Survey finds Ecstasy use by teens has declined
NEW YORK (AP) — Teenagers’ use of Ecstasy dropped 25 percent over the past two years, a decrease that translates into an additional 770,000 teens rejecting the once-trendy drug, a study found.
The study, released Wednesday by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, also found that teen drug use overall had declined, especially involving marijuana, LSD and methamphetamine, researchers said.
According to the partnership’s 16th annual survey, 9 percent of teens used Ecstasy in 2003, a significant decline from the 12 percent in 2001, when use of the drug hit its peak.
However, the decline does not mean the drug is no longer a problem, warned Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the partnership.
“Last year, 2 million teenagers in America had tried this drug,” Pasierb said. “We can — and we must — kick Ecstasy while it’s down, and kick it down further.”
The study was conducted among 7,270 adolescents nationwide, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points. Data was collected from questionnaires that students filled out anonymously from April through June of 2003.
It found 46 percent of teens reported trying any illegal drug in 2003, down from 51 percent in 1998. Methamphetamine use fell 33 percent over that period and LSD use among teenagers was down 42 percent, the survey found. Marijuana use fell from 42 percent to 39 percent, the report said.
Tobacco use and underage drinking also were down, although half of all teens reported drinking alcohol in the last year. One in every five teens reported using a prescription drug without a doctor’s order.
The report mirrored a University of Michigan study, released in December, which found that drug use among junior and senior high school students was on a two-year decline.
The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, launched in 1987, is a coalition of communications professionals aimed at reducing demand for illegal drugs.
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On the Net:
Partnership: http://www.drugfreeamerica.org