Fifteen percent (15%) of high school freshmen in the U.S. say they have taken OxyContin, Vicodin, Adderall, Ritalin or Xanax without a doctor’s prescription. This according to the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
By the time they are seniors, that number has grown to 26%, or more than one in four.
Note that the survey did not ask about other opiate/opioid drugs like heroin or Dilaudid, other stimulants like cocaine, or other benzodiazepines like Valium or Klonopin. And don’t forget alcohol.
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Thank you for sharing this, it is something parents of teens NEED to be aware of. I wasn’t, until it was too late. I won’t go into the (in hind-sight) embarrassing things I did in my denial back then (2 years ago). Not that there is a way parents can stop it per se, but I feel knowledge – awareness (is that the opposite of denial or being blind to it?) is the first step in making positive changes with hopefully good results.
There are other drugs out there during the high school years than pot and mushrooms.
Thanks!
God bless.