Marijuana and Meth Use by Teens Declining
We have always received bad news from studies that it has become hard to see the silver lining. But for a change, the Associated Press reports that a study is now saying that parents and anti-drug advocates may be getting through to America’s youth.
The study is set to be released today and was sponsored by The Partnership for a Drug-Free America. President and Chief Executive Steve Pasierb says further that one factor for the decline may be due to the proactive effort of parents to reach out to their kids, and their children’s positive response to their efforts. Kids nowadays, it seems, are more willing to listen and heed their elder’s advice, especially the girls.
A five-percent increase was noticed in the number of teens who indicated that they were “learning a lot” from their parents. The annual survey logged the percentage of these teens at 37%; last year’s figure was 32%. While it may not appear to be much, this is actually the highest it has been in 15 years. Over the past 20 years, the noticeable trend is that teenagers who say that they learn about the consequences of substance abuse at home are half as likely to use drugs versus kids who don’t get advice at home.
And if that figure is increasing, there are figures that are declining, but in a positive way — the percentage of marijuana and meth use.
The most widely abused substance among teens is marijuana, and this year, the number of teenagers who admit to having used the drug at least once in their lifetime went down to 33% last year from 37% in 2005. The percentage of methamphetamine use decreased to 6% from 8%. Figures for teen use of pot in the past month saw a decrease of 30% since 1998.
According to the study, parents usually discuss marijuana and meth the most at home, followed by cocaine, crack and heroin. The least discussed substances that are abused are prescription drugs like Vicodin. The rate of teen abuse for prescription drug has not decreased since 2005.
Tags: marijuana, meth, pot, prescription drugs, teen drug use, teenage drug abuse
