SUBSTANCE ABUSE: Study Finds Teen Drug And Alcohol Use Down, Heroin Up
Drug and alcohol use among California students "significantly declined" last year for the first time in 10 years according to a new survey, the Los Angeles Times reports. These results, however, were tempered by the finding that student use of heroin has increased substantially in the past few years. The 8th Biennial California Student Survey, conducted by UCLA Professor Rodney Skager, found that the use of marijuana, methamphetamines, inhalants and alcohol declined among seventh, ninth, and 11th graders surveyed in 1999, compared to those surveyed in 1997. Overall, the percentage of 11th graders surveyed who had used alcohol or drugs in the past six months decreased from 78.2% in 1991-1992 to 67.7% in 1999. The drop in alcohol intake, a 10% decrease across all grades, was the first in the survey's history. However, 5.2% of 11th graders reported using heroin in the previous six months in 1999, compared to 1.7% in 1997. Attorney General Bill Lockyer (D) attributed this increase to "a new, smokable form of heroin" that is easier to sell than heroin that is injected. "It's a disturbing trend, one that we want to be sure to alert parents and schools officials to," Lockyer said. Skager expressed concern over the finding that only 14% of 11th graders "said it was 'very likely' that students could find help at school for stopping alcohol and drug use." He said, "We have to concentrate on kids who need help," Skager concluded (Tamaki, 9/19).
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