MarijuanaNews.com : Again the Media Parrots the Partnership’s Prohibitionist Propaganda Even Though Reported “Changes” Are Within the Margin of Error. Emphasis in Propaganda as in Seizures Shows Drug War Really About Mar

Posted November 27, 2000
(MarijuanaNews note: This first item from the AP reports the margin
of error in the survey and then ignores the fact that this makes the rest of the story
irrelevant. The Partnership press release, the second item, even claims that changes
within the margin of error are “statistically significant.” In this game, the
press release is everything.

The third item shows that Drug War seizures are overwhelmingly marijuana. This
is what makes the “gateway theory” so important to the prohibitionists.)
See

HREF=”http://www.marijuananews.com/marijuananews/cowan/partnership_has_a_new_survey_and.htm”>The
Partnership Has A New Survey and The Media Lap It Up.
Multiple Sources.
and
PDFA’s
Propaganda Released On the Internet Hides Margin Of Error That Makes Headline Meaningless

November 27, 2000

Ecstasy Use Up Among Teens
By LARRY McSHANE, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - Teen-age marijuana use has dropped for a third straight year,
but a jump in the use of the “club drug” ecstasy raised new concerns for parents,
according to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America’s annual report.

The nonprofit group’s 13th survey, being released Monday, questioned 7,290
students in seventh through 12th grades nationwide. The margin of
error is plus or minus 1.5 percentage points.
(MarijuanaNews note: What this generally means is that there is a
95% probability that the numbers are correct within that range. Often these reports do not
give the margin of error, but the AP has gotten better about reporting, if not
understanding these numbers.)

Use of ecstasy, a favorite at dance clubs and all-night
raves, has doubled among teens since 1995, the survey found. One in 10 teens has
experimented with the drug, it said.

The report found the number of teens who have tried ecstasy at least once had
increased from 7 percent to 10 percent over the past year. In
contrast, the 40 percent of teens saying they had tried marijuana was down from 41 percent
last year.
(MarijuanaNews note: Both of these numbers are within the margin of
error, the marijuana numbers, especially so.)

It was the third consecutive drop-off in teen marijuana use since 1997, when
COLOR=”#ff0000″>44 percent of teens said they had used the drug at least once.
(MarijuanaNews note: Again, this is within the margin of error.)

“We appear to be turning a very important corner,” said
Richard D. Bonnette, the partnership’s president and chief executive officer. “But as
we turn one corner, troubling developments are coming at us from other directions -
specifically with ecstasy.”
(MarijuanaNews note: Oh really? Just what corner did they turn?)

The survey found that more teens were turned off than on by marijuana.
Fifty-four percent felt smoking pot would make them behave foolishly, up from 51 percent
in 1997. Fewer believe most people will try marijuana: 36 percent now, compared with 41
percent in 1997.

And just 21 percent said they had used marijuana
in the past month, down from 24 percent in 1997.
COLOR=”#008000″>(MarijuanaNews note: Again, within the margin of error.)

Those numbers are significant because they address attitude changes since the
partnership, along with the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, started
a national anti-drug ad campaign in July 1998. (MarijuanaNews note:
In other words, they are claiming that these numbers just have to be
“significant” or their multibillion dollar prohibitionist propaganda campaign is
worthless.)

“This study confirms the trends we’ve seen over the last three years - a
steady decline in the number of teen using drugs,” said Barry McCaffrey, director of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy. “This is very good news.”

The study found that the number of teens seeing anti-drug advertising on a
daily basis has jumped significantly - from 32 percent in 1998 to 49 percent this year.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, launched in 1987, is a coalition of
communications industry professionals aimed at reducing the demand for illegal drugs. -

On the Web:
Partnership for Drug Free America: www.drugfreeamerica.org

Office of National Drug Control Policy: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov

(MarijuanaNews note: Links to the government, but no links to anyone
likely to criticize these numbers.)

From Partnership for Drug Free America website:
HREF=”http://www.drugfreeamerica.org/”>www.drugfreeamerica.org

NEW YORK, Nov. 27th - Continuing a trend that began three years ago, fewer
teenagers in America are smoking marijuana — the most widely used illicit drug — but at
the same time, a small, increasing number of adolescents is embracing Ecstasy, according
to a new, national study released today by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA).

