Teen Drug Use Down, But Drinking Holds Steady, U.S. Survey Finds

Teenagers these days are smoking less pot and cigarettes than they did a few years back, but drinking just as much alcohol, a new survey shows.

The 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health , released Sept. 6, found that the rate of marijuana use by those ages 12 to 17 dropped from 8.2 percent in 2002 to 6.7 percent last year. That trend was particularly strong among teenage boys, the report says.

“The trends in general are very encouraging,” said U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael O. Leavitt, whose department oversees the substance-abuse and mental-health-services administration,...