Pubdate: Tue, 23 Feb 1999
Source: United Press International
Copyright: 1999 United Press International

DRUG, ALCOHOL ABUSE UP AMONG TEENS

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 23 (UPI) - More than one third of secondary school
students in Texas say they have used drugs at some point in their lives, and
72 percent have used alcohol, according to a survey released by the Texas
Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.

The survey, which has tracked alcohol and drug use among Texas students for
a decade, also found a steady decline in the number of students who said
they received drug education at school.

Jane Maxwell, the agency's chief researcher, said today the survey
reinforces the need for parents to talk to their children about drugs.

She says: ``Average age of first use of alcohol and inhalants is about 12.
But we find that most parents don't begin talking to their kids about drugs
and alcohol until their kids are in high school. Those talks should start
much earlier.''

The survey of 158,324 students in grades seven through 12 found that more
than one third had used drugs as some point in their lives and a whopping 72
percent had consumed alcohol.

The survey also found:

- -Cocaine use increasing among teens, with 9.3 percent of secondary students
saying they had used the drug - a 5 percent increase since 1992.

- -Alcohol and tobacco use has remained steady for the past four years, but 52
percent of seniors saying they had drank alcohol in the past month and 36
percent saying they had used tobacco.

- -About 10 percent of secondary students said they had attended class while
drunk during the past year, while 13 percent said they had attended classes
while high on marijuana at least one.

Maxwell says there was one hopeful sign in the survey - modest declines in
the past-month use of marijuana use among seventh, eighth and ninth graders.

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