DAD, MOM AREN'T AS TOUGH ON DRUGS

Fewer Parents Discussing Topic With Kids

NEW YORK (AP)-- Although today's parents were more likely to have used
drugs than in previous generations, they see less risk in experimentation
and are less likely to discuss it with their children.

A study of parental attitudes toward teen drug use, conducted by the
Partnership for a Drug-Free America, found that barely half of the parents
would be upset if their children experimented with marijuana.

The number of parents who have never spoken with their children about drugs
was 12 percent, double what it was just six years ago, the survey found.

While most parents no longer use drugs -- 11 percent reported marijuana use
in the last year -- they still carry attitudes fostered in their teen
years, researchers found. This is particularly true about parents who were
teenagers in the late '70s and early '80s, when teen drug use was at a high
point.

Among other findings in the survey:

While parents believe it's important to discuss drugs with their children,
only about three in 10 children said they had learned a lot about drug
risks at home.

Only 18 percent of parents think their children have smoked marijuana, but
the number of teens experimenting with it is 39 percent.

Just 21 percent of parents think that friends of their teens are smoking
marijuana, but 62 percent of teens report friends who use the drug.

The study was conducted among 1,205 parents nationwide, with a margin of
error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points. The survey was conducted in
households with children younger than the age of 18.