Teen Drug Use No Longer on Rise, Government Reports

Teen drug use has stabilized after years on the rise, the government reported Friday, though it’s still much higher than in the early 1990s.

Drug use rose through most of this decade after the intense prevention efforts of the ‘80s were relaxed, researchers say. But now schools, parents and TV are again focused on the dangers, and researchers say teens are again getting the message.

The annual report has now marked two straight years of steady--and, in some cases, dropping--drug and alcohol use, suggesting that the rising trend truly has been stemmed.

“Last year we said there was a ‘glimmer of hope,’ ” said Donna Shalala, secretary of Health and Human Services. “Today that glimmer of hope is not only still with us; it has actually grown.”

The survey of eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders also found more adolescents disapprove of drug use. And, in a particularly bright spot, younger teenagers are even less likely to use drugs tha1847590913last year.

“It’s the best news we’ve had to give the country for some years now,” said veteran lead researcher Lloyd Johnston of the University of Michigan.

Teen drug use became a serious problem in the late 1960s, peaking in 1979. It fell through the 1980s, hitting a low in 1991 and ’92 before beginning to climb again.

Johnston suggested a cyclical pattern: When drug use was lower, teens saw fewer peers suffering from its effects. “They weren’t seeing the consequences,” he said.

At the same time, reduced drug use in the late 1980s allowed the news media, parents and schools to relax and cut back on prevention efforts, he said. Federal spending on prevention remained stagnant through the early and mid-1990s.

“All the institutions that might be influencing young people were tiring of the issue,” he said.

Now, he and others suggested, teens are again hearing more anti-drug messages and seeing the effects of drug use on others.

“America’s team effort is starting to pay off,” said Barry McCaffrey, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

He promised the nation would not let down its efforts again. “We learn by seeing others make mistakes,” he said.

Still, nine in 10 high school seniors say it’s easy to get marijuana, and the number using it is still high, said Chuck Thomas of the Marijuana Policy Project, which supports relaxation of drug laws. Nearly one in four eighth-graders and almost half of high school seniors reported smoking marijuana at least once.

This year’s survey found a decrease in the use of any drug among all grades; eighth-graders saw their second drop in a row.

Overall, 41.4% of high school seniors reported using drugs in the last year, down from 42.4%. Among 10th-graders, it was 35%, down from 38.5% in 1997. Over two years, use among eighth-graders dropped to 21% from 23.6%.

There were also hopeful trends in teen attitudes toward drugs. A rise in teen disapproval of drugs is usually followed by a decline in actual use.