National/World News
Home Page | News | Sports | Business | Politics | Opinions | Arts & Entertainment | Science/Technology | Columns | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Obits | Subscribe | Forums | Food | Travel | Health & Fitness | People | E-mail Us |

Thursday, September 7, 2000

Ads aimed at Indian drug use

$2 million campaign targets teen-agers

Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The Clinton administration unveiled a $2 million advertising campaign Wednesday aimed at fighting drug abuse among American Indians, who have the highest rates of drug use in the country, and the crime and other social problems that go with them.
   "I'm dismayed at how poorly we've responded to this problem," Clinton drug control adviser Barry McCaffrey said.
   He spoke at a conference of tribal leaders and substance abuse experts organized by the White House and other government agencies.
   A federal study released last week found that 19.6 percent of teen-age American Indians used illicit drugs.
   That is the highest rate of any group in the nation.
   The national average for those between 12 and 17 years old was 9 percent.
   And although a lower percentage of Indians drink alcohol than the general population, alcohol-related deaths among Indians of ages 15-24 are 17 times higher than the national average, McCaffrey said.
   McCaffrey showed off anti-drug print and radio ads his office is backing that will run in 79 tribal newspapers, eight national newspapers or magazines and scores of radio stations.
   The print ads include images of Indian fathers and sons, telling readers to "pass down the traditions and communicate to our youth that drugs are not part of our Native cultures."
   "Doing drugs is not the Indian way," the young announcer in one of the radio ads says.
   Some tribal officials at the conference said the federal government is not doing enough to fight addictions among Indians, particularly alcoholism.
  

---

| Talk about this story | Next Story | Home |

---

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

---

[ Printer-friendly version ]
[ Subscribe to newspaper ]

SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND

---

  © 2000, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.