Dayton-area teens turn to alcohol over other drugs

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - Teens in the Miami Valley are more likely to abuse alcohol over any other drug according to newly released results from The 2012 Dayton Area Drug Survey.

More than 15,000 teens in 16 Dayton-area school districts completed the survey conducted by the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine.

Overall, the survey found a decrease in the number of teens who say they have used drugs in their lifetime.

Among the findings, the survey reports the percentage of high school seniors who reported being drunk at least once in their life has decreased from 55.2 percent in 2010 to 50.3 percent in 2012.

The survey also found marijuana to have surpassed cigarettes as high schoolers’ second most widely used drug. However, in 2012, fewer teens reported having used marijuana in their lifetime.

“Although our data show that many types of teen drug use are decreasing, there is also good evidence that the percentage of teens who get drunk for the first time doubles between the ninth and 12th grades. Marijuana use also doubles,” said Russel Falck, associate professor of community health, who oversees DADS.