Television and print media provided extensive coverage of a government survey which indicated a change in substance-abuse habits among US adolescents.
NBC Nightly News (12/14, story 6, 1:05, Williams) reported that a study released on Wednesday provides a “new look…at teenage alcohol and drug use. According to this study, there’s been a big shift when it comes to substance abuse among high school-aged kids.”
The CBS Evening News (12/14, story 8, 0:30, Pelley) reported, “Marijuana use among teenagers has gone up four years in a row. In a survey, one out of every 15 high school students admitted using marijuana every day or almost daily. That’s the highest rate in 30 years.”
The Wall Street Journal (12/15, Randall, Subscription Publication) reports that the “Monitoring the Future” survey released Dec. 14 by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) also reveals that even as marijuana use is increasing, US adolescents are smoking fewer cigarettes and drinking far less alcohol.