“The shifts we’re seeing with marijuana - which by and large represents
the bulk of illicit drug use among kids - suggest good things for the future,”
said Richard D. Bonnette, president & CEO of PDFA. “With this particular drug, we
appear to be turning a very important corner. But as we turn one corner, troubling
developments are coming at us from other directions - specifically with Ecstasy. While the
overall usage numbers are much lower for this drug, the spike we’re seeing demands our
attention.”

Released today via the Internet, the 2000 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study
(PATS) surveyed 7,290 teens across the country (margin of error =
+/- 1.5 percent). The nationally projectable study1 found overall drug
use stable between 1999 and 2000, and down significantly since 1997, with trial use and
past-year use down by nine percent and holding, and past-month use down 11 percent over
that time.2
1Conducted by Audits & Surveys Worldwide Inc. for PDFA. Survey of teens
ages 12 to 18, in grades 7 through 12.
2Trial use down from 53 percent in 1997 to 48 percent in 2000; past-year use
down from 43 to 39 percent; past-month use down from 28 to 25 percent.
(MarijuanaNews note: Again, notice that all of these numbers are
within the margin of error.)

The study, which monitors trends in drug use and important drug-related attitudes that
drive drug use, found the most significant declines in
marijuana use among teenagers.

Since 1997, trial use of marijuana has declined by about 10 percent, a
statistically significant decline. (In 2000, 40 percent of teens reported trying marijuana
at least once, down significantly from 44 percent in 1997.)
Over the same period, past-year use of marijuana has declined by eight percent (from 36 to
33 percent). The most significant decline over the last three years
came in regular (or past month) use of marijuana with a 13 percent decline (from 24 to 21
percent).
(MarijuanaNews note: Again, notice that all of these numbers are
within the margin of error.)

“This study confirms the trends we’ve seen over the last three years — a steady
decline in the number of teen using drugs,” said Barry McCaffrey, director of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy. “This is very good news.”
COLOR=”#008000″>

The survey found teen attitudes and perceptions about marijuana trending in a
positive direction with more teens rejecting the drug. This year, more teens believe
COLOR=”#ff0000″>marijuana will make them lonely (43 percent, up from 38 percent in 1997),
boring (32 percent, up from 29) or act stupidly or foolishly (54 percent, up from 51).
Fewer see marijuana all around them (47 percent vs. 59 percent in 1997), and fewer believe
most people will use the drug (36 percent, down from 41).

Statistically significant changes in marijuana-related attitudes also
occurred between 1998 and 2000, and coincide with the launch of a multi-million dollar,
anti-drug media campaign, much of which has targeted teens with messages about marijuana -
again, the most widely used illicit drug. (See related news release on survey findings
related to the media campaign.) “Fewer teens see marijuana users as cool or
popular,” said Barbara Delaney, senior vice president and director of research for
the Partnership. “When anti-drug attitudes are strong, use of drugs is more likely to
decrease.”

While use of other illicit drugs is much lower than marijuana, alcohol and
tobacco, the study found a small, but increasing number of teens turning to Ecstasy.

Trial use of Ecstasy (methylenedioxy-methamphetamine, MDMA) jumped
COLOR=”#ff0000″>significantly over the past year, from seven to 10 percent, and has
doubled since 1995, when only five percent of teens had ever reported using the drug.
(MarijuanaNews note: Again, notice that the last year’s change
was within the margin of error.)

A synthetic stimulant usually taken orally in a pill form, Ecstasy - also known as
“X,” “E” and “The Love Drug” - has been
COLOR=”#ff0000″>flooding into the U.S. from the Netherlands in recent years.3
3Drug Enforcement Administration
See

href=”http://www.marijuananews.com/marijuananews/cowan/prohibitionist_uk__not_holland_.htm”>
color=”#000080″>Prohibitionist UK — Not Holland — Leads Europe In Illegal Drug
Production.
But This Does Not Fit the Prohibitionist Party Line

“X” is one of the so-called “club drugs” now part of the
dance club and all-night rave scene. Trial use of Ecstasy is now on par with teen trial
usage rates of cocaine, crack and LSD; now, with recent increases taken into
consideration, more teens in the U.S. have experimented with Ecstasy than heroin.

The study also found small, but statistically significant increases in some
measures of teen methamphetamine and inhalants use. (See summary of key findings,
attached.) Use of other illicit drugs - cocaine, crack, heroin and LSD - has remained
stable, although some remain at or near decade high levels.

“Increases in Ecstasy, meth and inhalant use can be linked to the degree
of risk teens associate with these drugs,” Delaney said. “We’ve seen many
stories in the media in which teens talk about the benefits of Ecstasy. Research has
consistently shown that when anti-drug attitudes are weak, experimentation rates are
likely to increase. Clearly, that’s what we’re seeing here.”

