DRUG USE AMONG TEENS ROSE IN '97, SURVEY FINDS

WASHINGTON -- Drug use by young people increased last year, led by rising
marijuana smoking among teenagers who view it as a low-risk "soft drug,"
according to a government survey Friday.

Among those ages 12 to 17, 11.4 percent reported using some illicit drug
within the last month when they were surveyed last year, compared with 9
percent in 1996. The drug of choice among the group was marijuana, with 9.4
percent using it last year. In 1996, 7.1 percent had reported using
marijuana.

The annual National Household Survey on Drug Abuse reported that the number
of teens using heroin held steady last year. Among 12- to 17-year-olds, only
0.2 percent said they had used heroin within the last month of being
surveyed, the same number as in 1996.

The number of first-time heroin users, however, was at an all-time high in
the last year for which numbers were available, 1996. Preliminary numbers
indicate 171,000 teens used heroin for the first time in 1996, up from the
117,000 who tried it in 1995.

The number of first-time users of marijuana was estimated at 2.54 million in
1996, up from 2.41 million in 1995.

Marijuana is popular because many teens don't see it as dangerous, said
Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala.

Shalala traced the relaxed attitude to parents.

"How many have known parents who actually are relieved when they find out
that their children are using marijuana as opposed to heroin or cocaine?"
Shalala asked. "The perception of this country is that marijuana safe, that
it's a soft drug."

Parents need to inform their children that marijuana is dangerous, that it
can impair learning and memory, she said. They also must be more aware of
the attitude they send to their kids about drugs.

"How can we expect young people in this country to resist the lure of
marijuana if the parent is transmitting messages that marijuana is OK?" she
asked.

The survey, an annual snapshot of illegal drug use in the nation, was
conducted throughout last year by interviews with 24,500 people in their
homes.

Despite the increase in teen drug use, the overall use of illegal drugs in
the country remained steady last year. About 14 million people, 6.4 percent
of the population, said they used drugs last year. The overall rate of drug
use in 1996 was 6.1 percent.

Drug use among adults has been stable for years, and last year's figure is
slightly more than half the peak year in 1979, when there were 25 million
users.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst