Teen drug use down, government study says

WASHINGTON Teen drug use declined 9 percent last year and 21percent over the last two years, mirroring the continuing drop in thecrime rate, according to a major survey released today by federalofficials.

The survey of 67,000 individuals age 12 and over also showed thatthe younger a person is when he or she first uses marijuana, thegreater the chances of becoming a drug user as an adult. Nearly 9percent of those who used marijuana at age 14 or younger used drugsas an adult, while just 1.7 percent of people who used marijuana forthe first time at age 18 or older became drug-dependent adults.

"The survey provides extremely encouraging news," White HouseNational Drug Policy Director Barry McCaffrey said. We are now seeinga clear trend: Teen drug use is down significantly and rapidly fortwo straight years."

But McCaffrey also said the study, the largest ever done for theannual Household Survey, also revealed higher drug use among 18- to25-year-olds. Their use of illegal drugs was up 28 percent over thelast two years, increasing from 14.7 percent in 1997 to 18.8 percentlast year. The report was released jointly by McCaffrey and Healthand Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala.

"We first began to see increased drug use among this age groupseveral years ago when they were teens," McCaffrey said. "Sadly, nowthat this age group has established drug use patterns, they and oursociety will be dealing with the harms associated with increased druguse-disease, overdoses, health care costs, crime and the like-foryears to come as they grow older."

McCaffrey said the drop in teen drug use was evidence thataggressive anti-drug campaigns are working. President Clinton saidthe results also showed that federal efforts to curb smoking anddrinking among teens were working and urged Congress to fully fundthe administration's Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign.

"While today's report shows underage alcohol use is still atunacceptable levels, it also shows that tobacco use among youngpeople is beginning to decline significantly following a period ofincreases earlier in the 1990s," Clinton said. "These findings provethat we are successfully reversing dangerous trends and makingimportant progress."