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Substance use, poor grades linked in study Staff and wire reports SALEM - Students who use alcohol or marijuana are more likely to receive failing grades and be suspended than their peers who do not use drugs, according to a survey conducted by the Oregon Department of Human Services. "Surprising, no, but we need to be reminded of these things from time to time," said Gwen Grams, of the state Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs, who conducted the research. According to the 2000 report, more than four out of 10 high school juniors and one out of four eighth-graders surveyed said they had drunk alcohol in the previous 30 days. About one in five 11th-graders and one in 11 eighth-graders reported recently using an illegal drug - usually marijuana. Reported alcohol use among local eighth-graders declined from 37.7 percent in 1998 to 18 percent in 2000; illicit drug use fell from 23.8 percent to 7.4 percent over the same period; and tobacco use fell from 34 percent to 9.6 percent. She said the survey seems to confirm what she has been hearing from middle-school counselors - that fewer students are using tobacco. She attributed the decline to effective anti-tobacco ads and education campaigns. Local 11th-graders' use of tobacco, drugs and alcohol fell at or near state averages. Just over one in three 11th-graders (37.8 percent) in Jackson County reported using alcohol during the previous 30 days, compared to 41.8 percent of 11th-graders statewide. Tobacco use among 11th-graders (26.5 percent) was slightly higher than the state average (25.2 percent). Illicit drug use (14.4 percent) was markedly lower than the state average (20.0 percent). Marijuana is by far the most commonly used illegal drug among students statewide. Use of other drugs, including cocaine, hallucinogens, methamphetamines and inhalants, remained at levels below 1 percent. "The pattern is pretty consistent," Grams said. "Alcohol and drug use is associated with violent behavior, criminal behavior, risky behavior and poor school performance." The apparent link between alcohol or drug use and crime and poor grades is not necessarily a cause-and-effect relation, Grams said. But she said the statistical correlation is strong. The survey also found protective factors that help keep students from using drugs or alcohol. Many students who said they did not use drugs also responded that they had clear parental direction and involvement in school and community drug abuse prevention programs. Also among the study's findings: Sixth-grade students who used alcohol or drugs were 13 times more likely than their nonusing classmates to have brought a handgun to school and seven times more likely to have been in a fight involving a weapon. Eighth-grade students who used alcohol or drugs were 16 times more likely to have stolen a car, 13 times more likely to have driven while under the influence of intoxicants and seven times more likely to have been arrested. Sixth- and eighth-graders who used alcohol or drugs were three times more likely to have been suspended and twice as likely to have received D and F grades. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.