A new drug report issued today, by the U.S. National Institute on drug abuse, indicates that fewer teens are using methamphetamine, but marijuana and prescription drug use still remains high.
The use of newer drugs, such as the hallucinogenic salvia leaf and the prescription drug Adderall, seems to be gaining in popularity. Salvia is a leaf that may be chewed, smoked, or taken as a tincture, and Adderall is a medication used to treat ADHD. More than 5% of 10th and 12th graders who did not have ADHD admitted using Adderall to get high in the past year.
Daily smoking is reportedly down in 8th, 10th, and 12th graders since 1996. 8th graders dropped from 10.4% to just 2.7%. Since 1997, high school seniors that said they smoked daily has been cut in half, from 24% to 11.2%. However, the use of smokeless tobacco has risen.
Prescription painkiller abuse is on the rise. For example, almost 1 in 10 high school seniors admit they used the narcotic painkiller Vicodin, and 1 in 20 said they used OxyContin as least once in the last year. 19% of teens said they got the prescription drugs from their doctor, 8% from dealers, and 66% from friends or relatives. Sadly, 12% said they "took" them, 21% bought them, and 33% said someone gave them the drugs.
The report shows progress against teen stimulant use, including cocaine and hallucinogens. However, many adolescents are still abusing prescription drugs and cough syrup, such as DXM. In fact, of the 10 most popular drugs used by 12th graders, seven of them were either prescription drugs or over-the-counter medications.
These reports often come with some good and some bad news, but the fact that we can now take a look at these drug statistics and see what may, or may not, be working to help this problem is promising.
