Fewer Kids Use Ecstasy, LSD, Drug Report Finds

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E-llusion

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Fewer U.S. teens are using marijuana, Ecstasy or LSD but more are bingeing on alcohol and abusing prescription drugs, according to an annual government survey released on Thursday.

While overall rates of illegal drug use have not changed, the use of some drugs decreased sharply, the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found.

Among youths aged 12 to 17, 41 percent fewer said they had used Ecstasy in the past month and 54 percent fewer said they had taken LSD. The survey found a 5 percent decline in the number of teens who had ever used marijuana.

The Health and Human Services (news - web sites) Department quickly credited an advertising and education campaign. "It is encouraging news that more American youths are getting the message that drugs are dangerous, including marijuana," HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said in a statement.

The annual survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that 19.5 million Americans aged 12 and older, or 8 percent of that population, currently use illicit drugs.

MARIJUANA STILL NO. 1 ILLEGAL DRUG

Marijuana continues to be the most commonly used illegal drug, with 14.6 million current users or 6.2 percent of the population. The survey found an estimated 2.6 million new marijuana users in 2002, about two-thirds of them under the age of 18.

The Marijuana Policy Project, which supports the legalization of marijuana, said the numbers showed government policies have failed.

"When you clear away the spin and look at the long-term trends, the real story is that three decades of drug use surveys show that marijuana prohibition has completely failed to keep young people from using marijuana," said Steve Fox, director of government relations for the group.

The SAMHSA survey found the numbers of binge and heavy drinkers did not change between 2002 and 2003. About 54 million Americans 12 and older admitted to binge drinking, defined as having five or more drinks in a row, in the month before the survey.

Young adults aged 18 to 25 were the likeliest binge and heavy drinkers.

An estimated 13.6 percent of people 12 or older -- 32 million people -- admitted to driving under the influence of alcohol at least once in the 12 months prior to the interviews, down from 14.2 percent in 2002.

Misuse of three painkillers -- Vicodin, Lortab and Lorcet -- rose from 13.1 million to 15.7 million. Similarly the number of people who said they had ever misused narcotic painkillers such as Percocet, Percodan, or Tylox rose from 13.1 million to 15.7 million people.

An estimated 2.3 million people said they used cocaine in 2003, 604,000 of whom used crack. One million used hallucinogens including LSD, PCP and Ecstasy while an estimated 119,000 people used heroin. These numbers were all similar to 2002 rates.

The 2003 survey is based on in-person interviews with people aged 12 and older but it does not include active duty military personnel, the homeless, prisoners or others in institutions.

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Fewer Kids Use Ecstasy, LSD, Drug Report Finds

09/09/04
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters)

lINK
 
Nobody answers drug surveys honestly, first off. I do believe that LSD and MDMA use is going down, however. Us young people are using a lot more pot, pills, and easpecially alcohol like was said. Cocaine is being used a pretty good amount too I'm sure. We will never know how much drug use is going on though, because most people aren't going to say "yes, I've done coke, weed, oxycontin, heroin, ex, and shrooms within the last week".
 
I think the pot numbers are really low estimates. I honestly haven't met anyone new in the last 3 years that doesn't at least smoke pot occaisonally. I could see 14 million being chronic users, but I seriously doubt thats the total number of pot consumers.
 
Exactly my thoughts. I have yet to meet anyone, except the rare few people who have remained straight-laced their whole lives, that hasn't done an illegal drug. According to Penn and Teller's Bullshit! show, there are atleast 100 million people in the US who've smoked pot in their lives. And those straight-laced people I know of have all drank or done some prescription drug, like being prescribed amphetamines for weight loss in the 1970's or trying a pill once or twice when they weren't as stigmatized as now. Almost all non-drug users are coffee addicts, however, so they are still addicts. Everyone was young and experimental like we are today...but you have to grow up sometime.
 
"An estimated 13.6 percent of people 12 or older -- 32 million people -- admitted to driving under the influence of alcohol at least once in the 12 months prior to the interviews, down from 14.2 percent in 2002."

Umm, ages 12 and up? A 12 year old shouldnt be driving, drunk or not. Maybe that percentage would be higher if they were testing people 18 and up?
 
I read a new study about how all studies are useless... Who pays for these waste of moneys?

Every day I read or watch a study that claims Eating A while doing exercise B can prevent cancer, then you hear that Eating A and doing exercise B may cause cancer...
 
Even if people don't tell the truth on these surveys, they can still be used to measure trends in drug use. In other words, if say only half the people who use drugs will admit it, but that number changes from one year to the next, it can be inferred that the actual use of drugs changed by a similar percentage.

Personally, I find it quite sad that genuinely useful, and relatively safe, drugs like LSD and ecstasy are being used less, while alcohol and prescription drug abuse is going up. And of course the government loves numbers like this which bolsters the public image of its sham of a drug war.
 
:-/ i cant think of anything constructive to add other than that they should be more alarmed that people are binging alchohol than smoking marijuana
 
MDMA and LSD aren't good for some people, especially people who are depressed or have underlying mental issues.
 
I don't see how including 12 year olds and octogenarians in surveys like this helps explain anything.

What percentage of people who aren't in grammar school or retirement homes uses drugs? That seems a lot more relevant.
 
Decline in illegal use shows local efforts working

Sep. 10, 2004

Top drug official: Decline in illegal use shows local efforts working

STEVE BRISENDINE
Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A new study showing fewer teens using illegal drugs proves that partnerships between the federal government and local agencies are working, the nation's top drug official said Friday.

"People talk about partnerships in government," said John Walters, director of the Cabinet-level Office of National Drug Control Policy. "Here is one of the places where it could not be clearer."

Walters was in Kansas City to present an award from his office to a local coalition working to reduce use of illegal drugs and alcohol by teens.

"We have communities like this across the nation, where people like yourselves are saving lives every day," Walters said. "We can save more lives, more rapidly, with more people reaching to lend a hand."

On Thursday, the government released its 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. It found that American youths are using marijuana, LSD and Ecstasy, but more are abusing prescription drugs.

The study also showed a 20 percent decline between 2002 and 2003 in the number of youths who smoke marijuana at least 20 days each month.

Despite those encouraging numbers, Walters said, the conflicting ideas persist that drug use always will be part of American culture but won't affect people personally.

"Unfortunately, this problem has an important dimension of denial," he said. "People don't want to see it. They want to believe it's bigger than it is. They also believe there's nothing they can do. That's wrong."

While the federal government can provide material support, Walters said, local agencies can help Washington target that support because they see problems and solutions more closely.

"We provide a national estimate on a variety of dimensions and try to improve some of those, but it's very important that those be tied to local measures as well," he said. "You can see what's working. You can see what's growing."

The latest Missouri statistics from the federal Drug Policy Information Clearinghouse were issued in August. For the most recent years available, 2000-2001, the statistics showed that 9.94 percent of those ages 12 to 17 had used an illicit drug in the previous month.

The latest report for Kansas, issued in April, did not break down use of illegal drugs by age. It did find that in 2002, the most recent year for which statistics were available, drug and alcohol violations accounted for a total of 2,796 juvenile arrests.

Methamphetamine ranked as the top drug threat in both states.

Link
 
What I'm thinking is why the fuck is this a good thing?

More people using addictive narcotics and alcohol and less using marijuana and hallucinogens that actually benefit the mind.

There'll never be a day that the stupidity of this country will cease to amuse me.
 
first of all, the targeted age demographic has declined since 2002, meaning there are less young people to use the drugs. secondly, there is no proof of statistical significance (seems like it is significant though...) and thirdly, how many people would tell these nazi fucks that they use drugs? (besides crazy bluelighters that is ;))
 
Fewer U.S. teens are using marijuana, Ecstasy or LSD
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This is good news from the perspective that it is not in an adolscent's best interest to use these drugs. This is bad news that it is possibly indicitive of reduced availablility of these drugs in general... (well, only LSD seems to be significantly less available)...

but more are bingeing on alcohol and abusing prescription drugs
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This is HORRIBLE news from the perspective that both of these classes of drugs can be extremely addictive, especially to naieve youngsters, who may develop a lifelong dependancy on a drug which destroys most of their hopes and dreams.

Sadly, these easily distorted, inaccurate numbers are the basis of major policy decisions involving HUGE amounts of money, definately NOT the best conditions for good science.
 
You shouldn't be doing too many drugs until you actually get into college so you don't take drugs so nonchalantly, like they're an everyday thing. As great as being fucked up feels, it's not good at a young age.
 
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