DRUG, ALCOHOL ABUSE DOWN, BUT NOT ENOUGH

Drug and alcohol use among America's students in grades six through 12 is
at the lowest level in years, according to a new nationwide survey released
last month.

That's the good news.

Researchers attribute the decline in chemical abuse among these youngsters
to more efforts by more adults to keep children away from illicit substances.

Specifically, parents and teachers are warning students about drug use and
encouraging youngsters to nurture other interests by joining
extracurricular school and religious activities.

According to the Pride Surveys, the percentage of students using any
illicit drug --- including marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and
others -- dropped to 22.3 percent, the lowest level registered since the
1993-94 school year.

The percentage of students who said they drank alcohol, 65 percent, or
smoked cigarettes, 36 percent, in the previous 12 months was the lowest in
the 15-year history of the Pride Surveys.

Survey researchers theorize that what they call "the best report on
adolescent behavior in over a decade" may reflect a cultural reaction to
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The cultural reaction they refer to
involves an increased focus on community, spirituality and nation.

But even the good news contains far too much bad news.

Look at those percentages of youngsters who say they still have access to
drugs and alcohol. They are far higher than we should ever learn to accept.

There remains plenty of work to be done by engaged adults -- parents in
particular -- in keeping young people away from the alcohol and drugs.
Parents must understand and teach their children that using and abusing
drugs at any age, much less while in their teens, can do so much to harm
their promising young lives.

In future years, a really good-news report from the Pride Surveys would be
one in which the use of alcohol and drugs by children has virtually been
eliminated, thanks to good parenting and strong reinforcement from teachers
and other adult role models.

Until the adults get their act together, the numbers reported in similar
surveys aren't likely to improve all that much.