Survey: Teens' drug, alcohol use declining

CINCINNATI -- Even as fewer teenagers here drink alcohol and smoke, they are more cavalier about using marijuana and more than 4 percent are using prescription drugs for recreational purposes.

A new survey shows that alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use have declined by 25 percent to 50 percent since 2000 as disapproval by peers and parents increases, the Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati said Tuesday.

That's the good news, but the warning signs have parents and public health officials wary.

"It's obvious that while the overall numbers may be going down, there's still a lot of kids using and experimenting," said Melanie Stutenroth of Terrace Park, who has three sons ages 20, 16 and 12.

Public health officials around the country agree, saying it's critical to reach children before they become teenagers. Once use of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana takes hold, it can lead into more serious drugs, including heroin.

"We have to get to those precursor drugs and start targeting more effective prevention strategies so we can change the trajectory of these kids," said Bonnie Hedrick, prevention alliance coordinator for the Northern Kentucky Agency for Substance Abuse Policy.

C.J. Chambers, a Cincinnati-area high school senior, said teenagers' attitudes toward marijuana have relaxed, influenced by its legalization in several states, and the recreational use of prescription drugs "is making an appearance a little bit."

For the first time this year, students viewed marijuana as less harmful than alcohol.

"It's more like music these days as being something that's OK, that's cool to do," Chambers said.

Overall, Cincinnati coalition leaders say they are happy with the results. Only 17.8 percent of teens said they had used alcohol during the last 30 days, 9.8 percent had smoked cigarettes, 11.4 percent used marijuana and 4.3 percent used illicit prescription drugs.

"We're headed toward single-digit use, and that's a good thing," said Mary Haag, president of the coalition.

But the average age for starting those substances remains 13 years old.

"We started talking to our kids at a very young age," Stutenroth said. 'Sometimes it hits you sooner than you're ready to think about. It's never too young. Once they get to high school, they think they've got it all figured out."

The survey, administered last fall, included more than 56,000 teenagers in 107 schools in Southwest Ohio.

Another warning sign identified by the survey is binge drinking. Haag said 23.4 percent of 12th graders report binge drinking, up from 4.9 percent in the ninth grade.

Hedrick said when teens drink and smoke pot, it smooths the transition to more serious drugs.

"Alcohol acts on the nerve receptors in the brain, the opiate receptors, in the same way that heroin does, just not with the same intensity," she said, noting that prescription drugs are an even clearer "precursor drug" to heroin.

Risky behaviors are the same as they have been for decades, the coalition said: being with friends who use the substances and going to parties where they are available.