Teen drug use drops; drinking unchanged

[palmspringsbum]

Washington

Teen drug use drops; drinking unchanged

www.azstarnet.com
The Associated Press
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 04.07.2006

WASHINGTON — Drug use among teenagers has dipped nationwide but underage drinking persists, with jumps in California and Wisconsin, according to a study released Thursday.

The report, by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration was based on interviews of 135,500 people. It's the first to document state-by-state drug and alcohol use from 2002 to 2004.

It found that in 2004, 10.9 percent of people ages 12 to 17 reported that they had used an illegal drug in the past month, a drop from 11.4 percent in 2002.

Fueling the decline were six states — Illinois, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont and Virginia — with use in other states largely flat.

At the same time, teen alcohol use remained basically unchanged — from 17.67 percent in 2002 to 17.65 percent in 2004. Among those ages 12 to 20, California drinkers rose from 24.7 percent to 26.3 percent, while Wisconsin increased from 34.7 percent to 38.3 percent.

"While we are making progress on drug and alcohol use among youth, underage drinking continues as a stubbornly persistent problem," said Charles Curie, administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. "It's time to change attitudes toward teen drinking from acceptance to abstinence.

"It begins by recognizing the importance of parents talking to their children early and often about alcohol, especially before they've started drinking," he said.

The report showed disparities from state to state when it came to tobacco use as well as abuse of alcohol and drugs, including cocaine, marijuana and the non-medical use of painkillers.

Alaska and New Mexico topped the list among those age 12 and older who reported using an illegal drug in the past month, at 11.8 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively, compared with a national average of 8.1 percent. The most drug-free were Mississippi (5.8 percent) and Iowa (6.5 percent).

Among teens, tobacco-producing Kentucky, as well as South Dakota, had the most tobacco use, at 24.3 percent and 21.3 percent, respectively, compared with a national average of 14.4 percent. The lowest were Utah (8.7 percent) and the District of Columbia (9 percent).

[budman]

08/17/2006

Alcohol use up, smoking down among students

By Ryan Richards
The Suburban and Wayne Times


Alcohol and marijuana use are on the rise among Tredyffrin/Easttown School District seniors while smoking is on the decline among both middle-school and high-school students, according to a recently released survey.

The district, along with other schools nationwide, participates in the Pennsylvania Youth Survey Report by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency every two years. For the 2005 survey, 1,642 district students in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 were asked in the fall of 2005 about their use of tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs such as marijuana and other potentially harmful substances such as inhalants.

"Drug and alcohol use among the community's youth remains a serious chronic problem as suggested by the results of the 2005 PA Youth Survey," said Dr. Joyce Videlock, the district's director of individualized student services. "We continually monitor our work in this area. To this end, an independent study conducted during the 2005-06 school year found the district to be proactive and engaged through the range of programs the district has in place."

The latest survey found that slightly fewer T/E students in all grades except 12 have tried alcohol at least once in their lifetime compared to the last survey in 2003. The number of high-school seniors who do is slightly higher, up to 88 percent from 86 in 2003. The survey showed that the statewide percentage of seniors having drunk at least once is 85 percent and nationally 75 percent. Asked if they have done so in the past 30 days, 65 percent of Conestoga seniors and 45 percent of sophomores surveyed said yes. The survey indicated that 12 percent of eighth-graders surveyed tried alcohol in the past 30 days (compared to 13 percent in 2003). Only four percent of sixth-graders indicated they had tried alcohol in the past 30 days - the same percentage as in 2003.

As for binge drinking (defined as five or more alcoholic drinks in a row within the last two weeks), 45 percent of seniors reported having done so in the past 30 days, compared to 44 percent of respondents in 2003. The statewide percentage is 34.

Surveyed about tobacco use in the past 30 days, 28 percent of seniors admitted use, down from 34 percent in 2003. Sophomore smoking has decreased as well, with 12 percent admitting use of tobacco in the past 30 days compared to 16 percent in 2003.

As for marijuana, 38 percent of 12th-graders surveyed stated they had had smoked it in the past 30 days (an increase of 5 percent from 2003). Twenty-three percent of sophomores stated they had tried marijuana in the same time period, a 2-percent increase from the 2003 survey results. Of the middle-school students surveyed, only 1 percent of eighth-graders said they'd smoked it in the past 30 days, down 1 percent from 2003 results.

