LESS THAN HALF OF TEENS THINK THEIR SCHOOLS ARE FREE OF DRUGS

Less than half of teenagers attend what they think are drug-free schools, a
sharp drop from the majority that last year said their schools were drug-free,
according to a new national study.

The annual survey of nearly 2,000 youngsters from 12 to 17 years old has more
bad news for parents: High stress, frequent boredom and access to $25 or more
in spending money a week sharply increases the chances that teens will use
cigarettes, alcohol and illegal drugs. The survey was conducted by the National
Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

Frequently bored teens are 50% more likely than those who aren't often bored to
smoke, drink alcohol, get drunk and use illegal drugs , the survey found. Ready
spending money and high stress roughly double the chance that teens will abuse
substances, with girls being more likely to be highly stressed than boys.

THE DETAILS

See the full results of the survey on teens and substance abuse from the
National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said the
identification of boredom as a risk factor is a key finding that supports what
was previously common sense. To curb drug use, "we have to provide teens with
alternative activities," said Dr. Volkow, who isn't affiliated with the survey.
"If you say no to drugs , you have to be able to say yes to other things."

There were a few bright spots in the survey. Fewer teens said they have friends
who drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes or use marijuana compared with last year.
In addition, the survey measured the proportion of teens who are at low,
moderate or high risk for using drugs by analyzing their responses to certain
questions. It found that fewer teens were in the moderate-risk category, and
more had low risk. The percentage at high risk remained at 21%.

For the most part, though, little headway appears to have been made in the war
against drugs since last year's survey. Marijuana continues to be easy to
obtain, with 34% of teens saying it is easier to buy than cigarettes or beer.
Nearly 40% of those surveyed said they are able to buy marijuana within a day.

And the percentage of teens that say their schools are drug-free dropped to 48%
from 63% last year. The latest figures are close to the 44% and 45% who said
their schools were drug-free in 1999 and 2000. The survey wasn't conducted in
2001. Overall, religious and secular private schools are more likely to be
drug-free than public schools.

Joseph Califano Jr., the center's president, said he is unsure why fewer
schools appear to be drug-free, but added parents should be more concerned. "If
there's asbestos in the school, parents say, 'My god, I won't let my kids in
the school until the dust has cleared out.' Yet they send their kids to schools
riddled with drugs everyday," he said. "When parents feel as strongly about
drugs as they do about asbestos, those schools will be drug-free."

The survey suggests that may be some time away. Of 504 parents surveyed, 43%
believed their teens attend schools where drugs are available, and most of
those said they wouldn't move them if given the option. A majority of parents
said it was "unrealistic" to expect children "will never use drugs." More than
four in 10 parents said teens are very or somewhat likely to try drugs.

The survey, conducted by telephone from March to June, has a margin of error of
plus or minus 2.2% for teens and 4.4% for parents.

[Sidebar]

FAST FACTS:

*- More than half of students say drugs are used, kept or sold at their
high school.

*- Boredom, extra spending money and stress are leading causes of
substance abuse.

*- Girls are more likely to suffer stress than boys.

*- Students at smaller schools and religious schools are less likely to
abuse substances than those at public schools.

*- Most kids try alcohol and cigarettes by age 13 and marijuana by
14.

*- More than half of parents whose children attend schools where drugs
can be found say they wouldn't send their child to a drug-free school
if they could.