“While the overall trend is encouraging, we have to remember that among
this group of close to twenty-four million teens, one out of every four of them used4
a drug in the past 30 days,” Bonnette said.
4Inhalants, marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, crack, heroin, Ecstasy or LSD.

“This tells us one thing: As long as there are new generations of children
coming our way, we simply must do more and invest more in preventing drug use. The country
must come to recognize the value of drug education, and to see preventing drug use as an
on-going necessity, not an occasional tactical option.”

Adolescent drug use in America peaked in 1979, declined steadily throughout the
1980s and began to climb once again in 1991-1992. Drug use among teenagers continued to
climb until 1997, and since then has been in a slow, steady decline. Usage rates
stabilized between 1999 and 2000.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America is a private, non-profit coalition of
professionals from the communications industry. Best know for its national, anti-drug
advertising campaign, the Partnership’s mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs
through media communication. To date, approximately $3 billion in media exposure and more
than 600 ads have been donated to the Partnership’s national campaign, making this the
single, largest public service ad campaign in history. Beginning in 1998, PDFA advertising
began appearing in paid media exposure as part of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media
Campaign, coordinated by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. PDFA
accepts no money from alcohol or tobacco manufacturers. Major funding for PDFA is
provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The Partnership Attitude Tracking Study monitors drug-related behavior and
attitudes among children, teens and parents. It is the largest on-going research on
drug-related attitudes in the US, and the only on-going drug survey that collects data on
children as young as eight and nine. This is the 13th installment of PATS conducted since
1987. For this installment, 7,290 teens completed self-administered, anonymous
questionnaires in 2000. Audits & Surveys Worldwide, Inc., one of the largest consumer
market research companies in the world, conducts the PATS study for the Partnership.

Partnership Attitude Tracking Study
Teen Study, 2000
Summary of Key Findings by Drug

The 2000 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) surveyed 7,290 teenagers in
grades 7 - 12 across the country (margin of error = +/- 1.5 percent). This
nationally-projectable study, conducted by Audits & Surveys Worldwide Inc. for PDFA,
tracks trends in drug use and important drug-related attitudes that drive drug consumption
trends.

There are approximately 23.6 million teens in grades seven through 12 in
America today. Close to half of these teenagers - 11.3 million - have tried an illegal
drug at some point in their lives. Some 9.2 million have used an illegal drug in the past
year; and 5.9 million - one out of every four teens in America - have used a drug in the
past 30 days.

Overall Drug Use Among Teenagers

Adolescent drug use in America peaked in 1979, declined steadily throughout the
1980s and began to climb once again in 1991-1992. Drug use among teenagers continued to
climb until 1997, and since then has begun a slow, steady decline. Usage rates stabilized
between 1999 and 2000.

Specifically, overall drug use among 7 through 12 graders has declined by
statistically significant percentages since 1997: Trial use is down by nine percent (from
53 percent in 1997 to 48 percent in 2000); past-year use, by nine percent (from 43 to 39
percent); and past-month use down 11 percent (from 28 to 25 percent).

Marijuana

Use of marijuana - the most widely used illegal drug among adults and teenagers in America
- continues an encouraging decline. Since 1997:

The number of teens trying marijuana at least once in their lives has declined
by approximately 10 percent, a statistically significant decline.
(In 2000, 40 percent of teens reported trying marijuana at least once, down significantly
from 44 percent in 1997.)
(MarijuanaNews note: It would be “statistically
significant” if it were not within the margin of error.)

Over the same time period, past-year use of marijuana has declined by eight
percent (from 36 percent in 1997 to 33 percent this year).
The most significant decline over the last three years came in regular (or past
month) use of marijuana with a 13 percent decline. (From 24 percent in 1997 to 21 percent
in 2000.)

Attitudes about marijuana: The survey found teen
attitudes and perceptions about marijuana trending in a positive direction with more teens
rejecting the drug. This year, more teens believe marijuana will make them lazy (48
percent, up from 44 percent in 1997), boring (32 percent, up from 29) or act stupidly or
foolishly (54 percent, up from 51). Fewer see marijuana all around them (47 percent vs. 59
percent in 1997), and fewer believe most people will use the drug (36 percent, down from
41).