As for other illicit drugs used in the past 30 days, 6 percent of seniors and 4 percent of sophomores admitted using inhalants in the past 30 days; 10 percent of seniors and 7 percent of sophomores admitted using hallucinogens in the past 30 days; 7 percent of seniors and 4 percent of sophomores admitted using cocaine; and 9 percent of seniors and 5 percent of sophomores said they have used ecstasy in that time period.

Under the category of "antisocial behavior," 31 percent of 12th-graders and 15 percent of 10th-graders reported being drunk or high in school over the past year (2005-2004). In addition, 18 percent of seniors and 10 percent of sophomores indicated they had sold drugs over the past year.

The district contracted with Interactive Health, LLC, a health-consulting firm, to determine the appropriateness of the district's current prevention and intervention programs as well as to provide recommendations to address the problem of substance abuse among the district's youth. The firm also conducted a site visit to the district to talk with students about substance abuse as well as discussed the issue with parents.

The report's conclusion states that the survey's greatest area of concern is alcohol and drug use among students in the 10th and 12th grades. These students reported high levels of the use of alcohol including binge drinking, marijuana and other illicit drugs compared to state and national findings. Twelfth-graders also reported a high use of non-medically needed prescription drugs (amphetamines, sedatives, etc.).

"When comparing these results with past surveys, we see that there is a slight increase in usage, but for the most part, the high usage by students in this grade [12] can be regarded as a chronic problem," states Interactive Health. "The fact that these numbers are consistently high lends reliability to the believability of the report and counters the response that the kids were lying to impress the testers."

The report also points out that many district students are not choosing alcohol, tobacco and other drugs: "For these students the adult community needs to recognize their positive influence on the community," it states.

Interactive Health recommended several programs to address drug and alcohol use in the district in addition to existing initiatives. These include forming a SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) Club in the eighth grade; encouraging the implementation of a communitywide "social norming" campaign, which focuses on peer influences and redirects the spotlight from the minority of students who are using alcohol and drugs to the majority of students who are choosing sobriety; and implementing Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol (CMCA), a communitywide program designed to reduce adolescents' access to alcohol by changing community polices and practices, that is, curtailing illegal sales of alcohol to youth by retail outlets as well as stopping adults from supplying alcohol to minors.

Interactive Health did not recommend in its report student drug testing, stating that current research shows it does not reduce drinking or drug use.

Contacted for comment this week, Videlock and board president Liane Davis both stressed the importance of community participation in the effort to end alcohol and drug abuse among Tredyffrin's and Easttown's young people.

"Until the community and in particular the parents realize and accept the vital role that they play in preventing substance abuse among our youth, this problem will continue," stated Davis. "I'm looking forward to working with members of the community to address these issues as we have in the past."

"The district remains highly concerned that the level of community action required to change this behavior has not emerged," concurred Videlock. "Based on the survey results and the study recommendations, we will focus much time and energy on working with Area Residents Caring and Helping (ARCH) to increase community concern and involvement."

ARCH, a coalition of parents, school administrators, teachers, police, the Upper Main Line YMCA and Paoli Hospital dedicated to stopping substance abuse among T/E's youth, will sponsor a community forum to discuss the survey results and Interactive Health report on Nov. 6 from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Upper Main Line YMCA Carriage House, 1416 Berwyn-Paoli Road, Berwyn.

To view the complete survey and independent report, visit the district's Web site at http://www.tesd.k12.pa.us.

[palmspringsbum]

More of Marin's youngest teens try drugs

Tad Whitaker
Marin Independent Journal
Article Launched: 12/01/2006 12:15:12 AM PST

Drinking and illegal drug use increased in the past two years among Marin's ninth-graders but dropped among 11th-graders, according to a new survey.

Results from the 2005-06 Healthy Kids Survey indicate that more ninth-graders are drinking alcohol, using marijuana, binge drinking and getting sick as a result, compared with results from 2003-04. Meanwhile, the county's 11th-graders showed decreases in each of those categories.

State law requires the survey of fifth-, seventh-, ninth- and 11th-graders every other year.

