Valley of the Dolls Junior High

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 6:01pm

The world has certainly changed a lot since I was a teenager. Case in point: the following story. I take it that today's high schools have turned into junior versions of Valley of the Dolls. I can't help but think that it was better in my day when all the cool kids did was hang out and smoke cigarettes behind the school:


Teens Smoking Less, but Using More Pills

WASHINGTON - America's teens are smoking less and popping pain pills more. The lure of the family medicine cabinet helped nearly one in 10 high school seniors try out prescription painkillers last year, even as their generation continued turning away, at least slightly, from smoking and many other drugs.

The decline in illicit drug use by teens was modest, but continued a trend, according to the government's annual study of drug use by eighth, 10th and 12th grade students.

And while teen cigarette smoking fell to its lowest level since the survey began, eighth graders showed their first increase since 1996 in smoking in the month before the survey.

The survey of nearly 50,000 teens across the country found that 21.4 percent of eighth graders had used some illicit drug in their life, down from 21.5 percent a year earlier. For 10th graders it was 38.2 percent, down from 39.8 percent and the figure for 12th graders was 50.4 percent, down from 51.1 percent.

Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, called that continuing decline "quite remarkable news."

But, she told a briefing where the annual report was made public, abuse of prescription drugs by teens is a growing problem.

Use of the painkiller OxyContin grew from 4 percent to 5.5 percent of high school seniors from 2002 to 2005, she said, and their use of Vicodin has been consistently over 9 percent, clocking in at 9.5 percent in 2005.

Only marijuana topped prescription drugs in teen use, she said, and that has been declining over time. For 2005, 44.8 percent of 12th graders said they had used marijuana at some time in their lives, down 0.9 percentage points from 2004. The total was 34.1 percent for 10th graders, down 1 point. The 16.5 percent among eighth graders was up 0.2 point, ending a steady decline since 1996.

Findings of the survey of 49,347 students in 402 public and private schools across the country found:

• Some 75.1 percent of seniors have taken alcohol at some time. For 10th graders 63.2 percent have tried a drink and the figure is 41 percent of eighth graders.

• More than half, 57.5 percent of seniors said they had been drunk at some time, compared to 42.1 percent of 10th graders and 19.5 percent of eighth graders, down 0.5 point.


"The survey results expose the abysmal failure that is the War on Drugs," said Scarlett Swerdlow, executive director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051219/ap_on_he_me/drugs_teens

[NYadgal]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 6:14pm

Wow.

When I was in eighth grade I was still a girl scout and the only dolls I played with were named Barbie...

It was a LONG time ago, but still....

Wow.

[robbiej]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 6:17pm

No wonder I feel a kinship with my teenaged nieces and nephews. WE'RE ALL ON THE DOLLS!!!

[Marquise]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 6:25pm

a percocet a day keeps the doctor away!

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 6:41pm

For some reason I see Jesse Spano taking pills and singing "I'm So Excited!" Does anyone else envision this as well?

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 6:43pm

"I can't help but think that it was better in my day when all the cool kids did was hang out and smoke cigarettes behind the school:"

*pictures Margo in a rocking chair, smoking, his walker at the ready beside him*

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 6:46pm

Margo, it was only yesterday that you were a teenager.

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 6:50pm

"I'm so excited...I'm so scared!"

[Plum]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 7:00pm

I'm guessing this is illicit use? Because some people do actually need Oxycontin, at least for a little while, ex. if they're recovering from surgery.

[Marlene]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 7:02pm

Left over vicotin is quite a conversation piece.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 8:01pm

even in 1985 at my mothers elementary school in San Jose (she was the principal) she had 4th graders dealing drugs....

like Margo's school, smoking was the thing at mine.....it got so bad they put ashtrays on the urinals in the mens bathroom to have less of a mess....

Updated On: 12/19/05 at 08:01 PM

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 8:38pm

In my Growth and Development textbook, they had the following fact:

"In some preschools the children don't play "Mommy" and "Daddy"; they pretend to sell "nickel bags" of heroin (really bags of ground-up chalk) to their playmates."

Now THAT is disturbing.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 8:41pm

Oh please tell me that is a joke.

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 8:45pm

Unfortunately, it is not. I was shocked when I stumbled upon that little gem while reading about moral behavior. Rock on Kohlberg and Gilligan. :)

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 12/19/05 at 10:06pm

My mother was working with a head-start program with three-year-olds. They were having a "tea party" one day. As the little girl poured the "tea," she said, "You have Cuervo, you have Rrumplemintz, and I am having Alize." This child was 3.5.

I was such a sheltered kid. I was very stressed when I was stage managing a show and one of guys I knew offered me a joint. This was my senior year. First time I had ever had anything like that happen. I said no and proceeded to have a panic attack. I suck.