Pubdate: Tue, 03 Jan 2006 Source: Citizen, The (NH) Copyright: 2006, Geo. J. Foster Co. Contact: http://www.citizen.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1408 Author: Bea Lewis, Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) SURVEY SHOWS HIGH SCHOOL DRUG USE IS DOWN WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Use of methamphetamine and steroids among high school students has dropped sharply since 2001, according to a national survey of teens. The University of Michigan's annual Monitoring the Future survey released last week, shows the use of methamphetamines a highly addictive often home-brewed drug among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, combined, has dipped by approximately one-third since 2001. The study reports the declines were 34 percent, 30 percent, and 36 percent respectively for lifetime, past year, and past month use among high schoolers. The report also indicates that the use of steroids, commonly used to enhance physique or athletic performance, has also dropped dramatically since 2001. Steroid use, the survey found, was down 38 percent, 37 percent, and 30 percent for lifetime, past year, and past month use. This year, 49,347 students from 402 public and private schools participated in the survey. The survey, formerly known as the National High School Senior survey, is designed to measure drug, alcohol and cigarette use and related attitudes among 8th, 10th and 12th grade students nationwide. Survey participants report their drug use behaviors across three time periods: lifetime, past year, and past month. Monitoring the Future is an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of American secondary school students, college students, and young adults, according to its creators. Each year, a 8th, 10th and 12th grade students are surveyed (12th graders since 1975, and 8th and 10th graders since 1991). In addition, annual follow-up questionnaires are mailed to a sampling of each graduating class for a number of years after their initial participation. While the survey results represents welcome news for those in the Lakes Region working to curb substance abuse among teens, some of the findings show that the use of marijuana and cocaine remains pervasive among young people. Despite the progress in reducing some forms of teen drug use, the survey found that one in four 10th graders reported smoking marijuana last year and nearly half or 45 percent of 12th graders said they had used marijuana at least once in their lifetime. Additionally the survey found while the proportion of older teens that abuse illicit drugs continued to decline last year, the long-term improvement that had been occurring among 8th graders since 1986, appears to have ended this year. "What is significant is that the use of these substances has declined substantially since the recent peak levels reached in the mid-1990s," said Dr. Lloyd Johnson the study's principal investigator. "Generally, the proportional declines since then have been greatest among 8th graders and the least among the 12th graders, despite the fact the 8th graders show no continued improvement this year." For Renee Rockwell, who heads CoRe, the Community Response group that formed after a Youth Risk Survey showed drug use had increased among Inter-Lakes High School students, the latest results show teens nationwide are getting the message that drugs are harmful. Core's work to create a series of drug-free after school activities for area teens have been successful in efforts to broaden a local drug-free culture, she said, and subsequent local surveys have shown drug use in the three communities served by the Inter-Lakes School District has fallen. "Marijuana is a addictive drug and we need to continue to educate teens about the growing list of harms associated with its use," said Rockwell. The best news touted by the survey is the trend analysis for current use among youth of any illicit drug from 2001 to 2005. Among 8th, 10th and 12th graders such abuse shows a drop of 19 percent. This translates into nearly 700,000 fewer youth using illicit drugs in 2005 than in 2001, the survey found. Prescription drug abuse however, remains troubling. OxyContin, a powerful painkiller most commonly prescribed to cancer patients is the only drug for which the 2005 survey reports an increase among all three grades combined: past year use increased from 2.7 percent in 2002 to 3.4 percent in 2005, an increase of 26 percent. The survey only began measuring the abuse of oxycontin in 2002. In an effort to reduce the availability of prescription drugs on the street, a group of physicians have been working to create a more comprehensive prescription reporting system and have urged the New Hampshire Legislature to establish a study committee. Under the current system, prescription forgery is common and hundreds of doses of prescription drugs can often end up being sold on the street before investigators with the state Pharmacy Board charged with monitoring and enforcing the distribution of drugs by pharmacies, hospitals and nursing homes could detect abuses. In the New Year, the state lawmakers will be asked to consider a number of bills dealing with illicit drugs. House Bill 1406 seeks to add methamphetamine to the penalty provisions of the controlled drug act and require a $100 fine in addition to any civil or administrative penalty accessed by the court for those convicted of violating the act. The bill would further establish a drug education and abuse prevention program that would be financed by fines established by the legislation. House Bill 1467 would require that convicted drug offenders register with the N.H. Department of Public Safety, Division of State Police. House Bill 1436 proposes to establish a committee to study the effects of current state and federal laws on illegal drugs and the possession and use of such drugs. House Bill 1578 seeks to enhance public awareness about methamphetamine and to education residents about its dangers. House Bill 1576 would require the department of health and hum! an services, in cooperation with the governor's commission on alcohol and drug abuse prevention, intervention, and treatment, to implement a voluntary Meth Watch program in New Hampshire. Although marijuana remains the most commonly abused illicit drug among teens, usage rates are declining, the study found. Marijuana use dropped in all three categories: lifetime (13 percent), past year (15 percent), and 30-day use (19 percent.) Most notably, current use of marijuana dropped 28 percent among 8th graders -- from 9.2 to 6.6 percent -- and 23 percent among 10th graders, from 19.8 percent to 15.2 percent. The surveys findings also recorded declines of nearly two-thirds in current use of hallucinogens and the club-drug Ecstasy. The use of alcohol by youth, including those who report having been drunk, is also down since 2001. Use of cigarettes has dropped in all four categories (lifetime, past month, daily, and half-pack plus per day) in all three grades. A decrease in some categories of club drugs, including rohypnol (often linked to date rape), GHB, and ketamine (a veterinary anesthetic) was also reported by the survey. Cocaine use has continued to remain stable across the four-year period for all grades in all prevalence categories; the number of current heroin users has remained stable at relatively low prevalence levels (.5 percent) among all grades. The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign is being credited with making major strides in its efforts to alert teens and parents about the dangers and harms of drug use, including marijuana. There is concern however, that federal funding cuts in recent years are starting to erode the perception of harm of marijuana use among young teens. Those concerns are borne out by the survey that indicates that among 8th graders, the perceived harm in smoking marijuana regularly, which had been rising sharply in recent years, has decreased (from 76.2 percent to 73.9 percent). The survey is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, under the auspices of the Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health, and conducted since its inception by the University of Michigan. Information from this survey helps national policymakers identify potential drug problem areas and target resources to areas of greatest need. Congress created the media campaign in 1998 with bipartisan support, with the goal of educating and enabling young people to reject illicit drugs. Supporters say the program has enjoyed an unprecedented blend of public and private partnerships, nonprofit community service organizations, volunteerism, and youth-to-youth communications. The effort, founders said, is designed to reach Americans of diverse backgrounds with "clear, consistent, and credible anti-drug messages." The complete survey results can be viewed at monitoringthefuture.org. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman