American Samizdat

Tuesday, December 05, 2006. *
What Works, What Doesn't Work
Stephanie Berger reports: Eighty-six percent of the recent decline in U.S. teen pregnancy rates is the result of improved contraceptive use, while a small proportion of the decline (14%) can be attributed to teens waiting longer to start having sex, according to a report by John Santelli, MD, MPH, department chair and prhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifofessor of Clinical Population and Family Health at the Mailman School of Public Health and published in the January issue of the American Journal of Public Health. The scientific findings indicate that abstinence promotion, in itself, is insufficient to help adolescents prevent unintended pregnancies.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center reports: Marijuana is not a "gateway" drug that predicts or eventually leads to substance abuse, suggests a 12-year University of Pittsburgh study. Moreover, the study's findings call into question the long-held belief that has shaped prevention efforts and governmental policy for six decades and caused many a parent to panic upon discovering a bag of pot in their child's bedroom.

[Disclaimer: the author of this blog post has never fathered a child or used marijuana.]
posted by Trevor Blake at 8:28 AM
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