Drug Use Statistics - The School

Here are some statistics on drug usage in schools by students.  We really need to help get drugs out of schools to help these kids.

All information was found on:

http://drugrecognition.com/Use%20Statistics.htm 

School Student Drug Use Statistics

• Prescription drug abuse is up 6.3% among 18-25 year olds. The most frequently abused prescription drug is the narcotic Vicodin and its cousin Lortab.  This abuse often progresses to OxyContin and heroin abuse.  For the first time, there are now more first-time adolescent prescription drug abusers than first-time marijuana users!
• Adolescent prescription drugs are coming from parents.  A 2009 study by Columbia University found that most adolescents obtain intoxicating prescription drugs from their parents medicine cabinet. Ten percent of teens surveyed said they know a parent who smokes marijuana with teens.
• The fastest growing drug of abuse in American high schools is heroin. Many wealthy communities across the country are reporting high school overdose deaths from heroin, a shocking new trend in teenage drug use.
• 40% of high school seniors reported they had smoked marijuana during the past 12 months. Marijuana is considered one of the "gateway drugs" introducing young people to the pleasant sensation of drug intoxication. Experts agree that stopping the gateway drugs is a better strategy than attempting rehab for teens addicted to crack cocaine or heroin.
• Nation-wide, 25% of high school seniors have used stimulant drugs like "speed." In some areas of the country, primarily the southwest and rural Midwest, amphetamine use has sky rocketed to epidemic proportions—more than double the national average.
• Use of new "Designer Drugs" is dramatically higher. Called "Super - G" or "Liquid - G" or "Liquid Ecstasy" on the street, G.H.B., (Gama Hydroxi-Butyric Acid), has become a popular teen dance club party drug because it produces a alcohol like drug effect with no odor of alcohol. The old 1970 drug, MDA/MDMA is making a strong comeback among teens at dance clubs. Called "Ecstasy" or "Adam," it produces a euphoric cocaine-like high without the "speedy" side effects of cocaine. Teens love the drug because it allows they to dance for hours without feeling fatigued.
• Rural Teens are 83% more likely to use crack cocaine, 34% more likely to smoke marijuana, and twice as likely to use amphetamines than teens in large cities.  Rural areas often have fewer prevention, enforcement, and rehabilitation resources than urban areas.