TEEN-AGE DRUG USE ON THE RISE, NEW GOVERNMENT SURVEY REPORTS

WASHINGTON -- Drug use by young people increased last year, led by a rise
in marijuana smoking among teen-agers who view it as a "soft drug," a
Government survey reported Friday.

Among those from age 12 to 17, 11.4 percent reported using some illicit
drug within the past month when they were surveyed last year, compared with
9 percent in 1996.

Their drug of choice was marijuana, with 9.4 percent saying they had used
it last year, up from 7.1 percent in 1996.

The annual study, the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, reported
that the number of teen-agers using heroin held steady last year. Among
those from 12 to 17, only 0.2 percent said they had used heroin within a
month of being surveyed, the same percentage as the year before. The number
of first-time heroin users, however, was at an all-time high in 1996, the
last year for which numbers were available. Preliminary numbers indicated
that 171,000 teen-agers 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 teen-agers do not see it as dangerous,
said the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna E. Shalala. Dr.
Shalala attributed 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?" she asked. "The
perception of this country is that marijuana's safe, that it's a soft drug."

The survey was conducted throughout 1997. Some 24,500 people were
interviewed in their homes.

Despite the increase in drug use by teen-agers, the overall use of illegal
drugs remained steady.

About 14 million people, or 6.4 percent of the population, said they had
used illegal drugs last year, up only slightly from 6.1 percent in 1996.

Drug use among adults has been stable for years.

Last year's figure is slightly more than half what it was in the peak year
of 1979, when there were 25 million users.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski