Pubdate: Wed, 10 Oct 2012 Source: Cincinnati Enquirer (OH) Copyright: 2012 The Cincinnati Enquirer Contact: http://enquirer.com/editor/letters.html Website: http://enquirer.com/today/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/86 Author: Juli Hale TEENAGERS USE POT MORE THAN CIGARETTES But KY. High-Schoolers Still Choose Tobacco Over Marijuana Marijuana use among teenagers is surging nationally, and the trend has health officials in Ohio and Kentucky worried. The most current data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control shows that American high school students are now smoking marijuana more often than cigarettes. The 2011 survey shows that 23 percent of the nation's high school students report using marijuana, while only 18 percent of 9th-through 12th-grade students say they recently smoked cigarettes. For decades, the number of teenage smokers has been on the decline while marijuana use has fluctuated. At times, pot and cigarette use were close to the same level, but last year marked the first time marijuana use was clearly higher. Lower prices, easy availability, decreased risk perception, and the rapid erosion of anti-marijuana attitudes in society are cited as key contributors to the increase in marijuana use. Kentucky is one of only 12 states with a lower marijuana use rate, according to the study. Kentucky has the highest percentage of teenage smokers in the country at 24 percent; marijuana users have climbed since 2005 from 15.8 to 19.2 percent. Ohio students follow the national trend with 23.6 percent using, and 21.2 percent smoke cigarettes. Twenty percent of Indiana teens use marijuana, and 18.1 percent smoke cigarettes. "There are so many harmful things out there, it is easy to get into the mindset that (marijuana use) isn't so bad. But anything that you start using as a young person and become dependent on robs you of other opportunities in life," said Van Ingram, executive director of the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy. While much of the nation has engaged in a public war on tobacco, some surveys have found that 50 percent of Americans favor of the legalization of marijuana. "Legalizing marijuana for medical use has been one thing that is believed to have driven use, but marijuana is still not safe. It is not regulated by the FDA or any agency," said Tammy Collins, chief of prevention services with the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services. Legalizing marijuana, even when only for medical use, changes the risk perception associated with the drug, Ingram said. Any change in the four primary factors that affect the use and abuse of a substance price, availability, perception of risk, and public attitude will change its level of use. "About six years ago, we were seeing some of the lowest numbers of marijuana use among youth, and then we started throwing the word 'medical' in front of it and use has grown," said Ingram. "One of the biggest things that drives abuse in this country is the perception of risk." Andrew, 20, lives in Northern Kentucky and smokes pot. He isn't surprised by the rise in marijuana use and believes actual usage rates among high school students are even higher than reported. " A lot of kids are going to lie about it. Some say they do when they don't, but lots will say they don't when they really do. Teachers can tell you it is anonymous, but most kids aren't going to take that chance," he said, saying that he lied about his own drug use on surveys when he was still in school. "Nineteen percent is low. I think the number is much higher." After using for the first time at 16, Andrew became a periodic user in high school. Since graduation, his use has increased, and he says he now smokes pot almost daily. "I could quit tomorrow if I wanted. I don't think it has a vise on me at all," he said. He believes that cigarettes and alchohol are more harmful than marijuana. A study published earlier this year in the Journal of the American Medical Association offered further evidence that long-term cigarette use often leads to chronic, irreversible breathing problems. The study failed to show any similar health problems for those who smoked marijuana only. . Andrew was familiar with the information. He hadn't, however, heard the results of recently concluded research in New Zealand published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that shows heavy marijuana use is associated with cognitive decline. Nearly a quarter of high schoolers smoking pot means that a large majority of them do not. Reinforcing these actual positive norms becomes important in the prevention process, Collins said. "The argument that marijuana use is a rite of passage is another one of the things that perpetuates use among adolescents. Some can try it and quit while some may be genetically predisposed to become addicted," she added. Many programs in both Kentucky and Ohio utilize a multitude of prevention strategies to promote an anti-drug message. Programs are typically aimed directly at youth, but some advice to parents. "Students are more likely to do something if their parents accept it," said Ryan Courtade, executive director of the Northern Kentucky Youth Foundation. "Whether you agree or disagree with marijuana being illegal, the fact is that it is illegal, and there are plenty of people in jail for the use and possession of this drug. As a community, our job is to safeguard our students, and we need to reinforce what the law says." The CDC study shows that 10 percent of Kentucky's and 9 percent of Ohio's high school students used marijuana for the first time before the age of 13. The national average is 8 percent. Alexandria Police Officer Mark Branham said he often encountered teens with drugs. Still, he was surprised when as a school resource officer he caught two sixth grade students in possession of marijuana in 2010. Branham now brings drug dogs into the school periodically for searches. He hopes that they convince some to never use drugs at all. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws to legalize medical marijuana. Six additional states, either through ballot initiatives or in the state legislature, will decide in 2012 whether to do so. State Sen. Perry Clark, D-Louisville, has said he plans to resubmit a bill next legislative session that would designate marijuana as a schedule II drug. It would allow those with a prescription for marijuana to legally obtain up to five ounces a month and cultivate up to five marijuana plants at a time. Clark admits the Kentucky legalization bill has a slim chance of passing, but notes that the penalties for marijuana possession have already been reduced. Kentucky law states that those found in possession of less than eight ounces of marijuana can be charged with a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $250 and up to 45 days in jail,said Wright. Over-crowding and tight government budgets have essentially erased jail time, he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom