Today’s Agenda

Drug use among teen-agers is rising again after dropping for more than a decade, according to a recently released federal study. Although the use of hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin has not gone up, the increased use of other illicit substances cuts across all socio-economic levels.

The study, however, showed that despite public perceptions, the lowest level of illicit drug use was reported among African American students.

Still the question is, what is prompting the increase? In Youth Opinion, a sampling of Southern California teens give their views. Some suggest that programs such as DARE don’t work while others say they should be expanded to include high school students. DARE is a federally funded course that sends police officers into classrooms to turn kids away from drugs before they get started. Still other kids say these programs use scare tactics that just don’t work anymore.

And what about the national debate over legalization for adults? Could it be having an effect on the thinking of younger people?

The Clinton Administration and particularly Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders have been criticized on the issue.

Elders riled many when she said that the country should study legalization.

One critic of the Administration’s policy, former drug czar William Bennett, said the White House has not done enough to discourage the use of illegal drugs.

But some national and local officials side with Elders--including Orange County Superior Court Judge James P. Gray, former Secretary of State George Shultz, conservative columnist William F. Buckley and Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman.

Another problem may be the continuing use of marijuana by baby boomers. What kind of message are they sending to teen-agers?

According to Lloyd Johnston, the University of Michigan research scientist who conducted the survey, the use of marijuana increased by three or four percentage points during the last two years among eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders.

In 1993, the proportion of students reporting marijuana use in the previous year was 9% for 8th-graders, 19% for 10th-graders and 26% for seniors.

Although the rates of illicit drug use are well below the peak levels reached in the late 1970s, “they clearly represent a reversal of the declines we recorded for more than a decade,” Johnston said.

The Administration now seems prepared to take action. Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala has said that she plans to contact the presidents of broadcast networks, film studios, record companies and professional sports leagues to urge them “to rededicate themselves to getting the message out about prevention.” And current drug czar Lee P. Brown said that he will convene a national meeting of experts in prevention and drug education to confront the problem of drug abuse by young people.

Said Shalala when the study was announced: “These findings are more than a warning signal.”