Originally published September 8 2005
Survey says American schools, parents losing war on drugs; R-rated movies share blame
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A survey conducted by Columbia University researchers found that American schools and parents are failing miserably when it comes to steering kids away from drugs and alcohol, and The New York Daily News reports that kids who watch R-rated movies regularly are more likely to use drugs, cigarettes and alcohol.
American schools and parents are failing miserably when it comes to steering teens clear of alcohol, drugs and cigarettes, a sobering new survey shows.
And the really bad news is that it's getting worse.
The number of students attending drug-infested schools has skyrocketed - from 44% in 2002 to 62% this year for high schoolers and from 19% to 28% for middle schoolers, according to the 10th annual teen survey, unveiled yesterday by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.
That doesn't bode well for keeping kids free of drugs and alcohol, the survey found, because 12- to 17-year-olds who attend schools where drugs are used, kept or sold, are three times as likely to try pot and twice as likely to drink alcohol than teens at drug-free schools.
Those who watched R-rated flicks three or more times a month were seven times more likely to smoke cigarettes, six times more likely to smoke pot and five times more likely to drink alcohol than teens who didn't watch those movies, the survey found.
The good news was that it doesn't take an act of Congress to crack down on risky behavior.
Teens who felt their parents would flip out if they found out they were doing drugs and teens who felt drugs were morally wrong were several times less likely to try drugs, the survey found.
Parents cannot outsource their responsibility to schools or to law enforcement," said Califano, a former U.S. secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.
A majority of teens said whether it was legal for them to smoke or drink had no bearing on their decision to do so.
"It's a hell of a message to parents," Califano said.
"This problem is really going to be solved in the living room and the dining room and across the kitchen table, not in the courtroom or even in the classroom."
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