For Parents & Educators

• Responsible for 4,300+ adolescent deaths annually across the country
• If a young person has their first drink by age 12 or younger they are four times more likely to become an alcoholic in adulthood
• 33% of high school students surveyed reported past 30 day use of alcohol

Signs of Use

• Slurred speech
• Poor coordination
• Alcohol missing from house
• Discovering watered-down bottles of alcohol

Tips & Resources

• CDC Alcohol Fact Sheet
• Restrict access by locking your alcohol cabinet
• How to address alcohol with your teen

Current Trend: Young people are smoking alcohol

The following excerpts are from a recent report published by NIDA in July of 2019:

• Marijuana significantly impairs judgment, motor coordination, and reaction time, and studies have found a direct relationship between blood THC concentration and impaired driving ability.

• The risk of being involved in a motor-vehicle crash significantly increases after marijuana abuse.

• 30% of those who use marijuana may have some degree of marijuana use disorder.

• People who begin using marijuana before the age of 18 are four to seven times more likely to develop a marijuana use disorder.

• Marijuana exposure during development can cause long-term or possibly permanent adverse changes in the brain.

• Considerable evidence suggests that students who smoke marijuana have poorer educational outcomes than their nonsmoking peers.

• Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome, marked by recurrent bouts of nausea, vomiting and dehydration can result from chronic marijuana use. This syndrome may resolve when a person stops using marijuana.

• Opioid overdose mortality rates between 1999 and 2010 in states allowing medical marijuana use were 21% lower than expected. When the analysis was extended through 2017, however, they found that the trend reversed, such that states with medical
cannabis laws experienced an overdose death rate 22.7% higher than expected. More research is needed on this topic.

SOURCE: National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2019). Marijuana. Retrieved from:

https://www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/marijuana

Signs of Use

• Paranoia
• Strong skunky odor
• Blood shot eyes
• Loss of focus
• Increased appetite
• Forgetfulness
• Lack of motivation
• Increased appetite
• Sleepy/Drowsiness
• Hallucinations
• Uncontrollable Emotion
•  Dry Mouth

Tips & Resources

1. Facts about Marijuana
2. Communication – youths whose parents communicate with them are 50% less likely to ever use drugs.
3. How to address marijuana with your teen

Legalization of Recreational Use of Marijuana: What have we learned from Colorado? 

Check out these alarming stats from Colorado since recreational marijuana was legalized in Colorado in 2013:
• Past month marijuana use for ages 12 and older increased 58 percent and is 78 percent higher than the national average, currently ranked 4th in the nation.

• Adult marijuana use increased 94 percent and is 96 percent higher than the national average, currently ranked 4th in the nation.

• College age marijuana use increased 18 percent and is 48 percent higher than the national average, currently ranked 6th in the nation.

• Youth marijuana use decreased 14 percent and is 40 percent higher than the national average, currently ranked 6th in the nation.

Read the report for yourself. Click the link below:

https://rmhidta.org/reports

• Includes add medications, sedatives (valium, Xanax) and opioid pain killers
• Many teens get prescription drugs they misuse from friends and relatives
• Almost 1 in every 4 teens in America say they have misused or abused a prescription drug

Signs of Use

• Change appearance, sleep habits and moods
• Missing medications
• Constricted pupils (sign of opiate use)

Tips & Resources

• Misuse of prescription drugs
• Lock up abusable medications
• How to properly dispose of old medications
• How to address prescription drug use with your teen

Current Trend

• Youth are beginning their use with prescription pain pill and then switching over to heroin

• A class of drugs that include: heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and pain relievers such as oxycodone (OxyContin®), and hydrocodone (Vicodin®)
• Regular use—even as prescribed by a doctor—can lead to overdose incidents and deaths

Signs of Use

• ‘Noticeable changes in appearance, sleep habits and moods
• Loss of appetite/weight loss
• Constricted pupils
• Missing medication, money or valuables from your home

Tips & Resources

• If administered shortly after someone overdoses, narcan can reverse the process.
• Learn more about Narcan
• More information on the opioid epidemic
• NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse Facts about Opioid

Current Trend

• Heroin and other street drugs are being laced with fentanyl, one of the main causes of overdoes deaths that have been taking place across the country

• Known as a “club drug” because of its popularity in the nightclub scene and music festivals or concerts
• You can die from MDMA use. It severely hinders your body’s ability to control temperature, especially when it is used in active, hot settings (like dance parties or concerts)
• Research suggests that MDMA may have adverse effects on the developing fetus during pregnancy

Signs of Use

• Frequent and inexplicable exhaustion
• Preoccupation with nightclub life
• Heightened depression and anxiety
• Sleep disorder

Tips & Resources

• Educate your child and voice strong concern if they are going to attend a concert
• More information on MDMA/Molly

Current Trend

• Smoking Dabs (Contains up to 100% THC level). Many youth are accessing these at drugs at concerts.

• Battery-operated devices used to inhale an aerosol, which typically contains nicotine along with flavorings and other chemicals.
• A new study yielded strong evidence that vaping increases a teens chance of switching to regular cigarettes by 50%.

Signs of Use

• Fruity/candy scented odors
• Finding unfamiliar handheld gadgets that resemble a pen
• Finding metallic wires and cotton wicks

Tips & Resources

• Set a positive example by being tobacco free
• A parent’s guide to address vaping with your teen
• Facts about vaping/e-cigarettes

Current Trend

• Some parents are allowing their teens to vape nicotine free vape juices thinking that it’s harmless, not realizing that this greatly increases their changes of eventually using nicotine based tobacco products.