TEENS, PARENTS OPPOSITES ON DRUGS

Children aren't listening to their parents, at least on the subject of
drugs, and that's good news.

Admitted drug use of baby boomers in their 50s is going up. Drug use
among teenagers is going down.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health notes the increase among
adults and the decline among teens is sustained. This this the third
consecutive year the trends have gone in opposite directions.

We remember promises from the hippie years in the 1960s and '70s that
their children would be raised on drugs, that drug use is a right.
Seems as if that dream is dying, and maybe their kids are smarter than
they were. And are.

Certainly, drug use remains a serious problem. The war on drugs is
ongoing. But teens, when they do drugs, apparently are abandoning the
highs as they get older. We must realize that as the general
population increases, statistics will be affected. If results for any
survey aren't adjusted properly, lower percentages can mean more
people are involved in whatever act is surveyed. Authorities are
giving the drug survey high marks, however. They note that reported
use of drugs, tobacco and alcohol has dropped for many age groups.
Taking the population as a whole, drug use is up. But it's diminishing
among teenagers. This is one time we can be glad the kids aren't
mimicking their parents.