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.
My experience has been that Silents are easy to manage, Boomers not as easy and Xers very easy. Of course, I am managing degreed professionals.
I would be careful who you are calling a racist...something might surface later and then....well, who knows?
Well, you know, that's right. We're part of that entitlement generation. Gimme, gimme, gimme.
I think I'll tell my husband of 26 years (we just celebrated our anniversary last night as a matter of fact) that I'm going to enjoy the fruits of my labor (formerly known as a mid life crisis) and who knows where it will lead.
He'll adapt.
"Mineral Man,
I had no idea you were a boomer. "
Actually, I'm not. I'm a year too old to be a boomer. Born in July of 1945, right at the end of the war. My parents got busy during the war, before my father shipped out to pilot B-17s in the last part of the war.
I guess I don't have a generation. Still, I'm a war baby, for sure, and I usually identify with the Boomer group.
As for your list, I would not consider anyone who is an actor or entertainer as being in a "leadership role." You also left out President Bush. He's a boomer, too, you know, as are most of those in congress from both parties.
Wherever you turn, you'll find a boomer.
It is amazing to me how some of the people talk about everything they have and then mention step-kids, which I would assume included a divorce and all that goes along with that. My children came from a broken home but, but I have money so that makes it alright. Just WOW!!!
Hon, you're a racist and I posted the proof upthread for everyone to see. And instead of having the grace to admit it wasn't your most intelligent post (that's an understatement), you stand by it and seem proud of it.
Was Bill Clinton in this survey?
What's wrong with Dylan???
I was just going to ask you - what do you call that group between the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers? Ya'll are so left out you don't even have a name. LOL
My husband is part of that group.
You mean like paying for World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam?
You mean like paving the interstates and building businesses and colleges, you mean like that?
You mean bringing this country to the greatest financial and cultural existence it has even seen, only to have it trashed by you and your punka$$ friends with your tacky music and your low morals?
Ah yes, continue the same moral relavatism arguments... amazing.
One thing we are not is crappy spellers?
That post makes no sense, well maybe it does to you, but not to me. You should ask your buddy about being a racist.
"Yes the 18-22 year olds were not involved remotely in the anti-war movement of the late 60s... it was all the 30somethings and 40somethings sitting in on college campuses and rioting in the street....
You need to up your history knowlege, Hillary was indeed involved in drawing up the impeachment articles against Nixon.
Last time I checked the weather underground wasn't made up of 40somethings etc etc etc..."
If truth is important to you, quit trying to make comebacks and seek the truth.
No one said the kids weren't in existence then and living in their times, they just weren't the cause of those times.
Those kids didn't create and lead the anti-war movement in America
Bringing up a young lawyers participation in Watergate doesn't show knowledge, it reveals a desire to avoid what even you know about Watergate, the battle was between people much older than boomers, whether you look at the government, or the newspapers, or the networks those weren't children and twenty somethings.
You mentioned an iconic group of the sixties, here is some information on them:
Think WIDOWS and WIDOWERS you jerk wad.
Now, report me for calling you a name.
"I was just going to ask you - what do you call that group between the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers? Ya'll are so left out you don't even have a name. LOL
"
I guess we don't have a name. We're nameless. Still, we get our social security and medicare before the boomers do, so it's not all bad.
That post you posted by me has to be read in context and I stand by it and have nothing to defend. I know I am not a racist, BTW...you sound like a Democrat when you scream that word over and over again.
Well let me explain it to you slowly then.
You said that you don't pay attention to my posting history but that someone sent it to you.
When I said maybe they were lying and you should do research yourself, you said that I'll be here tonight and will start posting before 6:00 a.m. tomorrow.
So I said then you ARE paying attention.
And since tonight is a football night, I probably will be here having popcorn and watching football with my husband occasionally while you'll be thinking your little racist and class envious thoughts. All by your lonesome.
Some of us are big enough to admit we made some mistakes in our lives.
For all WE know, the reason you have so many issues is that your parents despised each other but stayed together.
And, yeah, I have a lot of stuff; so does my family. We worked for it and now we're enjoying it.
I agree with you about the entertainers...they just seem to be in the media making boomers look bad which was the main point. As far as President Bush goes. Great Boomer, but for my fun on this post, I could not give positive Boomers now could I? LOL. I really get a kick out of these threads and think that truly nobody believes anything that they type while doing it. These are just a chance to improve on typing skills. Oh there are an extreme small majority who probably does actually write what they mean on these light posts, but then again, they probably are our trolls and such...
Y'all fight nice now. :-)
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