Teen drug use is a growing concern. According to the 21st annual Monitoring the Future study conducted by the University of Michigan Survey Research Center and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, cigarette smoking among high school seniors has risen for the third straight year in 1995. Since 1992, the smoking rate has risen by more than one-fifth among seniors, with one in three (34 percent) now admitting to smoking in the 30 days prior to the survey.
Use of marijuana among seniors has increased since 1992, reversing a 14-year trend. In 1995, 21.2 percent of seniors reported using marijuana in the last 30 days, compared to a low of 11.9 percent in 1992.
During the same period, students’ perceptions of the risk of marijuana use have declined from 78.6 percent who perceived great risk in regular use in 1991 to 60.8 percent in 1995. According to the survey findings, students’ perceptions about the harmfulness of various other drugs have also declined. For example, 36.4 percent of the seniors in 1995 perceived great risk in trying LSD once or twice, down from a high of 46 percent.
In 1991, the percentage was 6. In 1995, 54.6% of seniors perceived great risk in trying crack cocaine once or twice, which is down from a high of 62.4% in 1992.
8% perceived great risk in having one or two alcoholic drinks nearly every day, down from a high of 32.7% in 1991. 65.6% perceived great risk in smoking one or more packs of cigarettes per day, down from a high of 69.4% in 1990.
