cannabisnews.com: Colleges and Marijuana Use Colleges and Marijuana Use Posted by FoM on November 14, 2000 at 18:58:38 PT Deseret News Editorial Source: Deseret News Colleges nationwide are going to "pot" with greater frequency than in the past. According to a Harvard University study, marijuana use among U.S. college students rose 22 percent from 1993 to 1999. More than 14,000 students from 119 colleges were surveyed.The study found that 15.7 percent in 1999 said they had used marijuana recently, up from 12.9 percent in 1993. And a 1997 Harvard study showed that roughly a quarter of all college students had used marijuana in the past year. The key to reducing marijuana use among college students is to address the problem well before they go to college. That means parents and children need to communicate better.According to a survey conducted last year by Partnership for a Drug Free America, when parents talk to their children about the dangers of drug use, children listen. Teens who receive strong anti-drug messages at home are 42 percent less likely to use drugs than those whose parents ignore the issue.The study showed that among teens who talked with their parents about drugs, 26 percent used marijuana. Among those who said they learned nothing about drugs at home, 45 percent said they had used marijuana. In other words, communication isn't a fool-proof strategy, but it is an effective one.What the Drug Free America survey also found is that the earlier parents talk to their children about drugs, the greater the chances for success. For example, among fourth-graders, 74 percent said they wanted more details from their parents about drugs, while among eighth-graders, the figure fell to 19 percent.When children enroll in college, the time for parental counsel regarding the use of drugs, alcohol and smoking has, for all intents and purposes, passed. Children are likely already to have developed value judgments regarding those subjects.Ultimately, each individual must decide whether or not to use drugs. But the evidence is clear that those children in families where parents and children regularly communicate and interact with one another experiment with drugs much less than those families with little communication and interaction. That is valuable information.Source: Deseret News (UT)Published: Tuesday, November 14, 2000Copyright: 2000 Deseret News Publishing Corp.Contact: letters desnews.comWebsite: http://www.desnews.com/Related Article & Web Site:Harvard School of Public Healthhttp://www.hsph.harvard.edu/Study: College Marijuana Use a Growing Problem http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7503.shtmlCannabis Use Falls Among Dutch Youth http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7251.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by Nessa Nolan on November 15, 2000 at 06:33:21 PT: cannibis research! Thought your site was one of the most informative. I am doing a study on the popularity of the decriminalisation of cannibis in Britain and this site gave me some useful knowledge of a few ideas. Thank you. If you are interested in hearing my results please let me know.PS. Im enjoying researching the effects vvv. much!!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Dave in Florida on November 15, 2000 at 04:44:33 PT studies -- >The study found that 15.7 percent in 1999 said they had used marijuana recently, up from 12.9 percent in 1993.And a 1997 Harvard study showed that roughly a quarter of all college students had used marijuana in the past year. >The key to reducing marijuana use among college students is to address the problem well before they go to college. That means parents and children need to communicate better.Yes, tell them the truth about MJ.The anties have been spewing this stuff for years. Let me ask you this, if they keep saying that in 1979 was the height ofdrug problem, high school seniors trying MJ (54%), and it has varied over the years, now down to just about 16% in 1999, where are all of the 38 year olds that were tokin in HS, where is the huge epidemic of crazed MJ addicted people. Well, I don't think it happens. A lot of these people may still toke, they just want to stay low key and not invite trouble. I graduated HS in 72 and have been known to partake on saturday nights playing cards. A great deal of the people I know do the same. We are all productive, tax paying citizens just like the neighbors. What is the big deal? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: