According to the Ohio Pride Student Survey, the use of illegal drugs among sixth- and eighth-graders in Ohio dropped from 14.9 percent in 1998-1999 to 11.7 percent this past year. The 21-percent drop compares to a 16-percent decline nationwide.

Alcohol use was 6 percent lower and tobacco use was 14 percent lower among Ohio youths than the national average.

"We're much better off than the national average in every category, "said Luceille Fleming, director of the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS).

Fleming and other state officials credit the state's prevention efforts, as well as the Cabinet-level status of ODADAS, for the decline in youth drug use.

"The Cabinet-level status makes all the difference -- the ease of contact with the heads of other departments is extremely invaluable," said Fleming.

Ohio also fosters a multiple-component strategy that encompasses parents, youth, and state-community partners.

"The statewide collaboration of education programs through the Ohio Department of Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools program, ODADAS, and Ohio Parents for Drug-Free Youth is showing results," said Susan Tave Zelman, the state's superintendent of public instruction.

Ohio has 33 ODADAS-funded youth mentoring projects and 130 community anti-drug coalitions throughout the state that provide prevention services.

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