TEEN-AGERS' DRUG USE DROPS IN U.S.

Survey Shows Reverse Of Trend Through 1990s

- -- Teen drug use is beginning to creep down after climbing through the
1990s, the government reported Wednesday. An annual survey found that one
in 10 teen-agers uses marijuana or other illegal drugs -- down from 1997
though still nearly double what it was in 1992.

President Clinton and others called the results solid evidence that the
nation had reversed course. "We have turned an important corner," he said.

Clinton and others credited increased attention to the issue by government,
communities, parents, media and schools. "The message is finally getting
through," said Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala.

Charlotte drug officials aren't ready to declare victory, though. A 1998
survey of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools found student use of marijuana,
cocaine and some other illegal drugs up slightly from 1995, although
cigarette and alcohol use dropped. About 27 percent of the 12- to
18-year-olds who filled in the survey said they had tried marijuana, and
14.5 percent were current users.

"While we can see some results that are positive, that doesn't mean that
they're going to continue to decline," said Nancy Sherrill, substance abuse
prevention coordinator for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Overall, the national survey found drug use among Americans of all ages
remained level last year, and use among young adults continued its steady rise.

All told, 78 million Americans have tried illegal drugs at some point,
according to the household survey of 25,500 people ages 12 and up.
Marijuana remained far and away the most popular drug, but 41.3 million
Americans also had tried heroin, cocaine or some other illegal drug, the
survey found.

Of them, 13.6 million were current users -- about 6.2 percent of all
Americans -- half what it was at its 1979 peak.

The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse also measures alcohol
consumption, which was steady last year, and cigarette smoking, which fell
to its lowest level since 1971 when the survey began. Last year, 27.7
percent of Americans smoked, with teen smoking unchanged and smoking among
young adults continuing to rise. Cigar smoking edged up.

But the survey is carefully watched as a gauge of teen illicit drug use.

It found 9.9 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds had used some sort of drugs
within the past month, down from 11.4 percent in 1997. A second government
survey, which uses a different method to measure teen drug use, has found
drug use stable over the past two years after years on the rise.

Shalala said the combination of these results leads her to conclude that
drug use may actually be falling.

Others weren't as sure. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg drug survey showed a
substantial jump in marijuana use from 1992 to 1995, and another very small
increase in 1998.

Local and national officials say a dip in numbers doesn't necessarily
signal a long-term trend. Studies show that drug use runs in cycles.

"I would want to see at least another year or two of declining figures
before I could feel that we have a real trend going," said Dr. Herbert
Kleber, who worked on drug policy under President George Bush and is
medical director at Columbia University's Center on Addiction and Substance
Abuse.

Indeed, overall teen drug use and use of marijuana has fluctuated over the
past few years, though the drop from 1997 was statistically significant.

The decline was driven by 16- and 17-year-olds, with the percentage having
used drugs in the past year falling from 30.7 percent to 26.8 percent.

Overall, teen drug use rose through much of the 1990s and remains much
higher than it was in 1991 and 1992.

Researchers attribute the rise to a relaxing of the intense prevention
efforts of the 1980s. But Shalala and Barry McCaffrey, Clinton's drug
policy adviser, say renewed, positive attention is making a difference.

"Sending a tough message against drugs, particularly to young people, is a
little like sending a message into deep space," Shalala said. "The message
goes out, and then you wait a year or more to find out if it's been heard."

Wednesday's news was not as good for adults age 18 to 25. The survey found
16.1 percent of them had used drugs in the past month. That rate is up from
13.3 percent in 1994.

Over the past couple of years, the percentage of blacks using drugs rose to
8.2 percent last year from 5.8 percent in 1993. Drug use among Hispanics
rose to 6.1 percent from 4.4 percent during those years.