Posted on 09/07/2006 9:03:19 AM PDT by Incorrigible
By KEVIN FREKING,
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Some moms and dads might want to take a lesson from their kids: Just say no. The government reported Thursday that 4.4 percent of baby boomers ages 50 to 59 indicated that they had used illicit drugs in the past month. It marks the third consecutive yearly increase recorded for that age group by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
Meanwhile, illicit drug use among young teens went down for the third consecutive year — from 11.6 percent in 2002 to 9.9 percent in 2005.
"Rarely have we seen a story like this where this is such an obvious contrast as one generation goes off stage right, and entering stage left is a generation that learned a lesson somehow and they're doing something very different," said David Murray, special assistant to the director for the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
The annual survey on drug use and health involves interviews of about 67,500 people. It provides an important snapshot of how many Americans drink, smoke and use drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine.
Overall, drug use remained relatively unchanged among Americans age 12 and older in 2005. About 19.7 million Americans reported they had used an illicit drug in the past month, which represented a rise from 7.9 percent to 8.1 percent. The increase was not only due to the boomers, but an increase was also seen among those 18-25, the age category that always ranks highest when it comes to illicit drug use.
Among the 18-25 group, drug use rose from 19.4 percent to 20.1 percent. Federal officials commenting on the report emphasized the drop in use among younger teens without citing the increase in the next older age group.
"The news today is there is a fundamental shift in drug use among young people in America," Assistant Surgeon General Eric B. Broderick said in a statement.
Murray called the 18-25 group the gauntlet through which everybody runs. He said the peak of drug use among youth in the United States occurred in the late 1970s.
"And they brought it with them like baggage when they hit 50 and 60," Murray said.
Drug use by baby boomers increased from 2.7 percent in 2002 to 4.4 percent last year. Marijuana was by far their drug of choice, Murray said.
That's true overall. There were 14.6 million people who reported using marijuana in the past month, about 2.4 million cocaine users and 6.4 million people who used prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes, such as pain relievers, tranquilizers or sedatives. In 60 percent of those cases, the drugs came from a relative or friend for free. Only 4.3 percent reported buying the drug from a drug dealer or other stranger.
While drug use went up slightly in '05, so did alcohol use. Slightly more than half of Americans age 12 and older reported being current drinkers of alcohol. That translates to 126 million people, up from 121 million people the year before.
Officials noted that alcohol use among those 12-17 did decline from 17.6 percent to 16.5 percent.
The percentage of Americans who acknowledged driving drunk at least once in the past year also dropped slightly in 2005 — from 13.5 percent to 13 percent.
Meanwhile, tobacco use held steady at about 29.4 percent, even though among youths 12-17, tobacco use did drop from 14.4 percent to 13.1 percent.
____
On the Net:
Office of National Drug Control Policy: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/
Not for commercial use. For educational and discussion purposes only.
Let the Boomer bashing commence!
I'd be interetsed to know how voting patterns break down among the boomer drug users.
Baby boomers....just trying to leave America in worse shape than when they inherited it. Oh, what a legacy.....:)
On balance, the Boomer generation has been a disaster.
They have undone most of the good work of their parents, the amazing WW2 generation.
I'll wager that you could make a pretty good guess.
I agree 100%...and I'm a Boomer.
"Do what I say, not what I smoke..."
not that I am overly optimistic about the next generations
Generational warfare. Good fun in every era.
They couldn't have been that great. They must have been terrible parents.
probably because there was no debriefing after the war.
they just came home and went back to work.
but they were a resolute and brave generation.
And classy, like Reagan and Bush 1.
Too bad the Dems got them hooked on Social Security and Medicare
Baby boomers rebeled, pure and simple. Who knows why, out of boredom I guess. That rebellion has led to dire consequences for America.
No generation before, and hopefully no generation hence... will squander so much as the Boomers have..
Their parents handed them the greatest nation ever created, and by and large they have systematically found ways to destroy it with their own selfish desires.
It will take at least 2 generations to undo all the damage they have done to this nation unfortunately.
LOL
BTW, lots of really stupid things that they rebeled against, needed to be rebeled against.
Tell me what generation you are in and all the great things you are doing.....
I am from Gen X.....we are trying to pick up the pieces.
They couldn't have been that great. They must have been terrible parents.
Not terrible but, IMO, laid back after so much death and distruction and fear to an extreme. IOW, "Hey, let 'em live it up! Enough doom and gloom, it's time for fun now!"
rebelled from decency, common-sense, and morality
That's true. I started my own business 27 years ago and have 112 people working for my company, earning a living, raising families, and paying taxes.
Maybe I'll just fire everyone, burn down the building and collect insurance. This building America notion is just a bunch of crap.
I'll leave it up to the iPod, Nintendo, mosh-pit, grunge generation to build their own future.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.