Dip in Youth Drug Use Hailed by Officials as Sign of Hope

By Roberto Suro
Washington Post Staff Writer
Page A04 The Washington Post

After four years of increases, the use of marijuana and other illegal drugs
by teenagers appears to have declined slightly last year, according to an
annual survey by the federal government released yesterday.

Administration officials and experts on drug abuse greeted the report
cautiously and warned against premature optimism. "Illicit drug use is
still unacceptably high, but there is a glimmer of hope," said Health and
Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala.

The 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse found that 7.1 percent of
youths age 12 to 17 had reported using marijuana in the month before they
were interviewed. That was not significantly different than the 8.2 percent
rate reported for 1995. But it did suggest that teenage marijuana use was
no longer escalating as it has since 1992, when the survey calculated that
3.4 percent of youths in that age bracket used illegal drugs.

The rate of marijuana use leveled off among teenagers of all races and
ethnic groups and in all parts of the country last year, according to the
survey. The sharpest declines were measured among teenagers from the ages
of 12 to 15. Overall, the 1996 survey reported that 9 percent of U.S.
teenagers used some form of illicit drugs in the previous month, compared
with 10.9 percent in 1995.

"There are actually hopeful signs that we may be seeing the beginning of a
reduction in marijuana use among America's teenagers," Shalala said.
"That's very good news, but we shouldn't hang out the victory flag yet."

Shalala expressed concern that the survey also found that heroin use
continued to increase, as it has for three years. The biggest increases of
heroin use were among those who smoked or snorted the drug rather than
injecting it, the survey found. It also documented a growing number of
teenagers who reported trying heroin for the first time last year.

The survey also reported that a longterm decline in drinking of alcohol
among teenagers continued last Donna E. Shalala,

secretary of HHS

year with 18.8 percent of youths between 12 and 17 acknowledging recent
alcohol use compared with 32.5 percent in 1990. Young adults aged 1825
were identified as the heaviest drinkers, meaning they were most likely to
take five or more drinks on the same occasion.

The survey also showed an increase in overall drug use among
18to25yearolds, from 13.3 percent in 1994 to 15.6 percent in 1996.

"We may be seeing the growing up of the kids using drugs for the last five
or six years," said retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey, President Clinton's drug
policy adviser.

Rates of smoking remained unchanged among teenagers and the population
overall.

The 1996 household survey is the first major study to show a potential
turnaround in teenage marijuana use. But some experts said yesterday they
wanted to see more evidence before concluding that the recent teenage
marijuana epidemic has abated.

"I certainly hope it is true that something has changed, but I will remain
cautious until other data confirm the trend," said Lloyd D. Johnston,
principal researcher on an extensive annual survey of youth drug use
conducted by the University of Michigan.

Last year, that survey, the Monitoring the Future Study, found continued
increases in marijuana use and only moderate changes in teenager attitudes
toward marijuana use. For example, disapproval of marijuana use continued
to decline, as it has over several years, suggesting that the epidemic has
yet to run its course, according to Johnston.

After exploding in the 1960s, marijuana use by teenagers peaked in 1979 at
a rate double that found in the 1996 survey. Usage then decreased steadily
until 1992, when the current upsurge began.

Like the Michigan study, the federal survey released yesterday found no
changes in the way teenagers perceive marijuana risks. "I am less
optimistic that we have yet changed in any serious way youth attitudes
about drugs," McCaffrey said.

During last year's presidential campaign, the Republican nominee, former
senator Robert J. Dole of Kansas, accused Clinton of taking a lax attitude
toward illicit drug use and said that had encouraged teenagers to use drugs.

Shalala said yesterday's good news could be attributed to efforts by "a
publicprivate partnership," including the president and his
administration, "that is producing a level of attention to young people
over the last few years that's beginning to have some impact."

Noting that the administration's $16 billion budget request for drug
control programs is still working its way through Congress, Shalala said,
"The message of the statistics we report today is: This is no time to
underfund these programs. This is the time to step forward and continue the
momentum that we've created."

A separate study released yesterday by the Justice Department found
substantial longterm declines in the number of people under arrest who
tested positive for the use of crack cocaine. Researchers at the National
Institute of Justice said the results showed that crack epidemic appears to
be on the wane in many cities.

In the District, for example, the number of young adults ages 18 to 20 who
tested positive for crack at the time of arrest dropped from 64 percent in
1989 to 35 percent in 1996.

The household survey is based on interviews with a nationwide sample of
18,269 people ages 12 and older. Copies of the report are available by
writing or calling the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug
Information, P.O. Box 2345, Rockville, Md. 208472345, 18007296686.

TEEN USE OF DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

After rising for several years, the teenage use of marijuana has dropped.
Teenage alchohol use also continues to decline.

Percentage of youths age 12 to 17 who reported using marijuana in the past
month:

1996: 7%

Percentage of youths age 12 to 17 who reported using alcohol in the past
month:

1996: 19%

SOURCE: U.S. Health and Human Services Department

© Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company