Pubdate: Wed, 10 Oct 2012
Source: Cincinnati Enquirer (OH)
Copyright: 2012 The Cincinnati Enquirer
Contact: http://enquirer.com/editor/letters.html
Website: http://enquirer.com/today/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/86
Author: Juli Hale

TEENAGERS USE POT MORE THAN CIGARETTES

But KY. High-Schoolers Still Choose Tobacco Over Marijuana

Marijuana use among teenagers is surging nationally, and the trend 
has health officials in Ohio and Kentucky worried.

The most current data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control shows 
that American high school students are now smoking marijuana more 
often than cigarettes.

The 2011 survey shows that 23 percent of the nation's high school 
students report using marijuana, while only 18 percent of 9th-through 
12th-grade students say they recently smoked cigarettes. For decades, 
the number of teenage smokers has been on the decline while marijuana 
use has fluctuated. At times, pot and cigarette use were close to the 
same level, but last year marked the first time marijuana use was 
clearly higher.

Lower prices, easy availability, decreased risk perception, and the 
rapid erosion of anti-marijuana attitudes in society are cited as key 
contributors to the increase in marijuana use.

Kentucky is one of only 12 states with a lower marijuana use rate, 
according to the study. Kentucky has the highest percentage of 
teenage smokers in the country at 24 percent; marijuana users have 
climbed since 2005 from 15.8 to 19.2 percent.

Ohio students follow the national trend with 23.6 percent using, and 
21.2 percent smoke cigarettes. Twenty percent of Indiana teens use 
marijuana, and 18.1 percent smoke cigarettes.

"There are so many harmful things out there, it is easy to get into 
the mindset that (marijuana use) isn't so bad. But anything that you 
start using as a young person and become dependent on robs you of 
other opportunities in life," said Van Ingram, executive director of 
the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy.

While much of the nation has engaged in a public war on tobacco, some 
surveys have found that 50 percent of Americans favor of the 
legalization of marijuana.

"Legalizing marijuana for medical use has been one thing that is 
believed to have driven use, but marijuana is still not safe. It is 
not regulated by the FDA or any agency," said Tammy Collins, chief of 
prevention services with the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug 
Addiction Services.

Legalizing marijuana, even when only for medical use, changes the 
risk perception associated with the drug, Ingram said. Any change in 
the four primary factors that affect the use and abuse of a substance 
price, availability, perception of risk, and public attitude  will 
change its level of use.

"About six years ago, we were seeing some of the lowest numbers of 
marijuana use among youth, and then we started throwing the word 
'medical' in front of it and use has grown," said Ingram. "One of the 
biggest things that drives abuse in this country is the perception of risk."

Andrew, 20, lives in Northern Kentucky and smokes pot. He isn't 
surprised by the rise in marijuana use and believes actual usage 
rates among high school students are even higher than reported.

" A lot of kids are going to lie about it. Some say they do when they 
don't, but lots will say they don't when they really do. Teachers can 
tell you it is anonymous, but most kids aren't going to take that 
chance," he said, saying that he lied about his own drug use on 
surveys when he was still in school. "Nineteen percent is low. I 
think the number is much higher."

After using for the first time at 16, Andrew became a periodic user 
in high school. Since graduation, his use has increased, and he says 
he now smokes pot almost daily.

"I could quit tomorrow if I wanted. I don't think it has a vise on me 
at all," he said. He believes that cigarettes and alchohol are more 
harmful than marijuana.

A study published earlier this year in the Journal of the American 
Medical Association offered further evidence that long-term cigarette 
use often leads to chronic, irreversible breathing problems.

The study failed to show any similar health problems for those who 
smoked marijuana only. . Andrew was familiar with the information.

He hadn't, however, heard the results of recently concluded research 
in New Zealand published in the Proceedings of the National Academy 
of Sciences that shows heavy marijuana use is associated with 
cognitive decline.

Nearly a quarter of high schoolers smoking pot means that a large 
majority of them do not. Reinforcing these actual positive norms 
becomes important in the prevention process, Collins said.

"The argument that marijuana use is a rite of passage is another one 
of the things that perpetuates use among adolescents. Some can try it 
and quit while some may be genetically predisposed to become 
addicted," she added.

Many programs in both Kentucky and Ohio utilize a multitude of 
prevention strategies to promote an anti-drug message. Programs are 
typically aimed directly at youth, but some advice to parents.

"Students are more likely to do something if their parents accept 
it," said Ryan Courtade, executive director of the Northern Kentucky 
Youth Foundation. "Whether you agree or disagree with marijuana being 
illegal, the fact is that it is illegal, and there are plenty of 
people in jail for the use and possession of this drug. As a 
community, our job is to safeguard our students, and we need to 
reinforce what the law says."

The CDC study shows that 10 percent of Kentucky's and 9 percent of 
Ohio's high school students used marijuana for the first time before 
the age of 13. The national average is 8 percent.

Alexandria Police Officer Mark Branham said he often encountered 
teens with drugs. Still, he was surprised when as a school resource 
officer he caught two sixth grade students in possession of marijuana in 2010.

Branham now brings drug dogs into the school periodically for 
searches. He hopes that they convince some to never use drugs at all.

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws to 
legalize medical marijuana. Six additional states, either through 
ballot initiatives or in the state legislature, will decide in 2012 
whether to do so.

State Sen. Perry Clark, D-Louisville, has said he plans to resubmit a 
bill next legislative session that would designate marijuana as a 
schedule II drug. It would allow those with a prescription for 
marijuana to legally obtain up to five ounces a month and cultivate 
up to five marijuana plants at a time.

Clark admits the Kentucky legalization bill has a slim chance of 
passing, but notes that the penalties for marijuana possession have 
already been reduced.

Kentucky law states that those found in possession of less than eight 
ounces of marijuana can be charged with a misdemeanor punishable by a 
fine up to $250 and up to 45 days in jail,said Wright. Over-crowding 
and tight government budgets have essentially erased jail time, he said.
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