Anti-drug awareness efforts still are missing the mark with U.S. youth, as drug use among adolescents and teens is increasing, according to a new study by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
It found that in 1997 almost 11.4 percent of pre-teens and teens, age 12 to 17, said they had used drugs in the previous month, up from 9 percent in 1996. And about 6.4 percent of youth over age 12 (or 13.9 million people) said they used illicit drugs in 1997, slightly up from the 13 million using drugs in 1996. The survey samples 24,505 youths nationwide.
But drug use is down from the late `70s, according to the study. In 1979, 25 million people, age 12 to 17, used illicit drugs. Of those, 14.2 percent had used marijuana in the past month and 50 percent used alcohol that year. As of 1997, 20 percent of young people use alcohol, a stable number since 1992. (HHS, 301/443-8956)