Youth drug survey in Duval shows cigarette and alcohol use dropping
Posted: January 25, 2013 - 6:40pm | Updated: January 26, 2013 - 2:14am
A new survey of substance abuse among teenagers in Duval County shows consistent drops in recent cigarette and alcohol use, but no real movement when it comes to marijuana and prescription drugs.
The survey, conducted every two years by the Florida Department of Children and Families, asks middle and high school students about their drug, alcohol and cigarette use, and their attitudes about it. Students are asked if they’ve ever used the drugs, and if they’ve used in the last 30 days.
The 30-day measure shows that students of all ages who report using alcohol in the past month has dropped from almost 30 percent to about 22 percent since 2004. Recent cigarette use also dropped to just 5 percent of youth surveyed.
But marijuana use has ticked back up since a low in 2008, with almost 12 percent of students reporting recent use.
“Overall, we’re really encouraged by the reduction in alcohol and tobacco trends,” said Susan Pitman, executive director of Safe and Healthy Duval Coalition. “It shows the culture around alcohol and cigarettes changing.”
But Pitman thinks the real battle still lies ahead, as legislation around the nation has decriminalized or legalized marijuana. Now that the drug is falling into the same category as alcohol and cigarettes — substances that have social acceptance and legality — her agency has to crystallize its message.
“At the end of the day, the reality is that the teen brain is still developing,” Pitman said. “Any drug that goes into a developing brain has an effect.”
This year may end up being a turning point in the wrong direction for substances like marijuana, said Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida CEO Dawn Emerick.
“There should be an asterisk next to the 2012 data,” Emerick said, as she suspects the attitudes will shift faster toward acceptance.
The survey also showed that a majority of high school drinkers, about 77 percent total, drink in their own home or someone else’s. That shows that the prevention message may need to be steered also toward parents who may condone allow the behavior or look the other way, Emerick said.
“We may want to be careful making assumptions that we need to keep our teens active and busy to keep them away from drugs and alcohol,” Emerick said. “Based on the survey, they are getting these things from their own homes or other people’s homes or people are buying it for them.”
Kate Howard Perry: (904) 359-4697
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2013-01-25/story/youth-drug-survey-duval-shows-cigarette-and-alcohol-use-dropping#ixzz2JHmMX1jh
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