Survey Shows Teen Drug Use Rose (August 21, 1998)

By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Drug use by young people increased last year, led by rising marijuana smoking among teen-agers who view it as a low-risk "soft drug," according to a government survey Friday.

Among those ages 12 to 17, 11.4 percent reported using some illicit drug within the past month when they were surveyed last year, compared with 9 percent in 1996. The drug of choice among the group was marijuana, with 9.4 percent using it last year. In 1996, 7.1 percent had reported using marijuana.

Marijuana is the most favored drug used by young people in Friendswood, Texas, according to police there. Use of crack cocaine is also reported. The annual National Household Survey on Drug Abuse reported that the number of teens using heroin held steady last year. Among 12- to 17-year-olds, only 0.2 percent said they had used heroin within the past month of being surveyed, the same number as in 1996.

The number of first-time heroin users, however, was at an all-time high in the last year for which numbers were available, 1996. Preliminary numbers indicated 171,000 teens used heroin for the first time in 1996, up from the 117,000 who tried it in 1995.

The number of first-time users of marijuana was estimated at 2.54 million in 1996, up from 2.41 million in 1995.

Marijuana is popular because many teens don't see it as dangerous, said Health and Human services Secretary Donna Shalala.

Shalala traced the relaxed attitude to parents.

"How many have known parents who actually are relieved when they find out that their children are using marijuana as opposed to heroin or cocaine?" Shalala said. "The perception of this country is that marijuana is safe, and that it's a soft drug."

Parents need to inform their children that marijuana is dangerous - that it can impair learning and memory, she said. They must also be more aware of the attitude they send to their kids about drugs.

"How can we expect young people in this country to resist the lure of marijuana if the parent is transmitting messages that marijuana is OK?" she said.

The survey, an annual snapshot of illegal drug use in the nation, was conducted throughout last year by interviews with 24,500 people in their homes.

Despite the increase in teen drug use, the overall use of illegal drugs in the country remained steady last year. An estimated 14 million people - or 6.4 percent of the population age 12 and older - used drugs last year. The overall drug use rate in 1996 was 6.1 percent.

Drug use among adults has been stable for years, and last year's figure is slightly more than half the peak year in 1979, when there were 25 million users.

Other findings from the survey:

• Teens are more likely to use illegal drugs if they already use cigarettes and alcohol
• About 4.5 million young people ages 12 to 17 had used cigarettes within the past month. There was a significant increase among 12- to 13-year-olds, growing from 7.3 percent in 1996 to 9.7 percent last year.
• The number of teens who currently consume alcohol has remained stable since the 21 percent reported in 1992. In 1979, the rate was 50 percent.
• Marijuana continues to be the most frequently used illegal drug in the country, with an estimated 11.1 million people, or 5.1 percent of the population age 12 and older, using it in the past month. The figure was about the same in 1996.
• Overall heroin use continues to increase. In 1997, there were 325,000 people who used it in the past month, or 0.2 percent of the population. In 1996, the number of heroin first-time users reached a record high of 171,000.
• The average age for first-time use of marijuana in 1996 was 16.4 years; for cocaine, 18.7 years; and for heroin, 18.1 years.