Ecstasy
Ecstasy, or (MDMA), is one of the so-called “club drugs” now part of the dance
club and all-night rave scene. A synthetic stimulant usually taken orally in a pill form,
Ecstasy - also known as “X,” “E” and “The Love Drug” - has
been flooding into the U.S. from the Netherlands in recent years.1

Usage: Teen trial use of Ecstasy has doubled since 1995, and increased
significantly over the last year (1999-2000). Trial use of “X” is now on par
with teens’ trial use of cocaine, crack and LSD; more teens in the U.S. now have tried
Ecstasy than heroin. With 10 percent now reporting it, trial use of “X” has
climbed from seven percent just last year and five percent in 1995.

Attitudes about Ecstasy: Nearly one-third (32 percent) of teens in 2000
reported they had close friends who used Ecstasy, up significantly from 24 percent in 1998
and 26 percent in 1999. (Teens tend to overestimate the number of peers using drugs.
However, this perception may wrongly persuade teens that Ecstasy use is accepted and the
norm. More research is needed to understand the various levels of risk teens associate
with regular and experimental use of this drug.)

Inhalants
Usage: One of the more unusual forms of substance abuse, inhalant abuse - the
practice of inhaling chemical fumes found in countless household products - also increased
among teens. In 2000, some 13 percent said they have used inhalants in the past year, up
significantly from 11 percent in 1999, and seven percent said they have used inhalants in
the past month, up significantly from six percent in 1999. (Trial use of inhalants among
teens held stable over the last year - in 1999, 19 percent reported trial use of
inhalants; 21percent in 2000.)

Attitudes about inhalants: Three out of four teens (78 percent) continue to
recognize the deadly consequences of using inhalants. This measure remained stable over
the last year. Earlier PDFA research indicated that while teens associated high risk with
regular use of inhalants, the same did not hold true for occasional use.

Methamphetamine
Usage: Eight percent of teens said they have used methamphetamine in the past year
and five percent said they have used the drug in the past month, up from seven and three
percent, respectively, in 1999. (The past month usage measure represents a statistically
significant increase.)

Attitudes about meth: The perception of great risk in trying meth
significantly increased from 1998 to 2000.

Cocaine/Crack
Usage: Ten percent of teens report using cocaine and/or crack at least once in
their lives, stable from 1999 (9 percent), 1998 (11 percent) and 1997 (10 percent), yet up
significantly from six percent in 1993. The same is true for past-year and past-month
measures. Cocaine use among teens peaked in the 80s, as 15 percent of teens reported
trying this drug in 1988.

Attitudes about cocaine/crack: Teens continue to view cocaine and crack as
very dangerous drugs, with 82 percent of teens agreeing that there is great risk
associated with regular use of cocaine, and close to half (47 percent) saying the same
about trial use of these drugs.

LSD
Usage: The survey found 12 percent of teens reporting trial use of LSD (lysergic
acid diethylamide), stable compared to 1999 (10 percent). LSD use today is significantly
higher than it was in 1993 when eight percent of teens in the U.S. reported using this
drug, commonly referred to as “acid.”

Attitudes about LSD: In 2000, 19 percent of teens ranked LSD as either the
most or second-most harmful illegal drug. That’s stable compared to 1997 (20 percent) and
unchanged compared to both 1998 and 1999.

Heroin
Usage: Four percent of teens said they have tried heroin, stable for much of the
1990s.

Attitudes about heroin: While the vast majority of teens (81 percent)
continue to view heroin as a dangerously addictive drug, negative attitudes about the drug
have slipped somewhat since last year.

Sources of drug-related information

The study, which has tracked media and non-media sources for drug information,
found teens learn a lot about the risks of drugs from school (44 percent), parents or
grandparents (29 percent) and friends (29 percent). (No increases in these measures since
1998.) The study did show statistically significant increases over the last two years in
the number of teens citing TV shows, news and movies (from 26 to 29 percent), television
commercials (from 20 to 26 percent) and the Internet (from 13 to 17 percent) as sources
where they learned a great deal about the dangers of drugs.

