STUDY SAYS DRUG MESSAGE RESONATES

NEW YORK, April 10 - More parents are speaking frankly with their children
about drugs, but many of them fear - incorrectly - that the message is not
getting through, according to a survey released today by the Partnership
for a Drug-Free America.

The survey found that 57 percent of parents said they have spoken with
their children at least four times in the past year about drug use.
Sixty-four percent said they have "thoroughly" covered the topic.

In 1998, 44 percent of parents said they had spoken with their children at
least four times. In the same year, 52 percent of parents felt they had
"thoroughly" covered the topic with their children.

The latest of 12 annual surveys also found that one out of three parents
believes "what I say will have little influence on whether my child tries
marijuana."

"With teenagers, many things go in one ear and out the other," said Richard
D. Bonnette, chief executive of the partnership. "But what parents are
saying about drugs appears to be sticking."

A study last year by the partnership indicated that teenage approval of
marijuana and other drugs was declining.

The survey found that most often a child's mother was responsible for drug
education. Eighty-one percent of the mothers surveyed said they spoke with
their children about drugs; for fathers, the figure was 63 percent.

The survey questioned 800 parents. The margin of error was plus or minus
4.6 percentage points.