Student Drug Use Falls, but Alcohol Abuse Is Unchanged, Survey Finds

Drug use by California secondary school students has dropped significantly over the past two years while alcohol abuse remained constant, according to a new statewide survey that reflects a continuing national trend.

The survey, which was commissioned by the state Attorney General’s Office and administered last December and January by UCLA Professor of Education Rodney Skager, revealed a drop in drug abuse at every grade level studied as part of a similar survey two years ago.

‘First Glimmer of Hope’

Attorney General John Van de Kamp, releasing the results Tuesday at a Hollywood junior high school, called it “the first glimmer of hope in our long struggle against illegal narcotics.”

But he cautioned that a single piece of good news does not mean that the drug problem is solved. “At the very best, it means we are doing a better job with the part of our population that is easiest to reach -- those youngsters who are in school every day.”

The percentage of students using drugs other than alcohol declined by roughly 15% in the seventh grade, by nearly one-third in the ninth grade and by between 15 and 20% in the 11th, according to the study. More than half of 9th graders and more than a third of 11th graders reported that they have “never been high or intoxicated,” Van de Kamp noted.

The survey did not measure substance abuse among dropouts, who account for at least one quarter of all high-school-age children in California, according to a variety of attrition studies. The drug problem, Van de Kamp said, “is at least as bad among those youngsters--probably much worse.”

The attorney general, speaking at Bancroft Junior High School, said the survey showed “unacceptably high levels” of substance abuse persist among students. More than 61% of all 11th graders reported having been intoxicated on alcohol, and more than 42% of 11th graders reported having tried one or more illegal drugs, Van de Kamp said.

Marijuana Use

Of the various drugs covered by the survey, marijuana use by California eleventh graders dropped by nearly 10% over the past two years.

Student use of cocaine also dropped during that period, but by a slightly lower margin, the survey showed. In 1986, 17.6% of California eleventh graders reported having used cocaine at least once during the preceding six months. In the recent survey, that figure was 11.2%.

The figures for cocaine mirror the findings of an annual survey of high school seniors by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, which reported a decline in student cocaine use nationwide for the first time in in 1987.

Patrick O’Malley, program director of the research center at the University of Michigan that prepared the national report, said the California results seem to reflect a general downturn in drug use.

“We are getting into one of those cycles where drugs are becoming less of the ‘in’ thing to do,” O’Malley said.

He attributed the lower national frequency of student cocaine use to a sharp increase in the public perception that the drug is dangerous, especially in the wake of the much-publicized, cocaine-related death of basketball star Len Bias in June, 1986. O’Malley said nationwide student use of marijuana began to decline in 1980.

Herbert Kleber, professor of psychiatry at Yale University who specializes in substance abuse trends, said he was “not surprised” to hear of the California survey.

“If you go back a couple of years, cocaine use was already stabilizing and beginning to drop among the general student population. This trend was reversed when crack came along. At some point they peak and go down,” he said.

The California students completed anonymous questionnaires about their use of alcohol, marijuana and cocaine, which are the most-abused substances, as well as other drugs. Nearly 7,000 students at 87 California junior and senior high schools participated. Declines were reported in virtually all categories.

Students were also asked for the reasons they chose to use or abstain from drugs and alcohol. Among eleventh graders the most common reason for abstaining was fear of becoming addicted.

Van de Kamp attributed the apparent decline in student drug abuse to more effective education and prevention programs in the schools and to increasingly hostile peer attitudes toward drug use.

UCLA’s Skager said substance abuse among students appears to be slightly higher in Southern California than elsewhere in the state, but that this difference was less pronounced than in 1985-86. No geographical breakdown was given.

About fifteen students attended Van de Kamp’s press conference. Ninth-grader Jessica Dickey, 15, said she thought the survey was not completely accurate.

“The numbers would have been a lot higher if the survey was given in the summer,” Dickey said. “That’s when all the parties are.”

ILLEGAL DRUG USE BY STUDENTS PERCENT OF STUDENTS WHO HAVE TRIED DRUGS

The number of students who have tried illegal drugs (other than alcohol) have declined in the last two years. By 11th grade, about 4 of 10 students said they had experimented with drugs, down from 5 of 10 in 1985-86.

7th Grade

1985-’86: 10.70%

1987-’88: 9.00%

9th Grade

1985-’86: 35.70%

1987-’88: 23.40%

11th Grade

1985-’86: 51.40%

1987-’88: 42.40%

DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE DURING PAST SIX MONTHS

The percentage of students, by grade, who have used each substance at least once in the past six months. The students, regardless of grade level, reported more frequent use of alcohol than other substances.

Grade 7 Grade 9 Grade 11 ‘85/’86 ‘87/’88 ‘85/’86 ‘87/’88 ‘85/’86 ‘87/’88 Beer 41.1% 40.3% 61.0% 57.7% 69.2% 68.3% Wine 40.1 38.2 56.1 52.4 62.0 59.1 Liquor 20.8 18.4 43.7 38.9 53.1 52.4 Marijuana 9.7 5.8 32.2 21.6 42.1 32.8 Hashish 1.7 1.0 9.8 3.1 13.1 7.6 Amphetamines 2.2 1.3 10.5 3.9 15.3 10.6 Cocaine 2.8 1.8 9.7 5.3 17.6 11.2 LSD 1.4 0.8 4.1 3.1 6.0 6.4 Inhalants 17.6 12.6 16.3 13.2 13.8 10.2 PCP 1.5 1.7 3.1 2.6 3.1 3.1 Heroin 1.1 1.3 1.1 0.9 1.2 0.9

Source: State Atty. General’s Office