Drug Use On The Rise Among Brazil Youth

SAO PAULO, Dec 9 (Reuters) Drug use among Brazilian school aged youths is
on the rise and of particular concern is increased consumption of cocaine
and marijuana, according to a new poll released on Tuesday.

The survey by Brazil's Center of Information on Psychotropic Drugs (CEBRID)
said nearly 25 percent of primary and secondary school students had tried
drugs at least once, up from 22.8 percent in 1993.

Survey coordinator Jose Carlos Galduroz said the poll exposed the need for a
more aggressive government drug prevention campaign.

"The numbers are not sharply higher, but they serve as an alert," said
Galduroz, noting that drug use among school aged youths still trailed the
United States.

He said the most worrying aspect of the survey was evidence that marijuana
and cocaine use was increasing, although inhalants such as benzines and
acetone were still the most commonly used drugs.

"Cocaine and marijuana consumption has increased, probably because the drugs
are more easily available," said Galduroz.

He said the poll also showed an increase in the use of alcohol by very young
students with 51 percent of youths aged between 10 and 12 years old
admitting to having tried alcohol. The CEBRID interviewed 15,503 students
between the age of 10 and 18 in Brazil's 10 largest cities, including Sao
Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

This is CEBRID's fourth poll over the past 10 years.