editorial comment You have to promote John Walters. He's done a wonderful job protecting the children....

Illegal substances have become nearly twice as prevalent in high schools in the last three years, according to a new study released Thursday.

Sixty-two percent of high school and 28 percent of middle school students report that drugs are
used, kept or sold in their schools, up from 44 percent and 19 percent, respectively, in 2002. The findings were issued in the 10th annual back-to-school report "National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse X: Teens and Parents," which was carried out by Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.

Teens who attend schools where drugs are widely available are three times likelier to experiment with marijuana and twice as likely to use alcohol than their peers who attend drug-free schools, the survey also noted.

"This mean that some 10.6 million high schoolers and 2.4 million middle schoolers are likely returning to schools where they will find drugs used, kept and sold, and these are the kids most likely to be left behind," said Joseph A. Califano Jr., CASA's chairman and president, and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. "It's time for parents to shout, 'We're mad as hell, and we're not going to take this anymore.' "

Parental involvement is more influential than legal restrictions in preventing children's involvement with drugs, cigarettes and alcohol, the survey also noted.

"Laws restricting smoking and drinking ... play a significant role, but we must recognize that morality trumps illegality in deterring teen smoking, drinking, and drug use," Califano said. "[Parents are] the most effective way to discourage teen drug use [because] most kids get their sense of morality from [them]. So the message of the survey is loud and clear: Parents, you cannot outsource your role to law enforcement."

More than half of teens surveyed said legal restrictions have no affect on their decision to smoke cigarettes (58 percent) and drink alcohol (54 percent), while 48 percent said illegality does not effect their decision to smoke marijuana.

However, in stark contrast, teens who deem marijuana use by their peers as "morally wrong" are 19 times less likely to smoke pot than those who don't view it as such. Teens who say their parents would be "extremely upset" if they tried weed are six times less likely to try it than a peer whose parents would "not be upset at all." Finally, teens who consider marijuana as "very harmful" to their health are eight times less likely to try it than those who don't view it as big a health risk.

Senator Joseph Biden (D-Delaware), a leading proponent of anti-crime and drug policy in the U.S., says more federal funding should be directed toward drug prevention and law-enforcement programs in schools.

"This CASA survey should be a wake-up call to those who believe that recent reports of reduced rates of teen drug use are an excuse to reduce funding for [school-based drug-prevention] programs," Biden said in a statement. "The rampant availability of drugs in schools should underscore the importance of staving off ... proposed cuts to [these] programs."

Availability of drugs also plays a key role in the numbers' rise. Nearly half (42 percent) of 12 to 17-year-olds surveyed said they could obtain marijuana in less than a day, while 21 percent said they could buy it in an hour or less.

The CASA survey also showed that more teens know of peers who are turning to harder drugs. From 2004 to 2005, the number of ecstasy users went up 28 percent, and those who use acid, cocaine or heroin jumped 20 percent.

— Brandee J. Tecson

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