Image by Mantas Ruzveltas
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) released a report in December 2010 announcing significant increases among teens in the use of marijuana, Ecstasy, and the non-medical use of prescription drugs. – try to make this first line a little more casual in tone, less formal.
With illicit drug use inching up instead of down, it disturbed me that the largest increase in the use of marijuana is among thirteen-year-olds. Not an ideal way to begin adolescence.
According to the NIDA report marijuana use among 8th grade students rose from 14.5% in 2009 to 16% in 2010. Increases of marijuana use were found in all grades surveyed – 8th, 10th, and 12th grades. In 2010, 21.4% of 12th grade students reported recent use of marijuana while 19.2% confessed to cigarette use. Marijuana use surpassing cigarette smoking? Not the best way to finish a high school career.
In the report Gil Kerlikowske, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said these increases are “disappointing.” Disappointing? Certainly. But as a parent, I think… [rephrase] it goes way beyond disappointing. If you’re like me, the only reason you read statistics like these are so that you, or your kids, do not become a part of them.
So, why not let these findings spur you backwards . . . back to the basics that is:
- Educate yourself about teen and pre-teen drug use
- Know the signs of drug abuse
- Keep the talk-lines open between yourself and your teen
When it comes right down to it, the only real chance our teens have of not becoming a general statistic in a national report is through personal involvement in their homes.
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