The Patterns Of Teen Drug Abuse

Years ago, the common image of an adolescent drug abuser was a teen trying to escape from reality on illegal substances like cocaine, heroin, or marijuana. Today, there is a great discrepancy between that perception and the reality of who is likely to abuse drugs. A teenage drug abuser might not have to look any further than his or her parent’s medicine chest to ‘score.’ Prescription drug abuse by teens is on the rise. Also, teens are looking to prescription drugs to fulfill different needs other than to feel good or escape the pressures of adulthood. Teens may be just as likely to resort to drugs with ‘speedy’ side effects, like Ritalin to help them study longer, as they are to use prescription

Three decades from now, T.L.O., a student at a New Jersey High School was caught smoking in a school restroom, and was brought to the assistant principal’s office. The 14-years-old teenager denied smoking, so the assistant principal persisted in searching her purse and found cigarettes, and rolling paper which is associated with marijuana (T.L.O. vs. New Jersey). Nothing has changed since then. If you look a little closer, you can see teenagers lying around doing drugs here and there. They are no longer determined to succeed in life; instead all they can think about is where the next supply of cocaine will come from. What has our future come to? Research done by scientists and other professionals provide evidence that substance abuse by teenagers is an ever-growing problem due to teen’s poor judgement, it’s irreparable damage, and inability to compete with drug addiction.

Have you ever thought about doing drugs? If so you're not the first, but you probably didn't think about how it could affect you and your life. In 2016 63,600 people didn’t think of the consequences and ended up dying from overdosing in the United States. 42,249 deaths involved an opioid. Opioids are drugs made to replicate opium. They both include legal painkillers like morphine, oxycodone, or hydrocodone prescribed by doctors. The problem with opioids has been growing for years and its growing with each year. The misuse of and addiction of opioids is a serious national crisis. It effects public health as well as social and economic welfare.

This is not much of a surprise since the rate of teen and children opioid users are on a continuing rise in the United States (Mills para 1). Per Pannoni’s article “High Schools get Frank with Teens on Heroin Epidemic”, the rate has nearly doubled since 2002 (Pannoni para 1). Alcabes use his personal high school narrative to show that it is not uncommon for students to use opioids/psychoactive medications to help them throughout the day. The normal acceptable usage is shown in Alcabes himself while abusive use is shown in his classmate who raids his parents medicine cabinets every morning before school. This opioid epidemic is a problem for children and adults. According to Curtis Mills in his article “opioid Epidemic takes a toll on U.S. Children, teens”, most poisoning among teens result from accidental overdose but some have been a suicide attempts and that teens use opioids to get high like any other recreational drugs they use (Mills para. 6). Alcabes tries to explains what addiction is as well as explains the multiply other issues that come along with

Showing the connection of opioid treatment being manipulated and influenced by the patients themselves which influences the current epidemic. If the doctor stops the supply of opioids to a patient who is dependent or addicted, this patient is more likely to turn to getting the pain killers off the street. This includes illegally purchased prescriptions, or even heroin. One does not have to of been prescribed opioids to become addicted. One may start off using opioids from off the street for many reasons. One may be in pain but knows the doctor isn’t going to help them, or it is even possible for one to become addicted to opioids just from using them recreationally or to self-medicate. This leads to major risks of opioid addiction and the chance of a fatal overdose. Overdoses in the United States continue to be an issue we are all fighting and witnessing on a daily basis. Opioids were involved in 42,249 deaths in 2016, and opioid overdose deaths were five times higher in 2016 than 1999 ("Opioid Overdose" 2017). There should be an unsettling feeling when reading that the opioid overdose deaths have been multiplied by 5 from 1999 to 2016. This is showing that the issue of opioid abuse is trending in the upward direction of getting worse as time goes on. By finding a solution to avoiding opioid dependency and addiction, the issue of fatal overdoses in the United States can also be

Read Parts 1 through 4 of Dirty: A Search for Answers Inside America’s Teenage Drug Epidemic. These sections follow three children - Mike, Tristan, and Zalika - who have descended into drug and alcohol abuse, and adults’ attempts to intervene and help them turn their lives around.

