Monitoring the Future (or MTF as it is often called) is a survey that is conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. The survey monitors drug, alcohol and cigarette use among adolescents across the nation. The survey includes 12th, 10th and 8th graders and is funded by the NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse).
While there are some positive findings with regards to cigarette smoking among young people, the use of marijuana does not seem to be decreasing any further. Numbers show that almost 12 percent of 8th graders, 27 percent of 10th graders and 33 percent of 12th graders have used marijuana in the past year. At an overall level it is estimated that past year use of any illicit drug among 12th graders is as high as 37 percent.
[caption id="attachment_412" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="33% of high school seniors have used marijuana in the past year."]
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Even though drug abuse of marijuana is the most common, almost 10 percent of the 12th graders use inhalants. Drug abuse for hallucinogens is around 7.4 percent and drug use of nonprescription cough medicine is around 6 percent.
Another report from the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), called the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), estimates that about 20 percent of college students have prescription drugs that were actually not prescribed by any doctor. Abuse of the following prescription drugs is common: OxyContin, Vicodin, Dilaudid, Adderall and Ritalin. CNS depressants like Xanax, Klonopin and Valium are also abused.
Prescription
buy accutane online drug abuse was found to be most common among white students, says the YRBS survey. Prescription drug use among Hispanics was around 17 percent and 12 percent among black students.
Many college and school students assume that prescription drugs are not as harmful as street drugs since they are also drugs that are prescribed. What they do not understand is that improper abuse of prescription medicines can lead to adverse side effects.
To avoid abuse of prescription drugs, parents should keep their medicines out of reach of children and teenagers. It is common to have pain relievers like OxyContin and Vicodin at home. And these are the medicines that are most commonly abused and distributed among teens and their friends.
Vicodin and OxyContin are members of the opioid class of drugs. Opioids are prone to abuse. Taking them without a prescription can result in drowsiness and constipation. It can also cause result in depressed breathing and can ultimately be fatal too.
Make sure that you have a chat with your teens about prescription drug abuse in particular. Do not just talk about drug use in general because you need to dispel the myth that prescription drugs are less harmful. Keeping an eye on the kind of company your children keep can also help you understand whether they are falling prey to drug abuse.
Explain to your teen the various ways in which a
home drug test can be used to ascertain the specific drug that has been consumed. Knowing about the drug test you have at home is a great excuse that your teen can use if they are being pestered by a peer group to try drugs.
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Article by Anne Hamilton