DRUG USE MAY BE INCREASING

Survey Shows Ecstasy, OxyContin Popular

WASHINGTON - America has almost 16 million illegal-drug users, including
one in five young adults, according to a government survey that suggests
use of marijuana and cocaine may be on the rise after leveling off in
recent years.

Among ages 12 to 17, the youngest people surveyed, 10.8 percent were
described as current drug users in 2001, up from about 9.7 percent the year
before, according to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.

Young adults ages 18 to 25 were more likely to be users, increasing to 18.8
percent from 15.9 percent in 2000. The rate of drug use among adults 26 and
older stayed about the same, at 4.5 percent. Current users are those who
reported using a drug within the past month.

Although a few drugs, including LSD, are diminishing in popularity, others
are seeing big gains. The number of people who have tried Ecstasy increased
from 6.5 million in 2000 to 8.1 million last year, the survey shows.

Nonmedical use of the pain reliever OxyContin more than doubled, from
399,000 users in 2000 to 957,000 in 2001.

The survey shows moderate increases in the use of marijuana and cocaine by
teenagers and young adults from 2000 to 2001. But researchers said it was
too soon to say whether that marks the reversal of a trend of stable or
declining drug use since the late 1990s. "It could continue up and be the
start of a long-term trend, or it could go down again," said Joe Gfroerer,
director of the survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration. Other national surveys saw no statistically significant
increase in drug use in 2001, and some even reported declines among young
people. The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse is the largest study,
interviewing almost 69,000 people ages 12 and older and including every state.