STUDY: TEENS MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIMENT WITH MARIJUANA IN SUMMER

CHICAGO -- Summer's almost here and that means teens will have more time on
their hands to pick up bad habits -- such as smoking marijuana and drinking
alcohol, a new federal survey says.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that June and July were
the most popular time for teens to try marijuana, with about 6,300 new
users a day during those months. That compares with about 4,700 new users a
day during other times of the year.

Additionally, the survey found that first-time use of alcohol and
cigarettes also increases during the summer, when many teens are less
supervised and, particularly in this economy, having trouble finding jobs.

At a Friday news conference in Chicago, White House drug czar John Walters
challenged teens and parents to quell marijuana use this summer, noting
that the drug has been developed to become much more potent and addictive
over the last 20 years.

``You are going to be on the front line of those influences,'' said
Walters, who heads the Office of National Drug Control Policy, addressing a
group of Chicago high school students. ``But we need adults to stand with
you.''

Several teens who were present said they understood the risks of drug use,
which they learned in their health classes. Still, they know other teens
who use marijuana, which they and surveys say is the most common illegal
drug taken by high-schoolers. Some said they even know elementary school
students who've been caught using it.

``It's definitely a problem,'' said Julissa Santoy, a freshman at Whitney
Young High School, a public magnet school. ``We should say something. We
shouldn't just mind our own business.''

But Maribel Davila, another freshman, also placed responsibility on parents.

``A lot of kids are pushed because there's a lot of stuff going on at
home,' ' she said, referring such things as divorce, adults' own addiction
issues and other family discord.

None of the students were surprised by the findings. Nor was at least one
researcher not involved with this survey who tracks teen drug use.

While its helpful to know when young people are most likely to start taking
drugs ``the real question is `What should they do based on that
information?''' said Lloyd Johnston, who heads the University of Michigan's
Institute for Social Research and oversees an annual national survey of
teens called ``Monitoring the Future.''

The most recent University of Michigan survey, released late last year,
found an 11 percent drop in illegal drug use in the past two years. But it
also found that, while marijuana use had dropped, nearly half of
12th-graders surveyed said they had tried it at least once -- and about a
third said they had used it in the last year.

Walters agreed with Johnston that the best way to deter marijuana use is
not just to say ``Don't do drugs.''

To that end, federal officials have begun running advertisements directed
at teens that urge them to take a stand with friends who use marijuana and
other drugs.

The government has also begun a campaign titled ``School's Out -- Don't let
your teen's summer go to pot,'' which maps out basic tactics for parents
such as setting rules, monitoring a teen's activity and scheduling family time.

At Friday's news conference, YMCA executive director Ken Gladish called the
suggestions ``fundamental common sense.''

He referred to a recent YMCA survey that found 14.3 million young people
are unsupervised outside school -- a number that triples in the summertime.

Meanwhile, he said, more than half of those teens surveyed said they wished
they had access to more supervised programs in their neighborhoods.