A DECLINE IN DRUG USE

To the Editor:

"Justices Rule Drug-Eviction Law Is Fair" (news article, March 27) quotes a
lawyer suggesting that this country has made no progress in reducing
illegal drug use over the last 20 years. I beg to differ.

Fifteen years ago, the country's biggest drug problem was cocaine. That's
been cut by more than three-quarters. According to a continuing study
commissioned by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the number of high
school seniors reporting that they've used illegal drugs has dropped by
nearly 18 percent over the last 20 years. Those saying they've used
marijuana declined nearly 18 percent, and the percentage saying they've
used cocaine has been cut by nearly half.

Here in Connecticut, decreases in drug use among adolescents are for the
most part steeper than those seen on average nationally -- with the
greatest decreases among gateway drugs like alcohol, marijuana and inhalants.

SUSAN K. PATRICK

President, Governor's Prevention Partnership
Hartford, March 29, 2002