Every generation seems to think that the generation after it is somehow less moral and more perverse, with a greater inclination towards societal vices such as drug use. However, previous generations may actually have a point with today’s high school students. At least in the common perception of the general public, high school drug use is trending up with no indication of reversing itself. Media talking heads play up the point for shock value. However, is this amateur assessment actually true?
Official Reports of High School Drug Use
The Monitoring the Future program is the official assessment of drug use among high school students. Each year, this program takes a survey of drug use among eighth grade, 10th grade and 12th grade students. The study is looking for use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in the children. Most of the statistics that media use in order to expound an opinion come from Monitoring the Future data and analysis.
What Did the Latest Reports Show?
The latest Monitoring the Future reports showed an overall increase in drug use among surveyed students. This increased drug use has marijuana to thank, as the increasing popularity of weed as well as its legalization in some states have inspired younger kids to use it. Most shockingly, almost 7% of high school seniors use marijuana recreationally on a daily basis. Overall, the trend for marijuana use has completely reversed itself from the 1990s and late 2000s, when it was actually in decline.
Surprisingly, only the use of “natural” marijuana was up among teams. Synthetic creations, known as Spice or K2, are not seen as safe by high school students. The compounds that are placed into this product are the same compounds that place the drug known as “bath salt.” As such, although the compounds that are put into the synthetic drugs are actually legal to obtain, the product is used much less than natural marijuana. To compare statistics, less than 1% of 12th graders use synthetic marijuana.
Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medications
The real problem with teenagers lives in the medicine cabinets of their parents rather than any illicit street drugs. Prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs are a much larger problem than any illegal product when it comes to high school drug use.
Part of the reason for this is that prescription and over-the-counter medications are easier for kids to obtain. Most of them have only to look in the medicine cabinets of the homes that they live in in order to get high off of these products. Interestingly enough, some surveys have shown that an increase in parent stress level will increase the likelihood that their children use drugs. As parents take more prescription medication for conditions such as social anxiety, muscle and joint tension and other stress-related problems, those medications invariably find their way into the hands of children.
Drugs such as Ritalin and Vicodin were among the most abused prescription medications in the recent Monitoring the Future surveys. Fortunately, the trend for these drugs is down among all grade levels. However, use of the the drug Adderall has increased over the past year among these same kids. Adderall is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a condition that is being diagnosed much more readily than ever before. Many of the teams that abuse Adderall are simply overdosing on a prescription for recreational purposes. Overall, abuse of this drug is up around 2% to 7.4% of 12th graders in the latest Monitoring the Future survey.
The Trends
Ease of access and perception seem to be the two main factors in determining the abuse of drugs in high school students. This makes sense when one considers how impressionable this age group is to advertising and other forms of media. If something is being popularized in the general culture, it is likely that high school students will feel the effects much more readily than the rest of society.
It is also highly evident that more medications in the home means a higher rate of drug abuse. More stress within the family structure means more medications at home. In order to keep children away from drugs, parents would be well advised to handle their problems without strong prescription medications.
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Author Bio:
Marilyn Kegley works with Serenity Rehab to educate individuals about the effects, dangers and treatment of abuse problems to substances such as cocaine, heroin, alcohol, painkillers, and many others. After watching numerous loved ones struggle with substance abuse, her goal is to help as many people as possible win their battles with addiction. To learn more, please visit our site at http://www.serenityrehab.org/blog/alcohol/the-legal-consequences-of-underage-drinking/
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