IT'S HIGH TIME TEENS KEEP BUSY OVER SUMMER, DRUG CZAR SAYS

WASHINGTON - The living's a little too easy in the summer time,
according to national drug czar John Walters, who estimates that 5,800
teens each day will smoke marijuana for the first time this month.

"Many parents don't know that new teen marijuana use spikes in the
summer months," Mr. Walters said yesterday while introducing the
"School's Out Don't Let Your Teen's Summer Go to Pot" anti-drug campaign.

According to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse of 2002,
nearly a quarter of first time teen marijuana use occurs during June
'and July. Nearly 40 per-cent of all youngsters aged 12 to 17 who said
they have used marijuana at least once said they had their first
experience during the four-month period from May through August.

"We're doing a better job these days of occupying our young people.
But we have been letting them down in the summer, " Mr. Walters said.
"We are trying to give people a sense of urgency about this."

Youthful experimentation with drugs, tobacco, and alcohol is most
likely to occur during unsupervised time when teens are alone or with
their peers, according to a study conducted in 2001 for the YMCA.

""It's as simple as this: During the summer, too many kids in too many
places are left too alone too frequently," said Kenneth Gladish,
executive director of the national YMCA.

Mr. Gladish urged parents to call one of the 2,400 local YMCA's to
learn of the struc-tured summer enrichment programs available to keep
teens engaged, entertained, and most importantly, busy.

The "School's Out" campaign will distribute anti-marijuana materials
at shopping centers and in movie theaters in the coming weeks.