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REMARKS BY: DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PLACE: 1998 Monitoring the Future Survey, Washington, D.C. DATE: December 18,1998
At this time last year, we were able to announce that drug use among teenagers had leveled off for the first time since 1991 - and in some cases even dropped. We called these results from the 1997 Monitoring the Future survey a "glimmer of hope."
Today, I'm pleased to announce that that glimmer of hope is not only still with us - it has grown.
Not a lot. And not nearly as much as we want.
But enough to say we're making a little bit of a dent in a very big problem.
America's teens are now starting to get it: Drugs will kill their dreams.
That's the message of the 1998 Monitoring the Future Survey. Specifically, the survey shows that illicit drug use among teenagers remained stable for the second year in a row - and even decreased in several important areas.
So we have a window of opportunity - and we must make the most of it.
The news on marijuana is especially heartening. Past and present surveys indicate that marijuana is the most widely used drug among teenagers, and that use of marijuana went up sharply in the first half of this decade. That trend may finally be starting to change. Marijuana use among 8th and 12th graders in 1998 was essentially the same as last year - and dropped significantly among 10th graders.
This year's survey is also the first since 1991 to show an increase in the percentage of 8th graders who say marijuana is a risk to their health and life. That's incredibly important because when the perceived risk of marijuana goes up, use tends to go down. Similarly, use of heroin, LSD, PCP, stimulants and inhalants all remained either stable or decreased.
The same is generally true for alcohol and cigarettes. Use of both declined - albeit just a little, and for 8th and 10th graders, the perceived risk of harm from alcohol and cigarettes went up - although certainly not enough.
The fact is, use of alcohol and cigarettes by teens, like their use of drugs, is still unacceptably high. We know, for example, that while drug use is down substantially from its peak in 1979, use of tobacco among high school seniors is basically unchanged. Nearly, three thousand children each day light up their first cigarette - and almost 1,000 of these children will die prematurely. That's why we're still insisting that Congress pass comprehensive tobacco legislation that will protect our children.
Even as this survey confirms the positive trends we started seeing last year, it also reports one very disturbing finding. While powdered cocaine and crack use among 10th and 12th graders was unchanged from last year, lifetime and past year use of crack cocaine among 8th graders went up. The percentages were small. For example, past year use rose from 1.7 percent in 1997 to 2.1 percent in 1998.
Still, we know that any increase in the percentage of teens using crack or powdered cocaine is a warning that we have a lot of work ahead of us. That's why we have to treat drug use as a long-term problem in need of a long-term comprehensive strategy. That's why we must never let up - and never let our guard down. That's why we see the results of this survey not as a measure of how far we've come - but of how far we have to go.
There's probably a thousand more ways to say it, but the bottom line is that we have not achieved victory - and I am are not declaring it. As I said, this is only a window of opportunity.
Fortunately, drug use is not the only risky behavior that appears to be moving in the right direction. Teen pregnancy is down for the sixth straight year. Youth violence is down too. So the message we've been sending to young Americans for so long may finally be sinking in. Young people across this country and standing up and saying: "We know there's nothing cool; nothing smart; and nothing strong about risking our health - and our future."
The 1998 Monitoring the Future survey must also be seen in the context of other programs this Administration has started over the last several years. In 1995 we launched our Marijuana Initiative which funded important new research on the effects of marijuana, as well as a prevention campaign aimed at helping parents educate their children about the dangers of drugs.
We have new State Incentive Grants to help states and communities plan and coordinate prevention services. With bi-partisan support we launched a new five-year, 2-billion dollar national media campaign that includes ads with an anti-drug message specifically targeted to young teens. And today I'm very pleased to announce for the first time that every public and private middle school in the country will soon be receiving one of these. This is our new "NIDA Goes to School" box. I love science - and all the materials in this box are science-based. In fact, the National Association of Biology Teachers is a partner of our National Institute on Drug Abuse on this project.
The box includes the latest information on how drugs affect the brain - and provides science-teachers accurate and effective tools for helping students resist drugs. There are posters, magazines and a teacher's guide for using the material. There is a CD-ROM that teaches middle school children how drugs damage their minds and bodies. And there is a website that is already up and running.
"NIDA Goes to School" is not the answer - but it is part of the answer to how we can take advantage of this window of opportunity in the fight against drugs. Yet, as I said, we have a long way to go - and in the great drama of keeping our children drug-free, we all have a role to play, government, business, religious leaders, the media, teachers, coaches, peers - and most important parents.
Children learn by the example their parents set.
Children learn when they feel comfortable talking to their parents.
Children learn when a parent is willing to listen and explain.
That's why parents are so critical to this fight.
They need to help their children understand that drugs attack the body, deaden the mind, and build a wall between them and their dreams, because the only thing drugs have ever done for childhood is bring it to an early end.
So let's all of us commit ourselves to locking arms with parents. To having the programs, information, and support they need - when they need it. To never giving up until this renewed glimmer of hope becomes as bright as the midday sun. Thank you.