SURVEY: TEEN MARIJUANA USE LEVELING OFF

Tobacco use down among hoosier youth, but still above national average.

Although tobacco and alcohol use by Hoosier teens declined in the last
year, marijuana use has stabilized at nearly double what it was in 1992,
according to an Indiana University study.

In 1997, the Indiana Prevention Resource Center survey reported a slight
decrease in marijuana use in grades 6 through 11 -- the first decline after
four years of rapid increases that had doubled the prevalence rates over
that period.

The 1998 survey showed slight increases in marijuana use in some grades and
decreases in others. Overall, the changes were so slight they were not
considered statistically significant.

"It's good that it stopped going up dramatically but we haven't really made
any progress in the other direction," said William J. Bailey, project
director, of the marijuana rate.

The eighth annual survey of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use by Indiana
children and adolescents was conducted in 137 schools throughout the state.
the data, collected in schools in 41 communities, yielded 44,232 usable
surveys.

Besides the marijuana results, other key findings included:

Cigarette smoking continued to decrease in nearly every grade and ever
measure of prevalence (daily, monthly, annual and lifetime use). Decreases
were most pronounced in grades 6 through 10.

Use of smokeless tobacco products also declined, across all grades and for
all measures of prevalence.

But the rates of cigar and pipe smoking, measured for the first time in the
survey, were called "alarming." Almost one in 10 Hoosier sixth-graders have
smoked a cigar at least once. Twelve percent of Indiana eight graders and a
quarter of high school seniors smoke cigars at least once a month.

And, though tobacco use is down, it is still above the national average.

Most measures of alcohol use decreased in 1998, but binge drinking rates
increased slightly.

Inhalant use -- the deliberate inhalation of gases or vapors for their
intoxicating effect -- dropped significantly over the last year at all
grade levels and measures. The 1998 rates were about one-fifth to
one-fourth lower than last year's.

A new category in the survey showed non medical monthly use of Ritalin, a
treatment for attention deficit disorder at about 2.5 percent for high
school students. About 7 percent of high schoolers have used Ritalin
nonmedically at least once.

According to Bailey, prescription tablets, which produce mild stimulant
effects when taken as directed and at usual prescription doses, can create
powerful stimulant effects and serious health risks when crushed and then
snorted like cocaine, or injected like heroin.

Another addition to the survey was methcathinone, commonly called "cat".
The survey showed about 2.5 percent of Hoosier high school students have
tried methcathinone, and about 1 percent use it monthly or more frequently.

The survey's authors said the results were cause for "cautious optimism."
Bailey said the tobacco data were the most promising.

"The tobacco news is probably very good," he said. "The initiation of
tobacco use tends to be a very good predictor of other illicit drugs later
in life. For every kid who decides not to smoke, it makes it easier to make
the decision not to use alcohol and other drugs."

The growing popularity of cigars, however, left room for concern.

"We've sent a clear educational message that cigarette smoking is harmful
and society doesn't approve of it," Bailey said. "And the same for
smokeless tobacco. But there seems to be this glamorization of cigar smoking.

"The Chicago Bulls light up in the locker room after winning the NBA
championship; baseball players do it after the All-Star game. It looks like
a cool, glamorous, adult thing to do

"To a kid trying to be cool, glamorous and adult, it fits in with something
they want to try. We haven't been getting effective in getting messages out
about cigars."

The same might be said, lately, about marijuana. Bailey noted that from
1981 through 1992, there was steady progress in reducing the prevalence of
marijuana use -- coinciding with government and private sector programs and
attention.

"Then, everything seemed to drop right off the radar screen," he said.
"People got distracted, things looked good, we had the Gulf War. President
Clinton's remark that he tried it but didn't inhale kind of set people up
to be able to ignore the problem.

"When you're dealing with school-aged kids, you're dealing with generations
about four years lone. When you ignore things four years, it gets to the
point where kids in high school really didn't get the message."

Kids in the 1990s, Bailey said got anti-drug messages in the 1980s. But in
the early '90s, there has been a resurgence of heroin and marijuana chic,
glamorized by certain segment of society, he said.

"That combines to leave kids with a mixed message," he said. "When kids
have a clear message, they tend to do they right thing. The message is, we
have to stay on top of this."

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski