[bdeaner]

Good news! Teenagers are also saying no to sex.

[Blue Highway]

Good news, Just another thing to make the democratic party shrivel up and die!

[Jeff Chandler]

The goofballs, I mean experts, on NPR were trying to explain why teen pregnancy was declining. Funny, they didn't mention the possibility that kids are becoming more conservative, or, heaven forbid, more religious. Now this news. The rats must be very troubled.

[Eva]

If you believe that drug use is declining, you are very naive. What is happening is that teenagers are becoming wise to the stupid polls. One of the high schools in my county (a rural area of WA State) numbered in the highest percentage of drug use in the country and the public school where I live (a border town, where almost 95% of the kids really do use drugs) was recorded as one of the lowest. Kids have just wised up to the stupid polls.

[qam1]

Well it's good news through drug use always seems to have it's small ups and downs with apparently no reason. Until we see something like a greater than 33% decline then we can get excited.

Though as the parents start to be more and more Gen-Xers instead of the selfish, Divorce Prone, Could give a Rats A§§ about their children baby boomers I would expect drug use and all other problems with many kids have had in the past 20 years to decline.

[Fledermaus]

Good news! More for me! ;-)

[SageRat]

Personally, I would always have to be somewhat hesitant to believe that shutting down a LSD plant or simply the awareness of risk would actually cause a decrease in drug use.
From what I have ever been able to tell, the stupid things that people do (adults or children) is almost always based on what is and isn't considered as being cool--regardless of the risk.
Again, shutting down a source of a particular drug should just drive up the price or allow for other manufacturers to increase their business to fill the gap. This is simply a matter of supply-and-demand.
The idea that teens have become more conservative, and thus they have become more realistic in their world-outlook; also sounds false to me. Regardless of political leaning, the only thing I know of to make someone able to look at life with a hard eye is hardship--outside of that and one is still probably just going with whatever sounded coolest at the time.

But, what the reason might be for decreased rates of drug use--I can't admit to having a close enough understanding to assert any preferred response. The only ideas I have at the moment are 1) That they are currently in an off-period of coolness, or 2) The lengthened state of a poor economy has effected the drug market--perhaps kids are getting less allowance, or maybe more adults are buying than before and the dealers are charging higher prices since adults can presumably afford more: Price can effect coolness after all (sour grapes.)

[AxelPaulsenJr]

This thread seems most appropriate to wish all a Merry Christmas.

[jmc813]

WOD Ping

[philman_36]

This reporting is pure BS!
From the report itself...
Overview of Findings from 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)
Several improvements to the survey were implemented in 2002. In addition to the name change, respondents were offered a $30 incentive payment for participation in the survey starting in 2002, and quality control procedures for data collection were enhanced in 2001 and 2002. Because of these improvements and modifications, estimates from the 2002 NSDUH should not be compared with estimates from the 2001 or earlier versions of the survey to examine changes over time. The data collected in 2002 represent a new baseline for tracking trends in substance use and other measures.
Snip...(the bold is theirs!)...The conclusion from the results of these analyses is that 2002 data should not be compared with data collected in 2001 or earlier to assess changes over time. Therefore, this report presents data only from the 2002 NSDUH.

You should read the source first, bdeaner, to get the real poop.
Agitprop, pure and simple!

[sonofatpatcher2]

As my old Pappy use to say...
if some pudknocker ask you to do drugs,
just say no...

and shoot that sumbitch!

[F16Fighter]

"Good news! Teenagers are also saying no to sex."

Afraid not. They're just not counting oral as "sex."

Bubba's legacy lives on.

[mtbopfuyn]

Okay, sounds good but how many teens lied on the survey? Personally, I don't see any difference from the 70's to today.

[CWOJackson]

bump for even more good news for the holidays!

[FreedomPoster]

As funny as this sounds, I'm amazed no one has at least partially attributed this to the success of the TV show "The Osbournes" and the fact that teens can very easily see the ill effects of a lifetime of drug abuse.

"No, dude, I don't want *any* of that crap you've got - I don't wanna end up like Ozzy!!"