STATE TO STUDY TEEN MARIJUANA USE

As many as 10,000 Oklahoma schoolchildren ages 12 to 17 will be surveyed
this fall about their use of illicit drugs, alcohol and tobacco as part of
a first-ever survey by the state Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Department.

A primary goal is to pinpoint the adolescent use of marijuana, the most
commonly used illegal drug among Oklahoma teenagers, said Larry Didier, the
mental health agency's prevention program coordinator.

Marijuana use represents nearly 60 percent of all illicit drug use among
Oklahoma youths, he said.

Students in grades six, eight, 10 and 12 from about 80 randomly selected
public school districts statewide will participate in the 180-question
survey this fall, Didier said Monday. Some private and parochial schools
also may choose to participate. Cost of the survey is about $100,000, he said.

Surveys will be given in late September and October, with results expected
by Jan. 1. Each survey can be completed in about 35 to 50 minutes. Names of
school districts and survey participants will be kept confidential. Parents
and guardians will be sent home a letter in late April or May outlining
involvement in the surveys.

Latest available data show at least 19,000 Oklahoma youths between the ages
of 12 and 17 use marijuana on a regular basis. In Oklahoma, marijuana has
surpassed alcohol as the top substance responsible for adolescent
admissions into drug-abuse treatment programs, Didier said.

The fall surveys also will try to identify the underlying reasons for
marijuana use, he said.

"We definitely want to provoke concern" about the widespread use of
marijuana and prompt community responses to the problem, he said.

This week, several leading national health, education and safety
organizations are publishing in 300 U.S. daily newspapers an "Open Letter"
to parents warning them about physical and mental health consequences, lung
damage and risky behaviors linked to youth marijuana use. The half-page
"letter" advertisement is scheduled to run in Thursday's editions of The
Oklahoman.

"We're speaking directly to parents about the specific ways marijuana can
damage a young person's future," John Walters, director of the Office of
National Control Policy, said in a statement released Monday.

"Marijuana is riskier than many parents think. Smoking marijuana hurts
young bodies and minds, and more young people are in treatment for
marijuana than for all other illicit drugs combined."

Oklahoma City has been chosen as one of two U.S. cities to conduct a "Court
TV Teenage Summit" on the dangers of adolescent marijuana use and its
impact on young lives.

The event is scheduled for taping April 8 at Stage Center in downtown
Oklahoma City. The "Straight Talk About Marijuana" teen summit will include
students from the Oklahoma City and Putnam City school districts, and
substance- abuse prevention experts from the metro area.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, marijuana use may
trigger panic attacks, paranoia and even psychoses, especially if users are
suffering from anxiety, depression or thinking problems.

Smoking marijuana "can injure or destroy lung tissue. Marijuana smoke
contains 50 percent to 70 percent more of some cancer-causing chemicals
than does tobacco smoke," said John L. Kirkwood, American Lung Association
president.

Teenagers "who are high on marijuana are less able to make safe, smart
decisions about sex -- including saying 'no,'" said Sarah Brown, director
of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. "Teens who have used
marijuana are four times more likely to get pregnant or get someone
pregnant than teens who haven't."

Research shows that teens listen to their parents when it comes to
decisions about drug use, officials said. Two-thirds of youth ages 13 to 17
say fear of losing their parents' respect is a main reason they don't smoke
marijuana.