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DRUG ABUSE: PREVENTIVE EFFORTS MUST TARGET YOUTH

The rampant problem of prescription drug abuse is showing no signs of slowing down in the region.  According to the "2009 Monitoring the Future" survey recently released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the University of Michigan, the problem is now being further agitated by a growing number of youth who may be experimenting with prescription narcotics. 

The study found slight decreases were reported in the use of cocaine and methamphetamine use among youth -- which is a certainly a positive.  However, the report also found that marijuana use among adolescents increased gradually over the past two years after years of declining use; and past year rates of Vicodin and OxyContin abuse increased during the last five years among 10th graders and remained unchanged among 8th and 12th graders. 

That's a troubling and alarming statement. 

To think that teens who are still in high school are experimenting with dangerous prescription narcotics such as OxyContin and Vicodin must be seen as a call to action for our community. 

The report also found that several drugs showed signs of increasing with attitudes softening for drugs such as marijuana, ecstasy, inhalants and LSD, according to a press release issued by the Creating Opportunities for Youth Coalition. 

For example, the report found that the percentage of eighth graders who view occasional marijuana use as potentially harmful dropped to 44 percent as compared to 48 percent last year.  In addition, the perception of "great risk" associated with marijuana use declined among 8th and 10th graders. 

Greg Puckett, executive director of Community Connections and a member of the COFY coalition, said the 2009 Monitoring the Future survey should be viewed as a "wake-up call" to the entire community. 

"It shows that our teens still don't understand the dangers of abusing prescription drugs, such as Vicodin and OxyContin; and they don't realize the harm that marijuana use can cause," Pucket said.  "Beliefs and attitudes about these drugs are going in the wrong direction.  The decreases of perception of harm around marijuana and inhalants are especially concerning, as that often leads to an increase in use.  "

According to Puckett, the COFY coalition is working to address the drug abuse problem in Mercer County through the implementation of new strategies aimed at changing attitudes and availability.  As a result, the coalition is calling upon local, state and federal officials to increase their investments in substance abuse prevention efforts. 

"More young people need to get the message that these drugs are harmful if we are to reverse these trends, but our coalition can't do it alone," Puckett said.  "We need the help of everyone in the community."

We agree.  It will take a community working together to stem this troubling trend of prescription drug abuse -- particularly among our youth. 

If we are to win this war against prescription drug abuse, we must reach our younger generations.  We must change their attitudes, and beliefs.  We must implement prevention strategies aimed at keeping our youth away from prescription narcotics.  And we must communicate to our youth in no uncertain terms that drugs -- and prescription narcotics -- are harmful and should never be abused.