CASA Study Shows School Kids Have Easy Access to Drugs
Also, Survey Finds Link Between Teens' R-rated Movie Viewing and Risky Behavior
By Mary Rettig
August 29, 2005

(AgapePress) - The head of research for an annual survey of adolescents conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University says its study has found that teenagers today have more access to drugs at school than in previous years. That widespread access, along with another surprising factor, may mean more teens are at risk than many parents realize.

Elizabeth Planet says the CASA survey found that 62 percent of high school students say drugs are in the schools, and 28 percent of middle school students report the same. And both of these statistics, she notes, have increased since last year.

Availability has a proven effect on whether kids will start using drugs, Planet says. Despite law enforcement's drug-free zone efforts and schools' zero-tolerance policies, she reveals that responses to some of the questions asked on the Center's survey suggest there has been little progress made toward decreasing the availability of illicit drugs in and around schools.

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