"Ninth grade stands out in Marin," said Sean Slade, a research associate who presented the results Wednesday night to more than 100 school and civic leaders. "More attention in middle school instead of high school may prevent this."

Mary Jane Burke, superintendent of the Marin County Office of Education, said parents, in particular, need more education about being a source for alcohol.

She said ninth-graders, who are typically 13 to 15 years old, are particularly vulnerable because that's when they are starting at a new, bigger school, learning to drive and experimenting with other behavior. The key, she added, will be engaging more ninth-graders in constructive pursuits.

"That's a time when students may involve themselves in risky behavior," she said. "All of us need to be on high alert."

The survey comes amid recent efforts to reign in teen drinking after results from 2003-04 showed high levels of alcohol use among teens. In the past two years, the county and Fairfax have adopted ordinances that hold parents financially responsible for hosting parties where alcohol is served to teens, the Board of Supervisors banned alcohol-related sponsorship of the Marin County Fair, and law enforcement has stepped up undercover checks of alcohol retailers.

In addition, the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services received a three-year $750,000 grant from the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs to combat binge drinking and related community problems among 12- to 25-year-olds.

Results of the most recent survey were presented to more than 100 mayors, city council members, school superintendents and trustees, along with Marin County Health and Human Services Director Larry Meredith and Chief Probation Officer William Burke. They met at Servino's restaurant in Tiburon.

"It's fairly rare for districts to get their community leaders together to hear these results," Slade said.

Superintendent Burke said it is important for school and civic leaders to work together when trying to figure out steps that will reduce substance abuse. She said adults need to remember teens live their lives across the entire county and the problem is not limited to a particular town or school district.

"This is one of those challenges that will take the whole community to solve," she said.

Not all the results were troubling. Compared with students across California, Marin children are more likely to be in a caring relationship with an adult, feel their lives have meaning and that adults expect great things from them.

"Marin County is doing great across the board," Slade said.

But the alcohol and drug use figures dominated the evening.

Among ninth-graders, 50 percent said they have tried alcohol, compared with 48 percent in 2003. That is below the national average of 65 percent, but higher than the state average of 43 percent.

The percentage of ninth-graders who had tried marijuana ticked up to 29 percent compared with 28 percent two years ago. That is below the national average of 31 percent, but higher than the state average of 23 percent.

High-risk behavior associated with substance abuse among ninth-graders also increased.

Thirty percent said they had been drunk or sick after drinking, compared with 28 percent in 2003. That is 9 percentage points higher than the state average.

The percentage of ninth-graders who said they had been "high" from drug use jumped 63 percent, with 27 percent answering "yes" compared with 17 percent just two years ago. Marin's ninth-graders are more than twice as likely to have gotten "high," compared with ninth-graders around the state.

Marin's ninth-graders are also more than twice as likely to have participated in binge drinking - where boys drink five or more drinks in a two-hour period and girls drink four or more - compared with the state average. A quarter of all students reported binge drinking, which was up 8 percent since 2003.

Results for 11th-graders included:<ul><li> A 4 percentage point drop in binge drinking to 33 percent, but the rate is 10 points higher than the state average.</li>

<li> A 3 percentage point drop in having been "high" to 49 percent, but the rate is 12 points higher than the state average.</li>

<li> A 2 percentage point drop in being drunk or sick after drinking to 54 percent, but the rate is 13 points higher than the state average.</li>

<li> A 5 percentage point drop in students who said they have tried alcohol, a rate 7 points higher than the state average.</li>

<li> The percentage of students who have tried marijuana remained even at 52 percent, but that is 13 percentage points higher than the state average.</li></ul>Carol Eber, a former principal at Sir Francis Drake High School who now oversees the Healthy Kids Survey for all five high schools in the Tamalpais Union High School District, said the most frustrating aspect is how Marin students consistently report higher use than the state. The high rate of marijuana use is particularly troubling because marijuana affects brain development in teens, much more so than alcohol.

Eber said the data were confirmed Tuesday night by a noted medical researcher from Duke University who spoke to more than 250 parents at Redwood High about the affects of drugs on the brain. He said he was surprised by the sophisticated questions students asked about drugs during an assembly earlier in the day - indicating familiarity with drugs.

Eber said there isn't a simple solution. But, she said, working with parents to get children involved in the school and making sure they're physically healthy helps reduce experimentation with substances.

