The number of eighth graders who have tried illegal drugs rose from 2009 to 2010, according to data from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The report also states that the number of 12th graders who reported binge drinking and the number of teens who gave birth both decreased.
The reasons for the decrease in the number of teen births are unknown, ABC News reports. Dr. Steven Lipshultz, professor and chair of pediatrics at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, said the data is incomplete because it does not take into account miscarriages and abortions.
The increase in drug use by eighth graders could perhaps be contributed to the debate over the legalization of marijuana, said Alan Hilfer, chief psychologist at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The age of experimentation with drugs continues to get younger over time.
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