Teens and substance abuse: What is happening to our kids?

It is estimated that 129 people are dying each day as a result of a drug overdose.

More and more in our own community, in school and church circles, on sports fields and playgrounds, on social media pages and in grocery store aisles - we are hearing about the high cost of addiction. And it seems as though kids are increasingly at risk.

According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (NCASA), some 40 million Americans ages 12 and older have substance problems. In fact, NCASA considers adolescent substance abuse America’s number one public health problem, with some 75 percent of high school students reporting they have used addictive substances. Another 45 percent say they are current users.

They are indeed sobering statistics, particularly in a world where the rate of opioid drug abuse among young adults is not just climbing - but soaring. The Centers for Disease Control states that overall opioid deaths have quadrupled since 1999, as have the number of sales of prescription opioid drugs. In 2014 alone, more than 28,000 people nationwide lost their lives after using opioid medications (such as Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, and morphine), Fentanyl, or heroin. In Berkeley County specifically, there have been 16 accidental overdoses so far this year, as well as two suicide overdoses, according to Coroner Bill Salisbury. The problem hit close to home last July, when the death of a young man on Daniel Island was deemed “drug-related,” reported Lt. James Byrne of Daniel Island-based Team 5.

Research also tells us that many adult addicts started their habits during their younger years. Recent data from the website www.drugfree.org reports that 90 percent of those with substance abuse problems began smoking, drinking or using drugs before age 18.

In this issue of The Daniel Island News, we kick off a series on substance abuse – detailing not only the personal stories of two former Daniel Island families who have faced the horrors of addiction, but also providing important information about what law enforcement officers are seeing on the streets, what parents should know, and how those struggling can get the help they so desperately need.

Addiction by the numbers

40 - Total in millions of the number of Americans age 12 and up who have substance problems (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse).

86 - Percentage of American high school students who report that some classmates are drugging, drinking and smoking during the school day (2012 Teen Survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse).

52 - Percentage of high school students that say there is a place on school grounds or near school where students go to drink, use drugs or smoke during the school day (2012 Teen Survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse).

129 - Number of drug overdose deaths per day in America (Centers for Disease Control).

78 - Number of drug overdose deaths per day that are the result of opioids (Centers for Disease Control).

109 - Percentage increase in heroin use rate among young adults (18-25) between 2002 and 2013 (Centers for Disease Control).

286 - Percentage increase in heroin-related overdose deaths between 2002 and 2013 (Centers for Disease Control).

45 - Percentage of persons who used heroin who were also addicted to prescription opioid painkillers (Centers for Disease Control).

 

What are opioids?

The National Institute on Drug Abuse defines opioids quite simply as “medications that relieve pain.” Common opioids prescribed by physicians include hydrocodone (Vicadin), oxycodone (OxyContin, Percaset), morphine (Kadian, Avinza), and codeine. According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are four basic categories of opioids:

*Natural opioid analgesics (those listed above) – prescribed for moderate to severe pain.

*Methadone - a synthetic opioid

*Synthetic opioid analgesics other than methodone, including drugs such as fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and can be used to lace heroin.

*Heroin – an illicit (illegally made) opioid synthesized from morphine that can come in the form of a white or brown powder, or a black sticky substance. Can also be pressed into pill form.

 

Coming next week in The Daniel Island News

• Law enforcement officers shoot straight about local drug scene

• Drug abuse: Signs & Symptoms

• Q & A with Dr. Viktoriya Magid, Director of Adolescent Services, MUSC Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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