After Record Declines in Teen Drug Use in the 80s and a Resurgence in the 90s, Young People Today Rank Drugs as Their Number One Concern

WASHINGTON, March 7 /PRNewswire/ -- With teen drug use rising across America(see note below), a new poll released today shows that adolescents in the United States believe adults should be doing more to solve the drug problem -- an issue young people rank as their number one concern.

"Listen to what our children are saying," said James E. Burke, chairman of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. "They're frightened. They're worried. And they desperately want parents and adults to do more to help them deal with drugs and violence."

The poll, conducted for PDFA, was released as President Bill Clinton and members of the Clinton administration presided over a White House conference on adolescent drug abuse and violence, held in Greenbelt, Maryland.

In the poll (a nationally representative telephone survey of 500 teenagers, 13- to 18-year-olds), 34 percent of teens believe adults in the community are doing a lot to solve the drug problem. However, 92 percent said they'd like adults to do more and 58 percent said they'd like to see adults do a lot more. And teens feel just as strongly when it comes to their own parents: While 85 percent believe parents are doing a lot to prevent their child's drug use, 54 percent said they'd like parents to do more.

Of four issues facing them, teenagers ranked drugs as their leading concern. Some 35 percent of teens rated drugs their number one concern, followed by violence (25 percent), poor education (21 percent) and AIDS (17 percent). Some 65 percent of teens ranked drugs their top one and two concerns.

Teens strongly associate violence with drugs; many do not feel safe at school:

• 80 percent would feel safer if there were no drugs in their community;
• 79 percent believe kids who use drugs are more likely to be exposed to violence;
• 49 percent worry about kids bringing guns and knives to school;
• 40 percent do not feel completely safe at school;
• 76 percent do not feel completely safe on the streets.

Teens see drug use increasing:

• 62 percent say more kids are using marijuana at school than in the past;
• 57 percent believe most people will try marijuana sometime;
• 51 percent feel many rock, rap and movie/TV stars make drugs seem "cool";
• 63 percent believe there will always be drugs in their communities.

Parental involvement can cut drug use significantly among teenagers. According to a study released by PDFA in February, teens who reported learning a lot about the risks of marijuana from their parents were half as likely to smoke pot than those who haven't. Among those who learned about marijuana from their parents, 21 percent reported smoking pot in the last year. Among those who learned nothing, 43 percent used.

The study also found that while virtually all parents report talking with their children about drugs (95 percent in 1995), 77 percent of teens say parents have talked to them.

Best known for its national anti-drug advertising campaign, the Partnership for a Drug Free America is a private, non-profit coalition of professionals from the communications industry; whose collective mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs in America through media communication. To date more than $2 billion in broadcast time and print space, and 400 anti-drug ads, have been donated to the Partnership's national campaign, making this the largest public service advertising campaign in history. The Partnership receives major funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Note: After declining steadily from 1979-1990, teen drug use has increased since 1991.

Thanks to Bob Curley, Forum Editor, Join Together Online, for this article -.HN3078@handsnet.org