Pubdate: Wed, 02 May 2012
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2012 Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Jennifer C. Kerr

TEEN USE OF POT RISES, STUDY SAYS

WASHINGTON - More teens are smoking dope, with nearly 1 in 10 
lighting up at least 20 or more times a month, according to a new 
survey of young people.

The report by The Partnership at Drugfree.org, being released today, 
also said abuse of prescription medicine may be easing a bit among 
young people in grades 9 through 12, but it still remains high.

Partnership president Steve Pasierb said the mind-set among parents 
is that it's just a little weed or a few pills - no biggie.

"Parents are talking about cocaine and heroin, things that scare 
them," said Pasierb, who pronounces his name PUH-surb. "Parents are 
not talking about prescription drugs and marijuana. They can't wink 
and nod. They need to be stressing the message that this behavior is 
unhealthy."

Use of harder drugs - cocaine and methamphetamine - has stabilized in 
recent years, the group's survey showed. But past-month usage of 
marijuana grew from 19 percent in 2008 to 27 percent last year. Also 
alarming, said Pasierb, is the percentage of teens smoking pot 20 or 
more times a month. That rate went from 5 percent in 2008 to 9 
percent last year, or about 1.5 million teens toking up that frequently.

The findings on marijuana track closely with those in a recent 
University of Michigan study sponsored by the National Institute on 
Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health. That study 
also found marijuana use rising among teens the past few years, 
reversing a long decline in the previous decade.

The partnership study suggests a link between teens who smoke pot 
more regularly and the use of other drugs. Teens who smoked 20 times 
or more a month were almost twice as likely as kids who smoked pot 
less frequently to use Ecstasy, cocaine or crack.

The Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates legalization, said 
making pot legal for adults might help cut teen usage.

"We definitely don't think that minors should be using marijuana any 
more than they should be drinking or using tobacco, but arresting 
people for doing that never stops minors," said Morgan Fox, a 
spokesman for the group.

"If we remove marijuana from the criminal market and have the market 
run by responsible business people that have an incentive to check 
IDs and not sell to minors, then we might see those rates drop again."

The partnership's study was sponsored by the MetLife Foundation. 
Researchers surveyed 3,322 teens in grades 9 to 12 with anonymous 
questionnaires that the youngsters filled out at school from March to 
June 2011.

The study has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom