Pubdate: Thu, 20 May 2004 Source: Bradenton Herald (FL) Copyright: 2004 Bradenton Herald Contact: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradentonherald/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/58 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) DRUG USE AMONG YOUTHS FALLING TALLAHASSEE - Use of most drugs by middle and high school students in Florida has dropped significantly in the last three years, state Drug Control Director Jim McDonough said Wednesday at a summit of experts on drug abuse. The most dramatic declines that showed up in a survey of students last year were in reported use of steroids, heroin, and the hallucinogen LSD, which all dropped by more than 45 percent over the three-year period. The survey also showed that use of cigarettes by middle and high school students has dropped 38 percent since 2000 and use of alcohol is down 10 percent. The statistics cited by McDonough come from the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey, a self-reporting study of nearly 8,000 middle and high school students around the state conducted each year. Of all the drugs tracked, the biggest percentage drop in the three-year period was in steroids, the use of which declined 60 percent among young people. But only 0.4 percent of youths report using the performance-enhancing drug, so a small decrease in numbers translates to a large percentage drop. Heroin use was cut in half, and methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana use were all also down over the time period. However, youths have increased their use of a few drugs, the survey showed. "One that alarms me the most is children using depressants," McDonough said. The use by children of depressants, such as sleeping pills, or anti-anxiety drugs like Valium or Xanax, has increased 35 percent since 2000, McDonough said. The increase could be inflated a bit because the survey added Xanax to its list of examples last year. Recent national surveys have also shown declines in drug use by youngsters. A Department of Health and Human Services survey in 2002 found marijuana use by eighth-graders at its lowest rate since 1994, for example. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin