Drug Use Rising Among Students, Study Says

More than a quarter of California high school students are heavy drinkers by their junior year, and teen-agers’ use of other drugs is on the rise, according to a state study released Tuesday.

A survey of 5,655 students in public junior high and high schools found fewer youths trying cocaine compared to eight years ago. But after a period of declining use among California teen-agers in the late 1980s, drugs such as amphetamines, marijuana and LSD are on the rebound.

Use of the psychedelic drug LSD has more than doubled among juniors since 1985-86, with 12% having tried it at least once in the previous six months.

The study, commissioned by the state attorney general’s office and the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, was conducted from November through February at 100 schools.

The survey asked seventh-, ninth- and 11th-graders about their use of alcohol and a dozen other drugs.

Officials attributed the increased drug use, in part, to cutbacks in drug-prevention programs.

Nearly 40% of freshmen and 36% of juniors surveyed said they had not taken an alcohol- or drug-prevention class in the previous year.

“I do believe the key to progress in the past has been our ability to transmit a clear and compelling message to our young people that illicit drugs and alcohol abuse will ruin your life and destroy your future,” Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren said. “Unfortunately, today that message is being diluted.”

Lungren also blamed cuts in law enforcement and what he said was a glamorization by the entertainment industry of drug use.

The state has conducted the student drug and alcohol use survey every other year since 1985-86.

Teen-age drinking has remained relatively stable over that period, but alcohol remains by far the most widely used drug.

The study found that 53.1% of seventh-graders, 68.6% of high school freshmen and 74.3% of juniors had had at least one drink in the previous six months.

Twenty-nine percent of high school juniors and 21% of freshmen were classified as excessive alcohol users. That group included those who had consumed five or more drinks in a row at least twice in the previous two weeks, had gotten very drunk or sick at least three times in their lives, or drank to get drunk.

Similarly, 28.1% of juniors and 23% of freshmen were described as “high-risk drug users” who used marijuana or other drugs frequently, mixed their drugs or tried cocaine.