SURVEY: DRUGS MORE ACCESSIBLE AT AGE 13

WASHINGTON - Few 12-year-olds know how to buy marijuana or know someone who
has used hard drugs. But that changes just one year later, according to a
survey released Tuesday that suggests the transition from 12 to 13 is a
critical time in the battle against teen drug use.

Just as children are becoming more exposed to drugs, their parents are
losing influence over their lives, argues the survey from Columbia
University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.

"America's children have been crying out for help and not enough people are
listening," said Joseph A. Califano Jr., the center's president and a
former secretary of Health, Education and Welfare in the Carter
administration.

The survey also found that teens think the drug problem is considerably
worse than their teachers and especially their principals do. For instance,
78% of teens say their schools are not drug free; just 18% of principals
agree.

And while only 15% of high school principals say the school drug problem is
getting worse, half of students and 41% of teachers think the same.

"Principals make monkeys of themselves as they reveal their see no evil,
hear no evil, speak no evil posture," Califano said.

The annual survey found that for the fourth consecutive year, teens said
drugs were the most important problem they face. And the number of high
school students who report that drugs are used, sold and kept at their
schools continued to inch up, rising from 72% in 1996 to 78% this year.

Overall, 41% of 17-year-olds said they had smoked marijuana, while 39% said
they drank and 23% said they smoked in the previous 30 days.

Among 12-year-olds, 9% reported drinking in the past month, while just 1%
say they'd smoked recently and 2% reported using marijuana.

The survey found those rates increased most sharply between ages 14 and 16,
yet attitudes and exposure to drugs change earlier, with the most dramatic
differences between ages 12 and 13.

A 13-year-old is about three times as likely to know a teen who uses hard
drugs and to know how to buy drugs. More than three times as many
13-year-olds say they wouldn't report a student they saw using drugs.

"In no other year do teens' perceptions and attitudes shift so markedly,"
the center concluded.

A 13-year-old is less afraid of getting caught using illegal drugs and
relies less on parents - and more on friends - in making important
decisions. Twice as many 13-year-olds have no adult at home after school.

The survey also concluded:

Teens who regularly attend religious services are much less likely to smoke
cigarettes, use marijuana or hang out with people who drink and use drugs.

Teens who have never smoked marijuana are more likely to always eat dinner
with their parents and to rely on their parents' opinions. Pot smokers are
more likely to hang out with friends after school and less likely to listen
to music or do homework after school.

Teens who use one substance are more likely to use another: Smokers are
more likely to drink and use marijuana; pot users are more likely drink.

The survey was conducted in May, June and July of 1,000 teen-agers, 824
teachers and 822 principals.

The margin of error for teens was plus or minus 3 percentage points; for
teachers and principals it was 3.5 percentage points.

COPYRIGHT 1998 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan