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Continued Decline in Youth Substance Abuse

Current illicit drug use among teens is continuing to decline, according to a new report by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released today. The study also shows positive signs that teens are seeing the dangers of abusing prescription drugs and methamphetamine and are pushing back. Among youth ages 12-17, the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), the Nation's largest substance use survey, shows that the significant decline in overall past month illicit drug use that began in 2002 continued through 2007, from 11.6 percent to 9.5 percent.

The survey, released at the start of the 19th Annual National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, shows that the reductions in youth drug use occurred for nearly every type of illicit drug including marijuana, cocaine, hallucinogens, LSD, and Ecstasy. The survey also shows dramatic declines in meth use, down by 67 percent (from 0.3% to 0.1%) and prescription drug abuse among teens, which declined overall by 18 percent, from 4 percent to 3.3 percent between 2002-2007.

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Thailand's War on Drugs

News Briefs - News Briefs

Written by Jenna Bensoussan

Friday, 21 March 2008

BANGKOK - THAILAND will launch a new 'war on drugs' next month as the government revives a campaign that human rights groups say led to the extra-judicial killings of 2,500 people, a spokesman said.

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej met with top anti-drugs officials Friday and decided to stage a six-month crackdown, deputy government spokesman Nathawut Saikua said.

"Our D-Day is April 2, and on that day we will officially announce the decisive measures that we will implement," Mr. Nathawut told reporters.

"I can assure anyone who is involved with drugs, you will get into trouble with the government. We will impose harsh measures, no matter your position or your profession," he said.

Mr. Nathawut said the number of drug users and dealers was rising.

Thailand had an estimated 1.9 million people either buying or selling drugs in 2003, when former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra declared the first war on drugs.

That number fell to 450,000, but Mr. Nathawut said it rose last year to 570,000 people.

About 40 percent of drug traffickers are believed to be operating out of suburban Bangkok and Muslim-majority provinces in southern Thailand, where a separatist insurgency is raging along the border with Malaysia.

Mr. Thaksin launched the drug war to curb an alarming surge in the flow of narcotics through the kingdom.

His get-tough campaign enjoyed widespread public support and stemmed the supply of narcotics, but human rights groups estimate at least 2,500 people died in extra-judicial killings in 2003 and 2004.

Mr. Thaksin has always denied any wrongdoing. -- AFP