IT IS GOOD NEWS that the reported usage of alcohol, drugs and tobacco has declined during the past two years among Texas junior high and high school students. But it would be very bad news if the improvement brought about any complacency that lessened efforts to educate children about substance abuse.
The Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse has surveyed Texas students between the fourth and the 12th grades about substance abuse every two years since 1988. The latest results, which included 200,000 surveys, were just released.
The percentage of secondary students who reported they had used marijuana within the previous month dropped by 10 percent from the number who reported it in 1998.
The previous-month use of alcohol among junior high and high school students declined by 6 percent and tobacco by 15 percent in the past two years.
The improvements are encouraging, but the numbers are still quite high. Even with the decline, 36.1 percent of secondary students used alcohol in the month before the survey was taken, and 22.4 percent of them had used tobacco.
To put it another way, the message is apparently getting through to some kids, but too many kids either have not yet heard it or have not heeded it.
Substance abuse is both illegal and dangerous for students, and they are not emotionally equipped to deal with it. State agencies, schools and especially parents must keep sending that message to students.