COMEBACK OF POPULAR '60S DRUGS MAY SIGNAL RISE IN ABUSE, STUDY SHOWS (New York Times/San Francisco Chronicle, 7/16/93)

A decline in drug use among college students and other young adults taht began more than a decade ago has virtually halted amid signs that some of the most popular drugs from the 1960s are making a comeback, researches said yesterday.

The University of Michigan researchers, who have been tracking patterns of drug use among young people for nearly 20 years, said that marijuana appears to be gaining new followers on campuses and that the use of LSD is clearly on the rise.

Of the 1,500 college students surveyed, 27.7 percent said they used marijuana at least once last year, compared with 26.5 percent in 1991. Among the 5,200 other young adults who responded to mailed questionnaires, 25.2 percent said they used marijuana in 1992, compared with 23.8 percent in 1991.

Among college students, 5.7 percent said they used LSD in 1992, compared with 5.1 percent in the previous year. Among other young adults, all high school graduates and mainly middle class, 4,3 percent acknowledged using LSD las year, compared with 3.8 percent in 1991.

Twelve years ago, when the sudy of college students was begun, 51.2 percent said they had used marijuana and 6 percent in 1991.

In the latest survey, the use of cocaine declined modestly, to 3 percent last year from 3.6 percent in 1991, but the use of stimulants, sedatives, inhalants and other drugs remained essentially unchanged from the previous year. In 1980, 16.8 percent of the college students reported having used cocaine.

Although Dr. Lloyd D. Johnson, who headed the Michigan research team, and other drug experts said they do not envision a sharp rise in drug abuse like that of the 1970s and 1980s, they said the study indicates a more tolerant attitude toward drugs and the possibility of a steep increase in drug abuse.

"It's a matter we have to be very, very concerned about," said Lee P. Brown, President's Clinton top adviser on drug policy.