would come to no
conclusion there. And I have never made any connection between the
two."