Since starting to meet regularly with counselors, Kelly said she has graduated from school and hopes to attend college. I know the way that I was going that I would be dead shortly . . . From house parties to parks where teens hang out, patrol officers say they are seeing far more youngsters than ever using illicit drugs. When we go to parties, we see it. We go to car stops, we're seeing more of it. . . .
National research supports the observations.
Government-sponsored surveys show that marijuana use in particular rose sharply during the early 1990s, before eventually leveling off. Rick Martinez, who has worked with adolescents in schools and police programs for more than 20 years. Now it is considered to be the same as alcohol by kids. But police say increased drug use alone cannot account for the jump in arrests. Rather, officials point to a crackdown on minor juvenile offenses by police in recent years.