The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University released startling results yesterday from an annual study of the prevalence of drugs in schools around the nation.
According to the survey, nearly half of the students in public middle and high schools (5.7 million kids across the country) indicate that drug use and gang activity are present on their campuses.
The study, which is conducted annually and released to coincide with the back-to-school season, surveyed just over 2,000 students and nearly 500 parents from across the country. Other findings were:
> 46% or teens report gangs at public schools while only 2% of students at private schools reported the same type of activity.
>47% of public school teens reported drug sales and use, compared to 6% at private or religious schools
>1 in 3 middle school students say drugs are used or sold at school--a 39% increase since 2009.
Joseph Califano, Jr.(at right), former Secretary of Health, Education & Welfare (under President Carter), and founder of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, described the study results as " "a trajectory of tragedy." Califano also said that students most likely to report gang activity were from school districts in Southern California and other areas in the Southwest; and finally, that students consistently rate drug, alcohol and tobacco uses at the "top concern" facing their age group.
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