Other articles by Alexis Huicochea:

Cold Case : Daughter still hoping police will someday find her mother's killer Tucson police make arrest in 19-year-old homicideI-10 near Ajo Way exit reopens after morning rollover City police widen use of e-citations Getting traffic ticket in Tucson speeds up Cold Cases Single-vehicle accident near I-10 and Ina clearedTucsonan killed near Benson was driving wrong way on I-10Golder Ranch fire station fire due to electrical problemBuena High School theft lands woman in prison

Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic

Teen drug use across the nation has decreased by more than 20 percent during the last five years, according to a study released Thursday. But officials say the downward trend is not occurring in Pima County.

The Monitoring the Future study, conducted by the University of Michigan, measures drug, alcohol and cigarette use among eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders across the country by asking about drug-use behavior during their lifetime, past year and past month.

The 2006 survey indicates reductions in the use of nearly every drug, with about 840,000 fewer youths using illicit drugs in 2006 than in 2001, according to a news release from the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

It notes a 25 percent decrease in marijuana use during the five-year period, and a significant decrease in teens' use of methamphetamine. More on national study, Page A12.

However, officials at two Tucson programs that work to treat teen addiction say the exact opposite is happening here.

"I'm not sure that the study is an accurate depiction of what is happening and it is certainly not what I am seeing in working with adolescents with drug and alcohol addictions," said Tori Ferrari, director of the Springboard Home for Youth in Crisis, which houses girls but also provides counseling for families and boys. "We are actually seeing more and more kids getting involved at younger ages with harder drugs than marijuana."

She said that while marijuana is one of the most commonly used drugs by teens, it is a gateway drug and almost always leads to experimentation with drugs like heroin, cocaine or meth.

Ferrari believes the reason for the increase has to do with the availability of drugs, specifically meth, and the fact that it has become more common or more acceptable to do drugs.

During the last 30 years, Teen Challenge — the group in charge of Springboard — has served nearly 7,500 teens in Arizona.

Compass Health Care, another organization that works with addicted teens, has also seen an increase in not only illicit drug use, but alcohol and prescription drugs as well, said Cynthia Klein, a spokeswoman for the organization.

"We are seeing lots of kids using OxyContin and other drugs that are used to treat attention-deficit disorder because so many young people are on those medications," she said.

Things are not getting any better, she said. The lack of resources for teens dealing with drug and alcohol addictions is also a contributing factor to the problem.

Compass, along with the University of Arizona, recently began a free treatment program that focuses on kids between the ages of 12 and 17.