SURVEY: ECSTASY USE DOWN 25 PERCENT AMONG TEENS

NEW YORK (AP) -- The use of Ecstasy among teenagers dropped 25 percent in
the last two years, a decrease that translates into an additional 770,000
teens rejecting the once-trendy drug, a new study says.

The study released Wednesday by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America
also indicated declines overall in teen drug use, marked by decreases in
the number of teenagers using marijuana, LSD and methamphetamine, the
survey indicated.

According to the partnership's 16th annual survey, the percentage of teens
using Ecstasy was at 9 percent for 2003 _ a significant decline from the 12
percent figure of 2001, when use of the drug hit its peak.

But Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the partnership, warned that the
Ecstasy decrease did not mean the drug no longer posed a problem.

"The Ecstasy threat remains: Last year, 2 million teenagers in America had
tried this drug," Pasierb said. "We can _ and we must _ kick Ecstasy while
it's down, and kick it down further."

The figures on Ecstasy use mirrored the findings of a University of
Michigan study released in December, which also reported that drug use
among junior- and senior-high school students was on a two-year decline.

The Partnership said an increase in anti-drug attitudes was responsible for
the change.

Overall, the number of teens who reported trying any illegal drug was at 46
percent for 2003, down from 51 percent in 1998. Methamphetamine use was
reduced 33 percent since 1998, although certain geographic regions _ the
midwest and southwest _ remained more popular outposts for the drug.

LSD use among teenagers was down 42 percent over the last five years, the
survey found. Tobacco use was down, as well as underage drinking _ although
half of all teens reported drinking alcohol in the last year, according to
the survey.

The survey did find several areas of concern among teens, particularly in
the use of inhalants (where there was an uptick in use) and the misuse of
prescription drugs. In the year of Rush Limbaugh and his Oxycontin woes,
one in every five teens reported using a prescription drug without a
doctor's order.

The study was conducted among 7,270 adolescents nationwide, with a margin
of error of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points. Data was collected from
April through June of 2003 from questionnaires that students filled out
anonymously.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, launched in 1987, is a coalition
of communications professionals aimed at reducing the demand for illegal drugs.

___P)

On the Net:

Partnership for Drug Free America: www.drugfreeamerica.org