THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 22, 1996 TAG: 9608220351
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 43 lines
On the heels of a federal survey that on Tuesday warned of increased drug use among teen-agers, the Navy asserted Wednesday that it ``is essentially drug-free.''
Navy officials released statistics indicating that less than 1 percent of the sailors and airmen ordered to provide urine samples this year have tested positive for illicit drugs. That's about one-tenth as many as tested positive a decade ago.
The service has a random drug-screening program. Guidelines call for 10 to 20 percent of each command to undergo testing at least once a month.
Officials attributed the improvement to the service's education and training programs on drug use, and to a ``zero tolerance'' program for those who test positive. The Navy provides an exemption from punishment for drug users in the ranks who turn themselves in for treatment.
Despite the near disappearance of positive test results, a Defense Department survey released earlier this month indicated that 7.3 percent of Navy personnel polled said they had used illegal drugs sometime within the past year. About half that number said they had used drugs within the previous 30 days.
The Pentagon survey suggested that the Air Force has done better than its sister services in attacking drug use. Only 2.5 percent of Air Force members said they'd used drugs within the past year and only 1 percent acknowledged drug use in the previous 30 days.
The survey also had encouraging news about drug use in the Marine Corps. Marines reported about the same level of use as Navy personnel, but the Pentagon's researchers said that because more Marines come from demographic groups at high risk for drug use, the figures indicate that only the Air Force is doing a better job than the Corps in attacking drug use in the ranks.
In all the services, the survey indicated that marijuana is the most popular illicit drug and that troops aged 18 to 25 are significantly more likely to have used drugs recently than are those 26 and older.
The survey said that men in the Army, Marines and Air Force are more likely to have used drugs than are women in those services, but that the rate of use among Navy women is slightly higher than among men.
KEYWORDS: U.S. NAVY DRUG USE SURVEY STATISTICS by CNB