In the hectic pill-popping world we live in today, around 6.5 million people in the U.S. currently abuse prescription medication and out of those 6.5 million, 4.5 of those people abuse pain relievers according to Nova Science Publishers (Greer). Codeine, oxycodone, Adderall, and Xanax just to name a few of the favorites among abusers (Fahey and Miller). These medications can end up on the streets and in the hands of party-goers looking for a “good time”. Dangerous pills such as those listed above can be quite useful by people with authentic medical conditions such as anxiety and ADHD, but also have the power to be abused by teenage party goers that crave a

The existence of a myriad of social problems among teenagers that both parents and states have to deal with is a factor whose weight ought not to be treated lightly. The increasing level of drug use among the adolescents constitutes one of the ever increasing situations in the society and may, as a matter of fact, be a representation other underlying issues. The level of the situation in the contemporary world, though not discussed as much as it ought to be, has reached alarming levels. There seems to be an increasing predisposition among the use to take the drugs as it's reflected in the escalating trends of drug abuse among this generation of individuals (spooner, 1999). The ever deteriorating levels of this situation coupled with the widespread permissiveness in the society and the absence of attention from appropriate caregivers at different institutions only means that the need to address the problem is paramount. Different avenues of solutions can be applied in reducing the level of the problem and averting the massive negative consequences that come with the phenomena. Dealing with this issue is not a matter of instance as the different parameters of the problems, its causes and possible workable solutions have to be discovered. As such, research on these dynamics is a mandatory undertaking.

To put it in perspective, in a list of substances most abused by Americans ages 14 and older, prescription drugs came third with marijuana and alcohol taking the top two (“Prescription Medication Abuse” 4). Opioids specifically are contributing to this problem. The amount of opioids being used has also increased by 400% since 1997 (“Is Substance” 2). With about 2.1 million Americans being addicted to legal narcotics, opioid addictions make up the majority of prescription drug abuse in America (“Prescription Medication Abuse” 2-3). It doesn’t take long for an addiction to these substances to form either. In fact, one-third Americans who took prescription opioids for a minimum of two months became addicted to them (“Prescription Medication Abuse” 7). Although it may seem like a small problem, with about 30,000 Americans dying from opioid overdoses every year and an estimated 78 Americans dying every day, it is anything but (“Prescription Medication Abuse” 3). Not only can these addictions lead to death, it can also lead those suffering from opioid addictions to turn to illegal drugs. Those who become addicted to opioids will often switch to illegal opioids such as heroin or fentanyl (“Safer Alternatives” 1). There are a couple reasons why some may want to switch these drugs rather than the prescribed opioids. One, heroin is cheaper than

The amount of individuals who die annually from accidental overdose is extremely unnerving. One of the biggest issues the world is facing in the 21st century is prescription opioid and illegal drug abuse. Unfortunately, this lethal dilemma is not publicized in the media as much as other things such as celebrity drama, cancer prevention, or the newest fitness craze. The notorious opioid epidemic is in full swing and has effected individuals from all religions, cultures, and genders. Although it may seem like a collective issue, adolescents are in the most danger.

Many teens use drugs in everyday life. Especially teenagers, they have a constant tendency of using illegal substances behind schools,playgrounds and other areas.according to drugabuse.gov up to 46,000 teens mainly 12th, 10th and 8th graders show 13 percent of 8th graders, 30 percent of 10th graders and 40 percent of 12th graders use drugs. But the questions still here,how many teens die a year from drug

two decades and have become the leading cause of injury death in the United States” (Office of

For some people, the use of alcohol and drugs can lead to a chronic disease or long-term illness that has serious medical and social consequences. Are you feeling down, left out, trying to fit in? Addiction begins, so easily and takes over without any warning. It can begin with a bad day, consequences, peer pressure, or a teen trying to find a way to fit in. According to results from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), “an estimated 2.4 million Americans used prescription drugs non-medically for the first time within the past year, which averages to approximately 6,600 initiates per day”. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “In 2014, 47,055 people died from drug overdoses. Since 2000, opioid drug

It has been discovered that most people who struggle with drug addiction began experimenting with drugs in their teens. Teenage drug abuse is one of the largest problems in society today and the problem grows and larger every year. Drugs are a pervasive force in our culture today. To expect kids not to be influenced by the culture of their time is as unrealistic as believing in the tooth fairy (Bauman 140). Teens may feel pressured by their friends to try drugs, they may have easy access to drugs, they may use drugs to rebel against their family or society, or they may take an illegal drug because they are curious about it or the pleasure that it gives them.

Officer Reynolds informed this writer that many of the teens he has came in contact with have informed him thatAccording to a report from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, approximately one in five teenagers have abused a prescription painkiller and one in 11 has abused OTC products (Gara, 2005). Officer Reynolds also spoke about the different parties these teens have with the different drugs they are able to obtain. He stated they have “skittle” and “pharm” parties and who knows what else. This writer asked Officer Reynolds