SEX DOWN BUT DRUGS UP IN TEEN SURVEY

CARSON CITY -- Sex and smoking among high school students have declined in
the last eight years, but marijuana and cocaine use has risen since 1993,
according to a study released by the state Department of Education.

Violence on high school campuses has also declined, according to "Nevada
Youth Risk Behavior Survey," in which 9,215 high school students and 11,486
middle school students participated in 2001.

This was the first time middle student students have been questioned about
their behavior patterns. The report was presented to a meeting of the state
Board of Education Saturday in Las Vegas.

"The survey contains some good news, that we're making progress in reducing
drug use," said Ron Ross, administrative specialist for the Clark County
School District, who coordinated the local data for the state report.
"However, there are clearly some areas of concern that we need to address
as a community."

The breakdown of the Clark County survey responses should be available next
week, Ross said this morning.

The high school students have been surveyed every two years on tobacco,
alcohol and drug use, sexual and aggressive behavior, dietary habits and
physical inactivity.

"There's no question we've made improvements" since 1993, when the state
started the survey, David Sheffield, president of the state Board of
Education, said. But he added, "We can't be satisfied."

"There's a 24-hour culture," said Sheffield of Elko. "It would be a
different situation where they roll up the sidewalks." Students have more
exposure because of the more open lifestyle, he said.

Jack McLaughlin, state superintendent of public instruction for the past
year, said the survey shows risk-taking among Nevada youth "at unacceptably
high levels."

For instance, 27 percent of the high school students used marijuana in the
past 30 days. That's up from 19 percent in the first survey in 1993. And
cocaine use has inched up to 6 percent from 4 percent eight years ago.

But glue sniffing or breathing fumes or sprays has dipped from 26 percent
to 16 percent in the eight-year period.

Drug sales on school campuses apparently rose. The report said 35.7 percent
of the high school students said somebody had offered, sold or given them
an illegal drug on campus. That's up from 31 percent in 1999 and 30 percent
in 1993.

In the 1993 survey 58 percent of the students said they had sexual
intercourse. That fell to 49 percent last year. And the use of condoms has
risen from 53 percent to 62 percent during the eight-year period.

The report in 1993 found 10 percent of the students had been pregnant or
had gotten someone pregnant. That's down to 6 percent in 2001. That's in
line with a report earlier this month by the state Division of Health that
Nevada now ranks 10th in the nation instead of fourth in teen pregnancies.

Smoking is down and so is the percentage of those who carried a weapon to
school.

Twenty-five percent of the students reported they had smoked cigarettes in
the preceding 30 days, down from 30 percent in 1993 and from 33 percent in 1999.