Pubdate: Fri,  6 Sep 2002
Source: Sun Herald (MS)
Copyright: 2002, The Sun Herald
Contact:  http://www.sunherald.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/432
Author: Lee Bowman, Scripps Howard News Service
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John)

DRUG USE KEEPS ON CLIMBING IN U.S.

WASHINGTON - Illegal drug use by Americans continued to climb last year, 
according to the latest government survey, which also found that millions 
of drug users who need treatment don't even recognize they have a problem.

"We have a large and growing denial gap when it comes to drug abuse and 
dependency in this country," said John Walters, director of the White House 
Office of National Drug Control Policy.

"Out of 5 million people who met the criteria for needing treatment but not 
getting it, the survey shows fewer than 400,000 knew they needed it."

The annual National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, which interviewed some 
70,000 people age 12 and older around the country about their drug use in 
the previous month, reports that 7.1 percent of those polled - up from 6.3 
percent in 2000 - admitted drug use in 2001. That represents an estimated 
15.9 million Americans.

The report, released Thursday, notes that 10.8 percent of those aged 12 to 
17 were drug users last year, up from 9.7 percent the year before.

The survey also found statistically significant increases between 2000 and 
2001 in the use of particular drugs, such as marijuana (4.8 percent to 5.4 
percent of the population) and cocaine (0.5 percent to 0.7 percent) and in 
nonmedical use of pain relievers (up from 1.2 percent to 1.6 percent).

The projected number of people reporting use of the pain reliever Oxycontin 
for non-medical purposes at least once in their lives rose from 400,000 in 
2000 to 957,000 last year.

Charles Curie, head of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration that runs the survey, said the increased drug abuse 
has occurred since the early '90s for many reasons, particularly because 
less attention has been given to prevention, and growing tolerance toward 
drug use.

"When young people do not perceive the risk, use increases," Curie said.

Marijuana use, which accounts for more than half of all illegal drug use, 
rose by 0.8 percent last year. An estimated 2.4 million Americans used it 
for the first time in 2000; estimates of first-time use run a year behind 
current-use surveys. Most new users were aged 12 to 17.

Youth cigarette use, on the other hand, was down slightly last year to 13 
percent, continuing a trend started in 1999, when 14.9 percent reported 
smoking.

The survey also noted that the number of 12- to 17-year-olds who consider 
smoking marijuana once or twice a week a serious health risk declined by 
nearly 3 percent, to 53.5.

"There's a fundamental misunderstanding that this is a soft drug, not 
something of concern, especially in the generation of people who are the 
parents of many of these teens. It's not the same marijuana, with 
hallucinogenic potency of 10 percent, 20 percent, even 30 percent, compared 
to the 1 percent level found in pot during the '70s," Walters said.

"We're concerned about initiation of this drug in the low teens and below 
teens, and we're seeing more teens seeking treatment for marijuana 
dependence than even alcohol," the drug czar added.

But the survey still estimates that more than 10 million 12- to 
20-year-olds were current drinkers last year, or about 1 in 3 of the 
underage teen population.

And among all Americans, the survey found that 25.1 million drove under the 
influence of alcohol at least once in the 12 months before the interview, 
or 11 percent, 1 percent more than in 2000.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom