S.C. STUDY CONFIRMS DRUGS AND CRIME CONNECTION

Also, teen use on par with national figures

Substance abuse and crime go hand in hand in South Carolina.

Out of all people arrested in the state in 1996, 40 percent tested positive
for drugs and more than half had used alcohol in the previous three days, a
compilation of studies released Tuesday showed.

Also, 70 percent of the inmate population has a substance abuse problem,
said the state Corrections Department.

"This obviously calls for close coordination among the state's criminal
justice agencies," Probation and Parole Department Director Stephen Birnie
said.

Drug Strategies, a nonprofit group that fights drug abuse, conducted the
study. Several state agencies released the results at a news conference in
Columbia.

Cooperation by state agencies puts South Carolina ahead of other states,
said state Sen. Warren Giese, R-Columbia.

Giese, a member of the Senate Corrections and Penology Committee, said the
state's new cabinet form of government, under which those agencies report
to the governor, have helped the coordination.

The report also said:

Marijuana is the drug of choice among South Carolina teen-agers.

South Carolina teen-agers are less likely than other teens to try
marijuana, inhalants and cocaine.

However, "youth in South Carolina who try alcohol and drugs are more likely
than youth elsewhere to become regular users."

The report was paid for with grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
and the University of Minnesota Institute on Criminal Justice. It is based
on findings from several state, federal and private-sector studies.

Drug Strategies president Mathea Falco said one out of every four South
Carolina teen-agers said smoking marijuana occasionally is not risky.
"Rates of use almost always increase when young people perceive less risk,"
he said.

Among other findings:

Fifty-two percent of South Carolina's high school seniors drink alcohol
regularly. Fifty-one percent of seniors do nationally.

Thirty-five percent of high school seniors here smoke, while 34 percent do
nationally.

Alcohol and other drug use contribute to 54 percent of all deaths of South
Carolinians between the ages of 15 and 24.

Thirty-nine percent of adults in South Carolina drink alcohol regularly,
compared with 54 percent nationally.

Two percent of adult South Carolinians regularly use illegal drugs,
compared with 8 percent nationally.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski