Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Poll: Kids' Drug Use Underestimated > NEW YORK (AP) -- Baby Boomer parents just don't get it > when it comes to drugs and their kids, a study by the > Partnership for a Drug Free America shows. > > The group's 10th poll showed that parents are > consistently out of touch when it come to the allure of > marijuana on the nation's youth, and the easy access > they have to the drug. > > ``Boomers -- many of whom have `been there, done that' > -- are surprisingly and ironically out of step with the > reality of drugs in their children's lives,'' said > Partnership President Richard D. Bonnette. > > The poll found that parents underestimated the > availability of marijuana, their children's view of its > risks, and whether their children's friends were > smoking. > > ``Few parents believe their children are at risk,'' > said Bonnette. ``Few sincerely believe their children > are exposed to drugs, that drugs are widely available > in the schools their children attend. Nor do they know > when drugs are likely to become a part of their > children's lives.'' > > Past Partnership studies showed that 60 percent of the > Boomers had tried marijuana at least once. > > The current study indicated that among children ages 9 > to 12, the number who had tried marijuana was up from > 334,000 in 1993 to 571,000 last year -- an increase > from 3 percent to 5 percent of children in that age > group. > > Marijuana use among ages 13 to 16 remained stable, but > there was a significant increase among 17- and > 18-year-olds -- from 41 percent in 1996 to 48 percent > last year. > > Yet, the study indicated, parents believe their > children are immune to those numbers. Some examples: > > -- Among parents, 43 percent believed their teens could > find marijuana easily. Yet 58 percent of children said > pot was readily available. > > -- Thirty-three percent of the parents thought their > kids viewed marijuana as harmful. Among teens, only 18 > percent -- less than one in five -- felt that smoking > marijuana was risky. > > -- Among parents, 45 percent felt their teen had a > friend who smoked marijuana. Among teens, 71 percent > said they had a friend who had used marijuana. > > -- Twenty-one percent of parents thought their teen > could have experimented with marijuana, while 44 > percent of the teens said they actually had. > > The Partnership is a private, nonprofit coalition of > communications industry professionals, known for its > anti-drug advertising campaign. > > The survey was conducted last year among 1,922 > children, 6,975 teens and 815 parents. > > The margin of error for the children's data was plus or > minus 2.2 percentage points; the teens, plus or minus > 1.2; for the adults, plus or minus 3.4. -- Two rules in life: 1. Don't tell people everything you know. 2. Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