"We want to spend a lot of time educating parents," she said.

San Anselmo Mayor Barbara Thornton said she was encouraged by progress of 11th-graders and the high satisfaction of life among students. But she noted that Marin needs to provide more ways for teens to get involved with their communities, whether that is through volunteer work or spending time at youth centers such as Marin Interfaith Youth Outreach-Teen Center in San Rafael.

"We don't really have places for kids to go on afternoons, nights and weekends," she said.

Contact Tad Whitaker via e-mail at twhitaker@marinij.com

[palmspringsbum]

Posted on Mon, Dec. 04, 2006


Study: Number of Calif. teens abusing cough medicine soars

MARCUS WOHLSEN
Associated Press
The San Luis Obispo Tribune

SAN FRANCISCO - The number of California teenagers using over-the-counter cough medicines to get high has soared in recent years, mirroring a national trend, an American Medical Association journal reported Monday.

Cases of abuse reported to California's poison control system among adolescents increased 15-fold from 1999 to 2004, according to a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

"I think a lot of people may have a false perception that it's safe because it's available over the counter," said Dr. Ilene B. Anderson, senior author of the University of California, San Francisco, study and a toxicologist with the California Poison Control System.

A survey of data compiled by the American Association of Poison Control Centers cited in the study showed a parallel increase in the number of cases being reported nationwide.

Dextromethorphan, or DXM, the active ingredient in some of the most popular nonprescription cough suppressants, can produce euphoric highs and intense hallucinations when taken in significantly higher doses than what's recommended. Serious side effects can also include increased heart rate and blood pressure, loss of muscle control, seizures and psychosis.

Researchers blamed the jump on easy access to information on the Internet about DXM - also known as Dex, Robo, Skittles, CCC and Triple C - especially Web sites promoting its use. The drug is also cheap, with one package of cough medicine costing a few dollars providing enough DXM to produce a hallucinatory high similar to the effects of PCP.

And because cough medicines are legal and safe to use for their intended medical purpose, they are less likely to arouse suspicion among parents, the study said.

"It's not like it's a little bag of marijuana or a bag of white powder they could find," Anderson said.

Of the 1,382 cases of DXM abuse included in the study, nearly 75 percent involved adolescents, defined as ages 9 to 17. The highest number of cases involved 15 and 16-year-olds.

The effects of additional ingredients such as decongestants and antihistamines can increase the dangers of deliberate overdosing. The painkiller acetaminophen, for example, can lead to delayed liver failure in high doses, the study said.

No fatalities were reported among California dextromethorphan abuse cases. Seven users experienced severe breathing difficulties, possibly as a result of mixing DXM with other drugs, including alcohol.

In a majority of cases, the brand of choice for abuse was Coricidin HBP Cough & Cold Tablets, an over-the-counter medication designed for people with high blood pressure. Researchers said the product's high DXM content could be a factor, and the fact that it comes in a tablet form, which is easier to swallow in large quantities than a syrup. But they said the frequent promotion of Coricidin on pro-DXM Web sites was the main source of its popularity.

The second most popular brand was Robitussin products, according to the study.

Efforts to keep DXM out of the hands of minors have proved difficult, with products containing the ingredient still legal and easy to buy in pharmacies and convenience stores across the country.

A California state Senate bill that would have banned the sale of products containing DXM to anyone under 18 stalled in the Legislature earlier this year.

Lack of awareness among adults of the scale of the problem, coupled with "vigorous opposition" from pharmaceutical companies and retailers, stymied the legislation, said state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, who introduced the bill.

Several retailers have put voluntary restrictions into place, including Walgreen Co., which has a policy prohibiting the sale of DXM-containing drugs to minors, and CVS Corp., which limits Coricidin sales.

The study recommends pharmacies put medications containing DXM behind their counters to limit teenagers' access to the drug. Similar federal restrictions on nonprescription cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient for making methamphetamine, went into effect earlier this year, pleasing law enforcement officials.

Future restrictions on cough medicines could face the same consumer complaints that followed the new rules on pseudoephedrine.

"They're sick. They want to go in there and get their medicine. And they don't like standing in line at the counter," said U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Steve Robertson.

<span class=postbold>See Also:</span> Dextromethorphan