News (Media Awareness Project) - US AL: Editorial: Teen Drug Use A Cause For Concern |
| Title: | US AL: Editorial: Teen Drug Use A Cause For Concern |
| Published On: | 2002-08-22 |
| Source: | Gadsden Times, The (AL) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-22 19:35:20 |
TEEN DRUG USE A CAUSE FOR CONCERN
Maybe it should be shocking to read the results of a national survey of
young people reporting many of them say they can buy marijuana now more
easily than they can beer or cigarettes. Selling marijuana to anyone is
illegal, so those who sell to teens aren't assuming a high risk of legal
trouble. People who legally sell beer and cigarettes should be less
reluctant to sell illegally to underage customers. The upside of the survey
is that about a quarter of the students questioned - 1,000 teens between 12
and 17 - said they had tried marijuana. One quarter of the students
surveyed said one or both parents smoked, but 69 percent said they never
had. About half those surveyed said they don't typically drink. About the
same number said they've never drunk alcohol. The annual survey found that
63 percent of students said their schools were "drug free." In 1998, about
half as many surveyed said that. The cause for the change is of course open
to debate. Some speculate that years of the D.A.R.E. program in schools is
paying off. Some credit the decline to the use in some schools of random
searches, drug-sniffing dogs and greater penalties for student caught with
drugs. One could argue that it is the result of the overall push for
greater safety at schools - the zero tolerance policies for weapons - that
discourage students from bringing anything illegal on campuses. Or all the
above could be factors for the positive trend. Despite the survey results,
drug use by teens, whether at school or not, remains a concern. The federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that by the time they
complete high school 47 percent of students have smoked marijuana and 24
percent have used another illegal drug. For beer and cigarettes use -
despite any difficulty teens might have buying them - the estimates are
worse: 81 percent will have drunk alcohol and 70 percent will have smoked
cigarettes. Perhaps the survey results show there has been some
improvement, but those numbers and others show there is room for more.
Maybe it should be shocking to read the results of a national survey of
young people reporting many of them say they can buy marijuana now more
easily than they can beer or cigarettes. Selling marijuana to anyone is
illegal, so those who sell to teens aren't assuming a high risk of legal
trouble. People who legally sell beer and cigarettes should be less
reluctant to sell illegally to underage customers. The upside of the survey
is that about a quarter of the students questioned - 1,000 teens between 12
and 17 - said they had tried marijuana. One quarter of the students
surveyed said one or both parents smoked, but 69 percent said they never
had. About half those surveyed said they don't typically drink. About the
same number said they've never drunk alcohol. The annual survey found that
63 percent of students said their schools were "drug free." In 1998, about
half as many surveyed said that. The cause for the change is of course open
to debate. Some speculate that years of the D.A.R.E. program in schools is
paying off. Some credit the decline to the use in some schools of random
searches, drug-sniffing dogs and greater penalties for student caught with
drugs. One could argue that it is the result of the overall push for
greater safety at schools - the zero tolerance policies for weapons - that
discourage students from bringing anything illegal on campuses. Or all the
above could be factors for the positive trend. Despite the survey results,
drug use by teens, whether at school or not, remains a concern. The federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that by the time they
complete high school 47 percent of students have smoked marijuana and 24
percent have used another illegal drug. For beer and cigarettes use -
despite any difficulty teens might have buying them - the estimates are
worse: 81 percent will have drunk alcohol and 70 percent will have smoked
cigarettes. Perhaps the survey results show there has been some
improvement, but those numbers and others show there is room for more.
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