A new survey, conducted on college students this week by volunteers at Pasadena City College, revealed that 79.2% have seen people around them taking street drugs and 50% have themselves tried some kind of street drug at least once.
 | | A survey was conducted at Pasadena City College by Pasadena Youth against Drugs to find out what is really going on with teens and drugs. |
The survey was conducted by Pasadena Youth against Drugs to find out what is really going on with teens and drugs. Pasadena volunteer, Marc Stein (19), who leads the group, says they want to tackle the drug problem for real.
"We wanted to find out what people actually think about drugs and what the real situation is in Pasadena, so we can do something to turn the tide," said Marc.
Other results of the survey indicated that 54.2% think drugs are harmful, while 29.2% are open-minded about drugs and 16.6% approved of drug use. The majority of teens surveyed (66.7%) feel people take drugs "to escape from reality and problems."
In addition to conducting this survey, Marc and his friends Alex Zanier (18) from Atwater, and Brandon Hinojosa (15) from Tujunga, distributed drug education booklets to more than 200 students on the campus: ten pocket-sized booklets in a series entitled "The Truth About Drugs," which contain information about the most commonly abused drugs, including alcohol, marijuana, ecstasy and painkillers.
Although Pasadena's overall rate of youth substance abuse is lower than the national average, there is a higher prevalence of inhalant and methamphetamine abuse, according to the Pasadena Policy on Children, Youth and Families 2006 Update.
A new report by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse further indicated that 49% (3.8 million) of full-time U.S. college students binge drink and/or abuse prescription and illegal drugs. Further, binge drinkers are more than five times as likely to be sexually active as non-drinkers, more than 18 times as likely to smoke cigarettes, and more than four times as likely to have been in a physical fight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are also far more likely to smoke marijuana and attempt suicide. The study also shows that California is the second highest drug-consuming state in the nation.
Pasadena Youth against Drugs works with the Foundation for a Drug-Free World and the Church of Scientology of Pasadena to educate people about what drugs are and what they do. The teens say they welcome the help of anyone who wants to work on this project.
 | | In addition to conducting the survey, the volunteers distributed drug education booklets to more than 200 students on the campus. |
"As youth we can do something to change the community and if all of us work together we can make a huge difference," said Marc. "We hope the information we are providing will replace the lies about drugs and encourage young people to make up their own minds."
To obtain copies of The Truth About Drugs or for more information, contact: info@drugfreeworld.org or visit: www.drugfreeworld.org.
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