Pubdate: Sat, 23 Dec 2006 Source: Boston Herald (MA) Copyright: 2006 The Boston Herald, Inc Contact: http://news.bostonherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53 Author: Marie Szaniszlo Referenced: The survey http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/06data.html#2006data-drugs Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone) OLDER TEENS REPORT USING FEWER DRUGS The percentage of U.S. teens who use illegal drugs continued a decadelong decline this year, particularly among older students, but the use of prescription drugs such as OxyContin and Vicodin remains high, according to a study released yesterday by President Bush's drug czar. The University of Michigan survey of 50,000 students in more than 400 schools nationwide found that the proportion who said they had used illegal drugs in the previous 12 months - 15 percent of eighth-graders, 29 percent of 10th-graders and 37 percent of 12th-graders - dipped 0.7 percent, 1 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively, over the last year. "There has been a substance abuse sea change among American teens," John P. Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy, said in a statement. "They are getting the message that dangerous drugs damage their lives and limit their futures." Marijuana, by far the most widely used illegal drug, showed the fifth consecutive year of decline among 10th-and 12th-graders, the survey found, but the recent declines in marijuana use have all but halted among eighth-graders. Among 12th-graders, the use of Ecstasy rose 1.1 percent, from 3 percent of students in that grade in 2005 to 4.1 percent this year. And the use of prescription drugs remains high. OxyContin use among 12th-graders dipped from 5.5 percent in 2005 to 4.3 percent this year. But among younger students, the drug's use reached its highest levels so far, with an annual prevalence in eighth grade of 2.6 percent and in 10th grade of 3.8 percent. "I haven't seen the problem abate," said Andrew Ward, director of the South Boston Collaborative Center, an outpatient substance-abuse treatment center. "The availability of treatment has increased. "But use is still a significant problem." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake