drug use up among u s eighth graders the article that follows was taken from the wednesday april issue of usa today drug use up among u s eighth graders by mike snider p d a new national survey says drugs are easier to get more teens are using them and fewer deem drug use as risky for the last two years government officials have trumpeted results from the national high school survey as signs that the drug war is being won but this year officials are retreating drug use by eighth graders has risen according to the survey of students nationwide possible reason for the increase more experimentation why if drug use dropped during the s eventually some students will have fewer drug using contemporaries who act as examples of substance abuse s drawbacks says social psychologist lloyd johnston one of the survey authors each new wave of youths must be given the knowledge skills and motivation to resist using these drugs johnston says this type of resurgence is possible says eileen shiff author of experts advise parents delta but that s not the issue she says the prevalence of alcohol and drugs among teens today could result in more alcoholic adults decades from now aggravating the problem baby boomer parents who experimented with drugs and alcohol as teens trying to be friends not parents to their children i ve even seen parents serving kegs of beer to their underage kids and friends shiff says for a recent graduation shiff and other parents organized an all night lock in party where no booze or drugs were allowed we need to fulfill that parental role otherwise the peer group takes over she says officials may talk about the war on drugs but they really haven t done anything that i ve seen says suzanne linkous scottsdale ariz a volunteer who talks with teens about drugs dating and other issues on a peer counseling and suicide hot line linkous a member of usa today s teen panel says there s always going to be experimentation with drugs a real war on drugs could be waged education wise she says but some don t want to give kids the facts they think it will give them ideas it s the same with birth control i think you should give the kids the information or have it accessible through classes pamphlets and speakers she says education efforts need to start as soon as kids get in school in kindergarten says dallas owens teen panelist from miami shores fla i remember in kindergarten i used to see drugs i think kids in the th and th grades have already made up their minds about using drugs he says scare tactics in public service announcements aren t working only one commercial has gotten it right he says the commercial opens with two good looking girls in the restroom talking about having no prom date then they take a hit off a joint that hits home because it s not attractive he says you can t be doing drugs if you want somebody to like you adolescents choices drugs used by eighth graders in the last month estimated per students pct chg alcohol cigarettes marijuana amphetamines lsd cocaine crack source university of michigan institute for social research report scott kennedy brewer and patriot before david koresh is a cheap thug who interprets the bible through the barrel of a gun atf spokesman after the atf is a cheap thug who interprets the constitution through the barrel of a gun me
