Study: 1 in 3 High School Students Has Tried Drugs
One in three students in city high schools reported experimenting with illegal drugs at least once, according to the 2005 New York City Youth Risk Behavior Survey, released yesterday by the city's Health and Education Departments. Among the report's other findings: Alcohol use among students is declining, with 35% of 280,000 students reporting alcohol use in the past month in 2005, compared to 41% in 2001. Among students who binge drink, 14%, they do so half as much as the national average, 23%, statistics showed. "We're doing pretty well, " the health department's director of community epidemiology, Gretchen Van Wye, said, citing after-school programs and other efforts as possible contributing factors.

