A NEW GENERATION GAP

ONE MIGHT think that many Baby Boomers, after their own youthful
experimentation with marijuana, would be quick to detect any sign of
indulgence by their own children.

Not so, according to a new study.

The survey by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America showed that marijuana
experimentation increased significantly in certain age groups --
particularly among children ages 9 to 12, as well as 17- and 18-year-olds.

Most telling was the contrast between parents' perceptions and their
childrens' experience. Only 21 percent of parents be lieved their teenager
could have experimented with pot, but 44 percent of the teenagers said they
had done so. There also were distinct generational differences in
perceptions of the availability of marijuana.

Perhaps this ``not-my-child'' syndrome represents a massive case of denial
by Baby Boomers, particularly those who may be anxious about how to explain
their own past dabbling to their kids.

Or maybe it just shows -- yet again -- that the generation gap was not an
isolated phenomenon of the 1960s. Then, as now, there is an obvious need
for more communication to bridge that gap.

)1998 San Francisco Chronicle