(Lehrer News Hour) Report: Teen Drug Use Up, Binge Drinking Down

A new report out today from the National Institute of Drug Abuse shows teenage drug use is up, especially among eighth-graders, the primary culprits: marijuana, ecstasy, and prescription drugs. Teenagers are also now less likely to believe that marijuana use is dangerous.

At the same time, previously reported declines in cigarette smoking have stalled. There was some good news. The rate of binge drinking, consuming five or more alcoholic drinks in a row, is down.

Here to discuss the findings is Gil Kerlikowske, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Read it all.

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Posted in * Culture-Watch, * International News & Commentary, Alcohol/Drinking, America/U.S.A., Drugs/Drug Addiction, Psychology, Teens / Youth

2 comments on “(Lehrer News Hour) Report: Teen Drug Use Up, Binge Drinking Down

  1. Chris says:

    well, they see their boomer parents smoking pot, legalization movements, etc., so why would they conclude it’s so bad? I would imagine seeing their parents binge drink is far, far less common.

  2. Larry Morse says:

    See the entry on incest. And so I ask again, why can we not see the obvious, that mind altering drug use (starting with marijuana) is a grave social and personal evil? How did we get conned this way? Since the 60’s we have seen the horrors attendant on wide spread drug use. Why didn’t this lesson sink in? How can anyone say, with a straight face, that marijuana is harmless when the evidence is piled up against it? (Incidentally see how Amsterdam is trying to rein in marijuana sales)
    How can we be so deliberately blind? Larry