Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1993 14:35:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: Leora Lawton <[L--W--N] at [USCVM.BITNET]>
Subject: drug survey results
To: Multiple recipients of list DRUGABUS <[D--GA--S] at [UMAB.BITNET]>
Message-id: <[01 GZPZ 3 KAOYQ 8 WW 43 H] at [YMIR.CLAREMONT.EDU]>

              WASHINGTON (AP) _ Illegal drug use is off sharply among American
   teen-agers and adults with one glaring exception: those 35 and
   older.
              Those were the key findings from an annual survey on drug abuse
   released Wednesday by federal health officials.
              Some 11.4 million Americans age 12 or older were classified as
   current users of illegal drugs in 1992, down 11 percent from almost
   13 million drug users a year earlier. That means they had used
   drugs in the month before the survey.
              The number has been declining steadily since 1979, when the same
   survey indicated that 24 million Americans had used illicit drugs.
              Adults 35 and older _ including the baby boomers who grew up in
   the permissive 1960s _ are bucking the trend. Use of drugs in that
   age group is the same now as it was back in 1979.
              The older adults now comprise 23 percent of illegal drug users,
   compared to just 10 percent in 1979.
              The number of current cocaine users plummeted 31 percent from
   1.9 million in 1991 to 1.3 million in 1992. The federal Substance
   Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which conducted
   the survey, said that was down from a peak of 5.8 million in 1985.
              Occasional cocaine use _ less than once a month _ was down by
   900,000, to 3.4 million. But the number of frequent users _ at
   least weekly _ stood unchanged at 640,000.
              Marijuana remains the illegal drug of choice, used by 78 percent
   of those who tried illegal drugs in 1992.
              An estimated 98 million Americans drank alcohol in the month
   before the survey; 10 million were defined as heavy drinkers _ five
   or more drinks on five or more days in the past 30 days.
              The survey also indicated that 54 million Americans, or 26
   percent of the population, were cigarette smokers. Some 7.5 million
   used smokeless tobacco.
              Other statistics:
              _Six percent of 12-to-17-year-olds were current users of illegal
   drugs; 13 percent of 18-to-25-year-olds and 10 percent of
   26-to-34-year-olds used drugs.
              _Most illegal drug users were white (8.7 million or 76 percent);
   14 percent were black (1.6 million); 8 percent were Hispanic
   (900,000).
              _More men than women used illicit drugs: 7.1 percent versus 4.1
   percent.
              _Almost 21 percent of unemployed 18-to-34-year-olds were illegal
   drug users, nearly double the rate for those with jobs.
              The survey was based on in-person interviews of 28,832 people
   who were promised confidentiality.