PotShot

Older Americans Drug Use Higher Than Youths
Armando Duke | AXcessNews.com | September 10, 2006

(AXcess News) Houston, TX - According to the government's latest survey, older Americans illegal drug use is higher than youths.

The survey showed that baby boomers aged 50 to 59 illegal drug use has risen for the third year in a row and now 4.4 percent say they've used illicit drugs during the last month.

But adults could also take a lesson from teens, according to the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health that says that current illicit drug use among youth ages 12-17 continues to decline. In 2002, 11.6 percent of youths used illicit drugs compared to 9.9 percent in 2005.

Similarly, the rate of current marijuana use among youth ages 12 to 17 declined significantly from 8.2 percent in 2002 to 6.8 percent in 2005, and the average age of first use of marijuana increased from under age 17 in 2003 to 17.4 years in 2005. Furthermore, drinking among teens declined, with 16.5 percent of youth ages 12-17 reporting current alcohol use and 9.9 percent reporting binge drinking. This compares with 17.6 percent of this age group reporting drinking in 2004 and 11.1 percent reporting binge drinking in the past month in 2004. These declines in alcohol use by youth, ages 12-17, follow years of relatively unchanged rates.

The baby boomer generation presents a different story. Among adults aged 50 to 59, the rate of current illicit drug use increased from 2.7 percent to 4.4 percent between 2002 and 2005, reflecting the aging into this age group - the baby boom cohort.

"The trends among young people are encouraging," said Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt. "We know prevention activities must start with our children. There is more to be done and we must build on our work to ensure that children and their parents understand that they must live free of drugs and alcohol to be healthy."

"Something important is happening with American teens," said John P. Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy. "They are getting the message that using drugs limits their futures, and they are turning away from the destructive patterns and cruelly-misinformed perceptions about substance abuse that have so damaged previous generations."