The New York Times

Tuesday, September 9, 1997

DRUG COMMON IN SCHOOLS, SURVEY SHOWS

By CHRISTOPHER S. WREN

Many teenagers find illegal drugs more common at school than in their neighborhood, according to a new national survey that concludes that drugs are a barrier to better education.

Forty-one percent of the high school students surveyed said they had seen drugs sold at their school, while 25 percent reported seeing them sold in their neighborhood. But only 36 percent of the students said they would report another student who peddled illegal drugs.

By contrast, 12 percent of high school teachers and 14 percent of middle and high school principals said they had se I en drugs sold on, their school grounds.

Joseph A. Califano Jr., the president of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, the organization that commissioned the survey, said that national education standards sought by President Clinton would be of little help to schools as long as, drugs were so available.

"Until we get drugs out of our schools, we're not going to have the kind of quality education that everybody dreams about," Mr. Califano, who served as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare in the Carter Administration, said in a telephone interview.

The survey did not differentiate on most questions between marijuana and harder drugs like heroin or cocaine, but marijuana has become the drug most popular with adolescents, after alcohol. Twenty-four percent of the teenagers surveyed said they could buy marijuana in an hour or less, and 56 percent said they knew someone who had tried harder drugs.

Yet the survey reported that parents and teachers underestimate youthful concern about drugs, which 35 percent of the teenagers identified as the most important problem they face.

The survey depicted many teachers as not overly worried about casual marijuana use off-campus, with 51 percent of the high school teachers and 41 percent of the middle school teachers agreeing that a teen-ager can smoke marijuana on weekends and still do well in school. Among the students, only 24 percent believed that weekend marijuana use would not affect their grades.

An overwhelming number of teachers said they would support the automatic expulsion of a student caught with drugs at school, random searches of lockers and drug testing of athletes.

But a majority of teachers objected to testing all students for drugs, while a small majority of teenagers supported the practice.

The national survey, Mr. Califano said, is the first to ask teachers and principals, as well as parents and adolescents, what they think about the use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Detailed questionnaires were completed by 1,115 adolescents age 12 to 17, 998 parents, 789 middle and high school teachers and 410 school principals representing schools sizes in urban, suburban

and rural communities across the country

"This is a very accurate portrayal of the nation's schools," said J. Steven Wagner, the president of QEV Analytics, who designed the survey and analyzed the results.

"It is very clear to me that the presence of drugs has diminished the quality of education," Mr. Wagner said. Indeed, 28 percent of the high school teachers and 19 percent of the middle school teachers said that they had a student show up apparently drunk or high at least once a month. Nearly three-quarters of the high school students and half of the middle school students said that someone at their school has been expelled or suspended for a drug offense.

High school students surveyed said on average that about half of their classmates used marijuana at, least once a month, but only 21 percent admitted to having smoked marijuana themselves. The high school: teachers estimated on average that 40 percent of their students had tried

marijuana.

"The actual use of drugs is always much higher than what is reported," Mr. Wagner explained.

Not surprisingly, the survey found that students at schools where marijuana is available were four times likelier to try it than students at drug-free schools. And 51 percent of the teen-agers who attended schools where drugs are sold said they attended a party within the last six months where marijuana was used, compared with 23 percent of teenagers at drug-free schools.

The survey was conducted by Luntz Research Companies and QEV Analytics from June 7 to July 7 this year. Its margin of sampling error was about 3 percentage points in either direction for adolescents, parents, and teachers and about 5 percentage points for the smaller sample of school principals.

SURVEY

Teenagers and Drugs

Among teenagers marijuana is the Favorite drug, after alcohol

A nationwide Columbia University study asked 1,157 adolescents aged 12 to 17 questions

about drugs. A sampling of some answers.

My school is drug free. AGE 12 (71%) - AGE 17 (22%)

I would report someone using illegal drugs at school . AGE 12 (75%) - AGE 17 (24%)

I would report someone selling illegal drugs at school. Age 12 (78%) - AGE 17 (26%)

I know someone who sells illegal drugs. AGE 12 (10%) - AGE 17 (52%)

I know someone fairly well who has used acid, cocaine or heroin. AGE 12 (15%) - AGE 17

(50%)

Half or more of my friends use marijuana. AGE 12 (4%) - AGE 17 (34%)

Teachers have a great deal of influence over teen-age drug use. AGE 12 (38%) - AGE 17

(8%)

I have never had a serious discussion with my parents about drugs. AGE 12 (34%) - AGE 17 (49%)

Drugs are a teen- ager's biggest problem. AGE 12 (38%) - AGE 17 (41%)

Source: National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University