The study found a 38 percent increase since 1998 in the number of teens who use
the Internet to find information about drugs. Of those teens who have come across
drug-related Web sites on the Internet, 36 percent report seeing sites that discourage
illegal drug use, and 33 percent report seeing sites that that support drug use.
COLOR=”#ff0000″>The percentage of teens exposed to anti-drug sites has increased by 50
percent since 1998; those exposed to pro-drug sites increased by 38 percent over the
same time.
See

HREF=”http://www.marijuananews.com/marijuananews/cowan/prohibitionist_internet_strategy.htm”>
FACE=”Arial,HELVETICA” SIZE=”2″>The Prohibitionist Internet Strategy:
www.we-can-lie-louder-than-you-can-tell-the-truth.con
Analysis By Richard Cowan

The Partnership Attitude Tracking Study monitors drug-related behavior and attitudes among
children, teens and parents. It is the largest on-going research on drug-related attitudes
in the US, and the only on-going drug survey that collects data on children as young as
eight and nine. This is the 13th installment of PATS conducted since 1987. For this
installment, 7,290 teens completed self-administered, anonymous questionnaires in 2000.
Audits & Surveys Worldwide, Inc., one of the largest consumer market research
companies in the world, conducts the PATS study for the Partnership.

November 23, 2000
From The Albuquerque Journal
opinion@abqjournal.com
http://www.abqjournal.com/
By Rene Romo
(MarijuanaNews note: This excellent bit of reporting makes the point
that 99% of border “drug” seizures are marijuana. Combined with the above
prohibitionist propaganda from the Partnership this makes very clear that the Drug War is
overwhelmingly about marijuana. This is why the narks cannot refocus on hard drugs.
Marijuana is their “bread and butter.”)
See
DEAland Border Patrol Seized 500 Tons Of
Marijuana at Mexican Border – 500 Times Seizures At BC Border. Putting the Canadian
Marijuana Supply In Perspective.
and
Data On Mexican Border Seizures Show That
Talk About “BC Bud” Is Just More Prohibitionist Propaganda — But the “Drug
War” Is Really Aimed At Marijuana.

154 TONS OF DRUGS SEIZED AT BORDER

LAS CRUCES - U.S. Customs agents along the West Texas and southern New Mexico sections of
the Mexican border seized record amounts of drugs last fiscal year - nearly 309,000
pounds.

Most of the seizures were of marijuana. Confiscated amounts of other
drugs were at their lowest in years.

Border Patrol agents in the same area also scored successes, catching
more marijuana, 176,677 pounds, than at any time in the previous decade.

“It was the hard and dedicated work by hundreds of area Customs officers that
resulted in this record-setting year of enforcement activity,” said Gurdit Dhillon,
the El Paso-based director of Customs Service field operations in West Texas and New
Mexico.

The Customs Service drug haul for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, a total of 308,952
pounds of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, represented a 15 percent
increase over the previous fiscal year’s drug seizures.

As usual, Customs’ seizures of heroin and cocaine fluctuated from previous years.
COLOR=”#ff0000″>The 26 pounds of heroin captured last fiscal year was the lowest amount
since fiscal year 1994, while the cocaine catch - 3,123 pounds - fell 58 percent from the
1999 fiscal year total.

The Border Patrol’s haul of 5 pounds of heroin was the lowest total
in the past five years, and the agency’s catch of 500 pounds of cocaine last fiscal
year was a far cry from the nearly 4,000 pounds captured in 1999.

“Smugglers’ routes are always changing, so there’s no rhyme or reason from one year
to the next,” said Border Patrol spokesman Doug Mosier of cocaine and heroin
seizures.

But for Customs and the Border Patrol, marijuana seizures, making
up 99 percent of all drugs caught by weight, continued a decade-long swell.

Customs agents working ports of entry along the El Paso area and New Mexico’s border with
Mexico snared 305,793 pounds of marijuana last fiscal year, about eight times what the
agency captured in 1991.

Border Patrol agents rounded up 176,677 pounds of marijuana last fiscal year, more than
double what agents caught in 1996.

What is unknown, however, is the quantity of drugs smugglers sneak across the border and
how effective federal agents are in stemming the northbound flow of illegal drugs.

“All we know is what we catch, and we do catch quite a
lot, but the universe of all the drugs out there is an unknown,” said Roger Maier, a
Customs Service spokesman.

Maier attributed much of Customs’ success to the growing expertise of agents in detecting
smugglers, especially using sophisticated technology such as permanent and mobile X-ray
machines that are able to quickly scan the loads hauled by truckers.

Customs also has beefed up its personnel in the sector, starting in the mid-1990s when the
federal government added about 100 new staff members in what was billed as Operation Hard
Line.

“Every year we have a lot of success, it seems to feed upon
itself,” Maier said.

Since the Border Patrol launched its Operation Hold the Line in 1993, a strategy in which
agents were stationed like a picket fence along the Mexican border in El Paso, the Border
Patrol’s staffing in the sector has risen from about 600 agents to 1,029, Mosier said.