Pubdate: Sat, 17 Dec 2011 Source: Herald News, The (Fall River, MA) Copyright: 2011 The Herald News Contact: http://www.heraldnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3604 Author: Will Richmond, Herald News Staff Reporter NATIONAL SURVEY FINDS POT USE ON THE RISE AMONG FALL RIVER YOUTH FALL RIVER - Following national trends, more city youths are experimenting with marijuana use, according to a survey of middle and high school students. The survey of high school students found that the percentage reporting marijuana use within the past 30 days increased by 9 percentage points from a 2008 level of 22 percent. Among individual grade levels, the largest increase was among those in the junior class, with an increase from 24.1 percent in 2008 to 40.2 percent this year. That trend, according to BOLD Coalition Staff Director Craig Gaspard, is also being observed nationally. A 2011 survey conducted by the University of Michigan and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that marijuana use among 10th graders increased from 14.2 percent in 2006 to 17.6 percent in 2011. During that same time frame usage among 12th graders increased from 18.3 percent to 22.6 percent. Gaspard said the trend among high schoolers comes as surveys among adults indicates more relaxed attitudes regarding marijuana usage. "I think more people think marijuana is OK because of the emergence of medical marijuana," Gaspard said. The increased acceptance of marijuana use shouldn't alleviate concerns about youth consumption of the substance. Gaspard pointed out that the Fall River study also found that marijuana consumption was beginning at earlier ages, which raises concerns about the effects on learning. "The earlier start is more problematic, so yes I'm concerned," Gaspard said. "Just because it's happening every where doesn't mean we should take steps to reverse the trend. It's important people don't feel powerless to do something about it because without a doubt the higher marijuana rates correlate with lower grades. And we know Fall River is concerned about academic performance so marijuana use is a concern." In addition to questioning students about marijuana usage, the middle school survey also covered tobacco, alcohol and other illegal uses; safety- and violence-related behaviors; suicidal ideation; and regularity of physical activity. The survey of high school students also covered questions related to sexual behaviors. In all, more than 2,100 students responded to the survey that was conducted during school. Among those topics, Gaspard said that most usage rates for alcohol and tobacco has increased at the high school level, with 18.4 percent of high school students reporting smoking cigarettes during the last month, compared to 15.9 percent in 2008. Alcohol use also increased from 37.3 percent to 39.4 percent during the same period. Both categories, however, are in decline from 2005 numbers, when 21.8 percent of high school students reported tobacco use and 41.4 percent reported alcohol use. While those numbers represent usage during the 30 days prior to the survey, Gaspard said he was encouraged by results showing lifetime use of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana, meaning consumption at anytime prior to the survey, has decreased since 2006. Respondents also indicated first time use at later ages. "Even a delay in experimenting is a good thing because the younger you start the more likely you are to have problems later in life," Gaspard said. "It's good these trends are either flat or decreasing, but I think we still want to get a hand on marijuana and prescription drug abuse." While the results related to substance abuse gained most of the attention, Gaspard also voiced concerns about the results related to violence-related behaviors and suicide. At the high school level, Gaspard said twice as many girls reported having hurt or injured themselves on purpose. More female respondents also reported being hurt physically or sexually on a date, having sexual contact with someone against their will and seriously considering suicide. "Boys tend to have high-risk behaviors, but girls seem to fly under the radar," Gaspard said. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.