Pubdate: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO) Copyright: 2000 Denver Publishing Co. Contact: 400 W. Colfax, Denver, CO 80204 Website: http://www.denver-rmn.com/ Author: Julie Poppen STATE COLLEGE POT SMOKING TOPS U.S. RATE Use Of Amphetamines, Heroin, Hallucinogens Up 21%, Study Finds The percentage of students at three major Colorado campuses who admit to using marijuana exceeds the national average, in one case more than twice as much. According to recently released 1999 data, 34 percent of students at the University of Colorado said they used marijuana in the month before the survey, compared with 15.7 percent nationwide. At Colorado State University, 25 percent said they used pot the month before the study. Use of other illicit drugs, including heroin, amphetamines and hallucinogens, increased by nearly 21 percent. The national study was conducted by Harvard University's School of Public Health. The results, which will be published in the November issue of the academic journal Addiction, found that college students are using more marijuana than they did in 1993. Between 1993 and 1999 overall marijuana use increased by 22 percent, according to the study. "These new findings should be a source of concern for those involved with the prevention and treatment of illicit drug use among young people," study author Henry Wechsler said. "Although rates of drug use stabilized at the end of the decade, no significant decreases have yet been observed." "The level of acceptance has been rekindled with marijuana," said Scott Case of CSU's counseling center. Researchers suggest that the upswing in the use of pot and other illicit drugs on campus could be linked to a surge in drug use by middle and high school youths in the early 1990s. That finding was included in a separate study by the National Institutes of Health. In the 1960s, drug use often started on campus and trickled down to younger populations, the authors noted. Another factor is Colorado's status as a state with the most marijuana users. A recent study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that 8.1 percent of the state's residents admitted using the drug during a 30-day period last year. The University of Denver didn't participate in the Harvard survey, but conducted its own poll last spring. In that study, DU found that 45.9 percent of students admitted to using marijuana in the past year, and 26.4 percent in the 30 days before the survey. "Generally, small liberal arts colleges have higher levels of alcohol use and drug use," said Robert Granfield, DU associate professor of sociology. As in all studies, false responses can cloud results even when the responses are anonymous. "Fraternities or sororities, under the gun with regard to alcohol policy, may systematically lie to lower the rates," Granfield said. But those lying about not doing drugs may balance out those who claim they did when they didn't, Granfield said. The perception of rampant pot smoking on campus may also contribute to more students using the drug, Granfield said. More than 90 percent of DU undergraduates said they felt that most students use marijuana. At Colorado School of Mines, officials said they sense that illegal drugs are becoming more of a problem, said Harold Cheuvront, vice president for student life and dean of students. Recent figures for the campus were not available. Nationally, the number of students who said they used marijuana at some point in the 30 days before the survey rose from 12.9 percent in 1993 to 15.7 percent in 1999, according to the Harvard study. The number of students who reported using marijuana in the year before the survey rose from 24 percent to 26.4 percent. But not everyone is concerned. "On the whole, it's not really something that is a perceived epidemic on campus," said CU student leader John Moore, a 22-year-old senior and sociology major. Moore pointed out that today's business and political leaders came of age in an era when drug use was much more prevalent on campuses. "I don't know that it had the most adverse effect on those folks." - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D