Pot easier for teens than cigarettes or beer

[Bud Head]

Teens: Pot easier to buy than cigarettes, beer
Annual survey also finds that for first time a majority of teens feel their school is drug free



MSNBC STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 — An annual survey of U.S. teenagers found two firsts this year: for the first time, marijuana edged out cigarettes and beer as being easier to buy, and a majority said they believe their schools are drug-free.


62 percent of public school students said their schools are “drug-free,” nearly double the number who said the same in 1998.

MORE THAN one-third of teens polled by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse said they could buy marijuana in just a few hours, 27 percent in an hour or less.
For the first time since the study began in 1996, marijuana edged out cigarettes and beer as the easiest drug for teenagers to buy — 34 percent said it’s the easiest of the three, compared with 31 percent for cigarettes and 14 percent for beer.
Overall, however, 75 percent of students said they have not smoked marijuana.

DRUGS AND SCHOOLS
The annual survey of 1,000 teenagers did not specify whether drugs are easy or difficult to buy at school, but 62 percent of public school students said their schools are “drug-free,” nearly double the number who said the same in 1998.
Joel Willen, principal of Pershing Middle School in Houston, said teachers and administrators are seeing less drug activity.
Advertisement





“I think the kids are not bringing whatever it is they’re doing, if they’re doing it, to school,” he said.
The school’s drug-prevention programs, such as DARE, are paired with a get-tough policy on drugs that includes twice-yearly, random locker and backpack searches by drug-sniffing dogs, Willen said. Students caught using or selling drugs can be sent to an alternative school or even expelled.
“They know we take a real hard line on drugs,” he said.
One in 12 students believes there’s a teacher at their school who uses illegal drugs, according to the survey. A fourth of students said they’ve seen illegal drugs being sold at school, but a little more than half said they’d report someone they saw selling or using drugs, the highest level since 1996.
Gerald Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, said student drug use has been dropping for the past four or five years as communities began financing anti-drug programs.
“I think we’re starting to see the fruition of some of those programs,” he said.

ALCOHOL AND SMOKING



More than half of the students said they don’t drink alcohol in a typical week, and about as many said they have never had a drink.
While one in four pupils said at least one parent smokes cigarettes, 69 percent said they have never smoked.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that, by the time they complete high school, 47 percent of teenagers have smoked marijuana, 24 percent have used another illicit drug and 81 percent have drunk alcohol. The agency also estimates that 70 percent have smoked cigarettes.
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, based at Columbia University, polls teenagers on drug use and the presence of drugs in schools. This year’s random telephone survey of students age 12-17 was conducted Dec. 27, 2001-Feb. 6, 2002, by QEV Analytics. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent age points.
Additional survey results are online at www.casacolumbia.org.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Legalizeit]

I most definately wouldn't be surprised if the statistics are true.
I know that my school used to have drugs around every corner...in every pocket...and all that. And currently, the school is about 98% drug-free.
The students are not drug free...don't get me wrong...just the school ^_^
The authorities seem to really crack down on you if drugs are within a certain distance from school grounds...so most people are smart enough not to bring it to school for fear of being in DEEP TROUBLE.
Otherwise, I would have to guess drug use has gone UP since 1998...but the school itself is drug-free :-D

[overgrowray]

yeah my school is a little more drug free then it used to be, the only people that quit doing drugs where preppy kids that did them just to be cool in the first place. People bring dope to school everyday but have better hiding places for it, like i tie a crown royal bag from my belt and let that hang out will my balls all day. If i get search by any teachers they can't grab at my nuts, but a cop can, will, and likes it. So i let the non officials search me, then nobody calls a cop. Yeah all them statistics are true, in my view.

[Bud Head]

IMO schools should be a clean place. Kids should not take drugs to school for a lot of reasons.

I personaly believe that kids shouldn't be using drugs in the first place, But that is just my opinion.

[Skreebly]

thats for damn sure, i can never get alcohol, i have a friend who looks old to buy cigars for blunts, and it usually works.
but bud, i can just dial up a number (sometimes 2-3) and hook it up

[hookah the S.C.]

the most fucked up thing about things like DARE and that sort are that the only ones that are listening to the lessons are the ones who wont do drugs any way while they're having DARE class we're out back having DOPE class they are a pointless waste of time and money but then again every part of school is that same way

[DaZEED&ConFuseD]

I dont think those stats are true, well at least not in Houston schools. I'd say about 60% of kids smoked weed at least once a month at my school and about 85 % drink once a month. But i do agree that weed is very easy to buy.

[XxJWxX]

Maybe the kids they asked were just lying about it being drug free????.......And, maybe your peoples schools arent more "drug free", people who bring bud to school are probably just smart and dont tell anyone...Thats how it goes over here.

They probably went to some sort of prep school or private school and asked kids there, just so they can have more shit to debate with...For instance, in an anti drug campaign or debate the offender could say.....

"We've already started to clean up the schools, just look at these statistics....We got this far....why quit now?"

So you see, what if all this stuff we hear from the media is just bullshit, what if its all made up? What if the only reason for this is to develope more reasons to keep pot illegal, because they are supposedly "winning the drug war".....I'll show those little fucking pigs....

*By the way....i'm high/drunk/stimulated...so nevermind me*

[gonephishing]

Originally Posted by Bud Head

a little more than half said they’d report someone they saw selling or using drugs

thats disturbing

[Raleighblaze]

I went to a prep school and i would say 70% of kids did drugs there, and its one of the better schools in the country, but just becuase they go to a prep school doesnt mean they dont smoke. Most kids at prep school have more money to buy weed and parents who arent smart enough to think theyre kids might be doing drugs. Nobody expects those kids to do it so its even easier for them to without getting caught

[hoast]

Originally Posted by Raleighblaze

I went to a prep school and i would say 70% of kids did drugs there, and its one of the better schools in the country, but just becuase they go to a prep school doesnt mean they dont smoke. Most kids at prep school have more money to buy weed and parents who arent smart enough to think theyre kids might be doing drugs. Nobody expects those kids to do it so its even easier for them to without getting caught

i went to a private school from like K-5 grade, before getting kicked out, and i still know alot of the people who went there and every single one of them is completely anti-anything-that-would-scare-my-mommy. they were sure in for a shock when they got let out into the real world, highschool

[m0ric]

I don't know any person in my town who don't toke

[DR. GREEN CLOWN]

My Hole City Everyone Does Drugs But Mostly Weed. The Schools Have A Lot Of Drug Activity. My High School (continuation) Last Year Practically Everybody In My Pe Class Smoked Everyday In Class. But Yeah Its Easier To Get Weed Than Beer. I Got A Lot Of Dealers Around My Nieborhood. I Get My Alchohol Mostly From People On The Streets, To Get It For Me. Just On Friday Me, My Brother And My Friend Where By The Liqour Store Ganna Ask Somebody And Two Guys Came Up To Me And Asked If We Wanted Anything. And We Gave Him The Money And Got Us A Nice Bottle And Some Camels.

[astro]

I thought I read a report recently that said usage among high school students went from like 17% to 78% in the last 10 years. Of course, the school may be "drug free" but every one of those kids is hotboxing their car on the way home and hitting the bong before school.

[DurbanPoison]

It's easier for kids to get things such as meth and coke than it is pot... I read that somewhere... I can't remember where though....