Associated Press. (1996, August 21). Teen drug use instant issue: Climbs 105 percent. Reno Gazette-Journal, p. A3. Friend, T. (1996, August 20). Teens’ use of drugs rises 78%. USA Today, p. 1A. Friend, T. (1996, August 21). Teens and drugs. USA Today, p. 1-2A. Reuters. (1996, August 21). Teen drug use doubled in 1992-1995, study says: Rise attributed to marijuana. San Francisco Chronicle, p. A3.

OVERVIEW

Illegal drug use in America is back strong. Youth workers, teachers, and police have known this for some time—even when many parents and school administrators were denying it. But suddenly, in late July of 1996, it was made officially public. Younger teens especially are turning to drugs in greater numbers.

FINDINGS

The findings were the result of a nationwide survey by the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 17,747 Teenagers participated in the survey. Two provocative findings emerged:

• Drug use more than doubled among 12- to 17-year-olds from 1992 to 1995.
• At current rate of increase, the drug use among U.S. teens will pass the peak level of illegal use in 1979.

When teenagers were asked if they had used illicit drugs in the past month, their responses from 1992 to 1995 were as follows (USA Today from National Household Survey on Drug Abuse):

Even between 1994 and 1995, there were marked increases in usage:

• The use of LSD and other hallucinogens increased 54%.
• Because of low cocaine use, its increase registered 166%.
• Marijuana use rose 37%.

Since 1992, drug-related emergency room visits by teenagers increased:

• 96% For problems arising from marijuana abuse.
• 58% For use of heroin.
• 19% For cocaine abuse.

CAUSES

Teen drug abuse had declined steadily during the 1980s to a low in 1992, according to several previous studies. What are the reasons for this rise in the 1990s? Professor of sociology at Houston’s Rice University (and former drug policy director) cites several factors for increased drug use in the 1990s.

• Many boomer parents used drugs themselves and find it hard to criticize their children’s drug use or argue strongly against it.
• The media have "reglamorized" drug use in the 1990s. Entertainment and communications industries are especially guilty.
• Public concern expressed in the media has been lacking. Public service warnings against drug abuse in the late 1980s did some good. Brown says that anti-drug instruction "was on the radar screen until the Persian Gulf war. When we went to the gulf war, it never surfaced as an issue again....There was a belief that we’d won the war on drugs, which was far, far from the truth."

Jessica Hulsey (see below) says young people smoke marijuana "for many reasons: broken homes, trouble with parents, peer pressure, low self confidence, and just curiosity.

TEENAGE COMMENTS

Jessica Hulsey, age 19, was taken from her mother as a child. Both parents were drug abusers; her mother is in recovery, but her father is still addicted to crack cocaine. Now, as a Princeton University junior and anti-drug advocate, she says:

Drug use among teenagers is increasing at an alarming rate while the perceived risk is decreasing. That’s one thing we need to change. They just don’t see drug use as a big deal. Like, pot? "It won’t hurt me." Heroin? "We can handle it."

My mother started when she was 13 with pot and alcohol; then she went on to LSD and cocaine, and when my younger sister was born it was heroin. She lost 15 years to drug abuse and doesn’t remember much of these years, and she’s been in recover for 10 years.

According to government studies, those who begin smoking marijuana at age 13 are 79 times more likely to become drug addicted as an adult....You can’t tell youth what choices they have to make, but you can give them information and the skills they need to make positive choices for themselves.

"USA Today’s Teen Panel say the use of marijuana is now so widespread that teens don’t really consider it a drug."

I think marijuana as a drug is being promoted a lot more in the movies, music and music videos. You see it so much that you don’t think it is illegal. I listen to a lot of rappers brag about it. It’s really easy to get. You don’t have to find a dealer anymore....Parents have no influence at all once their kid hits 14 or 15. You’ve lost them. They will make up their own minds.
—Kyle, 17, of Bethel Park, PA

As far as general teen use, marijuana is definitely on the rise. It is so popular, so well known, it is around everywhere. Nobody is afraid of the consequences of selling it or buying it.
—Tighe, 16, of Louisville, KY

Marijuana is a big, big thing. I mean, like, there are people who smoke a joint in a car outside school, and when they come in, you can just smell it on them. There are a lot of people doing it.
—Jennifer, 17, Decatur, IL.

I see it at parties. It is so kind of regular it isn’t considered a drug anymore. It is so normal, everybody does it. Curiosity is a factor; they want to know what it’s all about. And really, they do it just so they can be cool.
—Renee, 18, of Stockton, CA

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. When and how did you first notice this most recent rise in illegal drug use?
2. What most impresses you about this article?
3. What questions do you have, or what would you like to discuss about the statistics above and opinions of young people cited?
4. What should government, schools, and the media do about this problem? What effect might such actions produce?
5. What can you discuss about this issue with teenagers?

IMPLICATIONS

1. Although there is some divergence among recent studies, young people are using more drugs, at younger ages, in the 1990s.
2. There is clear evidence that anti-drug campaigns do influence young people and discourage self-destructive behavior.
3. It is a shame when politicians use studies to develop simplistic political conclusions. No one system can be blamed for the increase of drug use and no one system or solution will erase the problem.
4. Youth workers and teachers are especially important in reducing illegal drug use.

 Dean Borgman cCYS