A survey released Monday indicates a downward trend in drug and alcohol use among Indiana youth, with rates for many drugs at their lowest since 1991. 

Reported use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and inhalants all declined this year, in some cases by more than three percentage points, according to an annual survey by the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University.  The center attributed part of the decline to prevention initiatives. 

Not all the news was positive.  More than 5 percent of high school seniors surveyed said they used methamphetamine at least once. 

That is lower than the national rate of 6.2 percent in 2004, but monthly meth use among Indiana students in grades eight, 10 and 12 appears to be higher than national rates. 

No Surprises Here

Those findings don't surprise Seymour Police Officer Tim Toborg, but he added he doesn't see much teen use of meth at Seymour High School, where he works as an outreach officer.  He also teaches a DARE drug-resistance class at Cortland Elementary School. 

"It doesn't surprise me as a whole, but I don't see the youth using it here like in the middle-age group, people in their late 20s to 35," Toborg said Tuesday.  "That doesn't say it's not present, but I'm just not seeing it here ( in high school )."

136,782 Surveyed

The 2005 results were obtained from 140 local surveys of 136,782 students in grades six through 12 attending 435 schools.  A project at the University of Michigan monitors youth drug use nationally, but its 2005 results were not expected to be released until later this year. 

JoBeth McCarthy-Jean, coordinator of external affairs for the Prevention Center, said the center, state agencies, schools, communities and nonprofit groups were working together in trying to delay first-time use of cigarettes, drugs and alcohol.  A program called Afternoons R.O.C.K., for example, involves after-school activities from 3 p.m.  to 6 p.m., when many students with little to do might use drugs. 

"We can all say that youth are making better choices," McCarthy-Jean said. 

Toborg agreed. 

"I'd like to think it's the education," Toborg said.  "If we keep educating them about the effects, they won't use it.  We're always teaching in DARE about the effects of these drugs. 

While Toborg teaches DARE at Cortland, Officer Greg O'Brien presents the DARE program at other Seymour Community Schools. 

They talk about meth use but also what Toborg described as gateway drugs -- alcohol, tobacco and inhalants -- that lead to stronger drugs like meth. 

Afternoons Rock At Crothersville

Afternoons R.O.C.K.  has been used by Crothersville Community Schools through Crothersville Church of the Nazarene. 

"There is a lot of fear right now about keeping our kids safe and this program really helps ease a lot of parents' concerns," Pam Wooten of the church said this spring.  It's geared toward children 10 to 14 years old. 

The survey showed that daily cigarette use among youth in grades 6-12 fell to 9.3 percent, less than half that of 1996 rates.  The center attributed that to prevention programs and retailers cracking down on cigarette sales to minors. 

After three years of increases, inhalant use among all grades either declined or stayed steady.  But the findings showed that younger students in grades 8 to 10 were more likely to have tried inhalants than high school juniors and seniors. 

Pot Rates Still High

Indiana rates for marijuana use are still higher than those reported in 1991 and 1992.  For example, 15.6 percent of high school seniors surveyed in 1991 reported using marijuana at least monthly.  The percentage this year was 17.8 percent, but that is down slightly from a year ago. 

On the other hand, almost 60 percent of 12th graders reported using alcohol monthly in 1991.  It has been declining for several years and stood at 41.8 percent this year. 

Nearly 42 percent of seniors reported monthly use of cigarettes in 1997 and 1998, and this year it is 26.5 percent.  It is slightly lower for 11th graders. 

Steve Pasierb, president of New York-based Partnership for a Drug-Free America, said he was not surprised about the Indiana survey results. 

"Things are going in the right direction," he said.  "What is happening in Indiana on alcohol, tobacco and marijuana is going on at the national level."

He cautioned against parents and society becoming complacent about the trend, however, saying that occurred in the early to mid-1990s, and use of those drugs among youth increased.  He said one of the new scourges is prescription drug abuse among youth. 

According to a study released by the Drug-Free organization in April, about one in five teenagers have tried prescription pain-killers such as Vicodin and OxyContin to get high.  The 17th annual study on teen drug abuse found that more teens had abused a prescription painkiller in 2004 than Ecstasy, cocaine, crack or LSD.