editorial comment Sorry Dubya. Some parents are smarter than you (then again, you probably used more than them so....)

A survey released Tuesday today finds fewer parents are talking to their kids about drug use and fewer would be upset if their children experimented with marijuana.

According to the survey, the number of parents who have never spoken with their children about drugs has doubled in six years.


The 17th annual tracking study of parents’ attitudes toward drugs conducted by The Partnership for a Drug-Free America also found that today's parents were more likely to have used drugs than in previous generations.

“While the vast majority of parents have left old habits behind, they’re carrying old attitudes and beliefs forward,” said Steve Pasierb, president & CEO of the Partnership. “If old habits die hard, the data suggest that lax attitudes about drugs die even harder.”

The organization Tuesday also unveiled a new program, Partnering With Families,” aimed at inspiring parents to become more engaged in the lives of their teenagers especially when it comes to drug abuse prevention.


“Our challenge is to give these parents new reasons to care about drug abuse, and new ways to plug into their teens’ reality – a reality that is vastly different from the one they experienced as teens,” Pasierb said.


Today’s parents see less risk in drugs like marijuana, cocaine and even inhalants, when compared to parents just a few years ago.

The number of parents who report never talking with their child about drugs has doubled in the past six years, from 6 percent in 1998 to 12 percent in 2004.

Just 51 percent of today’s parents said they would be upset if their child experimented with marijuana.

While most parents believe it’s important that parents discuss drugs with their children, fewer than one in three teens (roughly 30 percent) say they’ve learned a lot about the risks of drugs at home.

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