Columbia Public Schools gives ninth-graders a state-mandated drug and alcohol survey every two years. In February, 1,366 students, including a sampling of 11th- and 12th-graders, completed the 121-question survey.

Seventy-one percent admitted taking at least one drink of alcohol. On the flip side, 63 percent said they had never tried marijuana, and about 95 percent said they had never used psychedelic drugs, cocaine, methamphetamine or "club drugs" such as ecstasy.

The survey "confirms our suspicions," said Becky Markt, coordinator for the Youth Community Coalition, a drug prevention group. "From what we’ve seen, alcohol is the biggest problem for teens here."

Markt said she believes the surveys accurately represent drug and alcohol use among local teens, although teens aren’t forced to answer the questions honestly. To combat false answers, the state includes some "dummy" questions on the survey. If a teen answers those incorrectly, the survey is disregarded.

Markt said there are a couple of ways to look at the statistics. "You have to look at both sides of the coin," she said. "If 65 percent aren’t using, that still leaves us with 35 percent who are and who should not be."

Some say people are in denial about drug abuse among teens.

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