Teen drug abuse rising: Why?

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(CBS) Just say...yes?

Teenage drug abuse is trending upward, according to the Partnership at Drugfree.org. It announced results of a new study showing sharp increases in the use of marijuana and Ecstasy after years of declining use.

In addition, teens' attitudes about underage drinking have gotten more relaxed.

The study showed that most teen drinkers reported having had their first drink by age 15, and that means a real drink rather than simply sipping or tasting alcohol. One in four said they had a real drink by age 12.

Forty-five percent of teens said they didn't think even daily heavy drinking was a "great risk," and only 31 percent said they strongly disapprove of teen drunkenness.

The study also showed no decline in the percentage of teens abusing prescription or over-the-counter drugs. Rates of cocaine/crack abuse were stable too, and teen use of heroin remains low as well, with 4 percent of teens saying they had used the drug.

What do experts make of what some term a disturbing trend?

"We are troubled, but not completely surprised, by these numbers because, in schools and communities across the country, support for drug education and prevention programs has been cut drastically due to budgetary pressures," Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the partnership said in a written statement.

The organization was formerly known as Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

If formal programs are unable to rein in substance-abusing youngsters, that means things are up to mom and dad.

"These findings should serve as a call to action for parents," Dennis White, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation, co-sponsor of the study, said in the statement. "We encourage parents and caregivers to pay attention to the warning signs of teen drinking and other drug use, in order to intervene early and effectively."

Warning signs include red, glazed eyes, fatigue, repeated health complaints, sudden mood changes, depression or low self-esteem, and problems with friends or school, including truancy, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Parents who suspect a problem should not wait, experts say. Instead, get help at once.

[tij12345]

Teens are abusing everything - pot, ecstacy, alcohol, tobacco and cough medicine. In California, probably over 95% of teen pot comes from MEDICAL MARIJUANA provided by an 18 year old alumni with a medical marijuana card. Tobacco is obtained from 18 year old alumni who can buy tobacco. Alcohol are provided by 21 year old contacts. And cough medicine can be bought by anyone in the store or at least 18 years of age with ID. Why are teens abusing everything? It is all over society in music, TV, movies, celebrities, society accepting pot as medicine, medical marijuana laws, etc. Workers like cable guys, construction people, etc. smell of marijuana. Old wasted women smell of marijuana. Children walk down the streets and young adults offer them FREE medical marijuana as a social thing. Basically, society is out of control. Parents who don't use this have ALL THEIR teens using pot with friends. It does not matter if the teen comes from a good family, religious background or not, POT spares no one today. Each of your teen will use it at least once if you expose your teen to society or at least in CA. The magazine ads here from FREE magazines are teeming with medical marijuana ads- page after page of full-color advertisements.

Money-hungry people are rushing for the gold to open medical marijuana dispensaries. Forget conscience and turn everyone into pot dependent people. Then those money hungry people who have dispensaries probably have clinic businesses to treat/rehabilitate pot dependent people. Either way, they make money. It is big business to make people pot dependent. The younger they start, the better. This is crazy.

[myteensavers]

Myteensavers applauds CBS for highlighting this information. This is not new to people in the addiction and treatment fields. We are aware that there is a spike and more teens are using drugs to cope with stress or just as a recreation. Our counselors believe that home drug tests are a key weapon along with parental involvement, and communication. Home drug testing can ensure that your teen is clean. Myteensavers recommends a test in every family's medicine cabinet.

[Hadenoughuc]

I recommend they smoke pot as often as necessary to relax .To deal with everyday stress.and the sooner they legalize it the better.SMOKE POT AND BE HAPPY.

[tij12345]

Invest your money in drug testing companies because they will surely make a LOT of money with the home drug testing kits. There is money to be made from the stupidity of American society. Get this, the politicians do not even know this but most of your US teens are addicted to Internet porn even if there are top-notch Internet filters. These teens are savvy enough to access porn on the Internet even if porn is supposedly blocked. Teens- drugs, alcohol, tobacco, cough medicine, prescription medicine (oxycontin, etc.) and porn. They have it all today. Oh gosh, all the stress that teens have to go through today.

Mom and Dad (who are non-drug users) have already spent hundreds and thousands of dollars in parenting classes, counseling, drug prevention techniques, school involvement, pediatrician visits, drug testing, church help, other meaningful after school activities, law enforcement involvement and let me get this to you straight: NOTHING WORKS. If your child sees constant bombardment of society accepting pot as medicine and their peers doing it without consequences, it becomes so hopeless for parents and they can't do this alone.

[tsigili]

TV advertising, of course.

[Hadenoughuc]

look at the stress and you'll see why .Overpriced taxes and house tax bills .Bills period what really do these kids have to look forward too? no one can keep up with the bills and taxes now .so really how can they be relaxed ??????

[ky7474]

The corruption that surrounds this topic is sickening. This article is your typical scare technique, so the gov can justify their actions when they crack down on their own citizens.

[AEstates]

Why?

1) Human nature.

2) The dumbing down of America's youth resulting from mandated education policies that emphasize memorization for testing purposes rather than use of the mind for thinking.

3) The "being bad is cool" concept promoted by rap music and other media.

4) The ridiculous "war on drugs" that does more to entice youth to try drugs than anything else.

5) The so-called "experts" whose only true expertise is sucking money from the taxpayers to fund their programs.

6) Hypocritical parental attitude of do what I say and ignore what I do.

7) The reality that there is a difference between abuse and use.

C'mon people. Is this so-called increase in use even newsworthy?

[legalizemj]

How can teen marijuana use be INCREASING when we've got a total ban on the production and sale of marijuana? Are you saying that the prohibition doesn't work?

The marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers $40 billion a year, causes 800,000 arrests every year, empowers the Mexican drug cartels and lures drug dealers into our neighborhoods to sell their stinking weed to our children. If the prohibition's not working then we've got to END IT!!

Just like with alcohol, we need marijuana to be legally sold to adults in supermarkets, gas stations and pharmacies in order to undercut the local drug dealer's prices and drive them out of our communities and away from our children. We've got to support legalizing adult marijuana sales everywhere that alcohol and tobacco are sold.