As I started to research the topic of what the most commonly used drug
was amongst 12-17 year olds I was kind of caught off guard by the results I
found. There was no doubt in my mind when I started researching this subject
that I would find marijuana to be most prevalent amongst this age group.
However the findings that shocked me the most was that right behind marijuana
was prescription drugs.
Studies done by SAMSHA show that
12-17 year olds are the second highest abusers of prescription drugs behind
18-25 year olds. This same study by SAMSHA, told us that the gap between use of
marijuana and use of prescription drugs by 12-17 year olds is quickly
shrinking. Between 2003 and 2005 the gap decreased by 5.9 %. In 2005 there
showed to be 2.1 million teens’ abusing prescription drugs. Not to be sexist
but the most surprising bit of information that I found was that out of that
12-17 year old age group the girls were the once abusing these prescription drugs
more by almost a whole 1%! This is
clearly becoming an issue amongst the youth of America. Then to top it off in
2006 it was reported for the first time, there are just as many new abusers (12
and older) of prescription drugs as there are for marijuana. Obviously the
issue before of money and availability of these drugs for younger age groups is
no longer a set back to them. These children are getting ahold of these illegal
drugs with ease and is on the verge of becoming an epidemic amongst our youth,
if not already.
Gilliland A.H.
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