New Survey Finds Drastically Reduced Drug Use Among U.S. Children

(ONDCP director credits huge investments in education, prevention)
(490)
By Christopher Seusing
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The results of the Atlanta-based 2000 PRIDE Survey,
which found the largest single-year decline in youth drug use since
1991, confirm that drug abuse prevention programs work, General Barry
McCaffrey, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy (ONDCP), said at a September 5 news conference.

PRIDE (Parent Resources and Information on Drug Education) surveyed
more than 114,000 students in grades 6-12 (ages 12-18) during the
1999-2000 school year and found a 13-percent decrease in drug use
compared to the previous year, and a 34-percent drop over a three-year
period. Not only is youth drug use markedly down, but violence in
schools is down as well. Dr. Thomas Gleaton, president and author of
the PRIDE survey, pointed out that students were three and a half
times more likely to have a gun outside of school than inside the
classroom, and stated that "school time is the safest time for our
children."

Quick to point out that the dramatic drop in youth drug use was by no
means accidental, McCaffrey cited the Clinton Administration's
54-percent increase in drug prevention funding over the past five
years, including a $1,000 million media campaign, and $200 million for
community-oriented education programs. Despite their high cost,
McCaffrey hailed the programs as demonstrably effective, and said that
he intends to ask Congress for more money to strengthen the campaign.
He estimated that societal problems associated with drug abuse cost
the United States roughly $110,000 million each year, with nearly 6
percent of the U.S. population, or 13 million people, identified as
users of illegal drugs.

While crediting effective domestic programs for the decline in youth
drug use, McCaffrey also applauded the 34 democratic nations of the
Western Hemisphere for being as committed to the eradication of drugs
as the United States. "An era of confrontation," he added, "is
receding, and is now becoming an era of cooperation."

In response to a question regarding the arrest of two Mexican generals
for alleged drug charges, McCaffrey praised the Mexican government for
its dedication to combating drugs. Although he expressed optimism over
U.S. cooperation with the new administration and the proposed policies
of Mexican president-elect Vicente Fox, he disagreed with one proposal
of Fox's that apparently called for a withdrawal of the Mexican armed
forces from the drug war. "I think that it is impossible to have the
Mexican armed forces walk away from the drug war, such as Vicente has
suggested," McCaffrey said. "The success that we have achieved so far
is not solely due to our domestic programs but also [due] to the help
and cooperation of our Western Hemisphere neighbors, especially that
of Mexico."

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)