Warning, your child could be at risk

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Drug Impairment Training Throughout history various drugs have gained and lost popularity, but have never really gone away. Heroin for example, was popular in the 60’s and 70’s. Heroin fell out of vogue for different reasons, one of which was the stigma associated with the abusers “track marks,” which easily identified them as heroin addicts. In the mid 90’s we have seen a resurgence of heroin’s popularity among the “rich and famous.” The “new” heroin is purer, allowing the user to snort it, thus no track marks. This popularity among abusers in the rock and roll culture and Hollywood acting circles causes great alarm for educators since young people often identify with these individuals as role models. National Statistics Estimates of the number of American drug users vary widely and are difficult to pinpoint with any accuracy. It is known that one drug, alcohol, is occasionally used by at least a majority of adults in this country. Despite the fact that almost all of the alcohol consumed in this country is legally manufactured (and taxed) under fairly close governmental scrutiny, experts disagree as to how many people abuse alcohol, how much they consume, how frequently, etc. Knowledge of consumption patterns of other drugs is even less exact, since these drugs often are produced and sold illegally. Nevertheless, virtually all experts agree that millions of Americans use drugs other than alcohol. The 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reported by the Substance Abuse of Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) obtained survey information on six different categories of drugs; marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants and non-medical use of prescription drugs. The results confirmed that a large percentage of the American population use drugs other than alcohol. In 2002, an estimated 19.5 million Americans aged 12 years or older were current illicit drug users and admitted using an illicit drug during the month prior to the survey. This represents about 8.3 percent of the population aged 12 years old or older. Marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug with 14.6 million current users (6.2 percent of the population). About one-third of these marijuana users (4.8 million persons) used the drug on 20 or more days in the past month. The survey also reported that there were an estimated 2.6 million new marijuana users in 2001. The NSDUH survey also reported that an estimated 2 million persons were current Cocaine users, 567,000 of whom used “Crack” during the same time period. Hallucinogens were used by 1.2 million persons, including 676,000 users of Ecstasy. There were an estimated 166,000 current users of Heroin and an estimated 6.2 million persons were current users of prescription drugs non-medically. Of those persons who abused prescription drugs, an estimated 4.7 million abused pain relievers, 1.8 million abused tranquilizers, 1.2 million abused stimulants and 0.3 million abused sedative medications. In 2002, approximately 1.9 million persons aged 12 years or older had used OxyContin non-medically at least once in their lifetime. Drug Trends On the internet the recipes for manufacturing and use are readily available. Sites such as erowid.org provide users with the most up to date information on how to take drugs safely and avoid overdose. There are groups that are currently working to the legalization of illicit drugs. While other groups such as “DanceSafe” attend events and provide illicit drug testing. YOU SUSPECT A CHILD IS USING DRUGS. WHAT DO YOU DO? You should look for changes in behavior, personal hygiene, physical changes such as weight loss, and a change in friends/associates. Time permitting, discuss your observations with others having contact with the individual. Be discreet in your inquiries. Avoid causing unnecessary embarrassment. Back to top