Here we are. The beginning of a new school year. It is time to warn your kids of the dangers of drugs.
Last spring, two beautiful young women died of fentanyl intoxication. That same week, the Ohio State campus and the Columbus Public Health officials warned about Adderall pills laced with fentanyl. 1. On the news, a devastated father reported he had never heard of these drugs.
He’s not alone. It is well known that most young people know more about drugs than their parents, teachers, or other adults. If parents know about marijuana or other drugs, they might assume the drugs are the same that they perhaps experimented with when they were kids. In the case of vaping, many parents take the word of their children that it is harmless.
Some of the latest statistics have good news that the number of young people using nonprescribed drugs is falling.
•1 in 5 teens have abused prescription drugs, 21% of high school seniors use marijuana, 1 in 5 teens have abused prescription drugs, and 21% of high school seniors use marijuana.
But.
New drugs have come out and are causing deaths.
•Sept 2021–Counterfeit pills with fentanyl seized by the administration have increased by 430% since 2019.
•CDC–fentanyl deaths have tripled over the last two years.
•The average age of accidental overdosing is 17.6.
•Males 71% to females 28%
Most teens do not think fentanyl is dangerous. Social media claim they do not support the sites that make it easy for teens to buy counterfeit pills. The New York Times reported on May 19, 2022, that fentanyl-tainted pills bought on social media caused youth deaths to soar. “Overdoses are now the leading cause of preventable death among people ages 18 to 45, ahead of suicide, traffic accidents, and gun violence, according to federal data.” 2
Parents need to educate themselves to know more about the dangers that are threatening their teens and college-aged students. They need to have conversations to warn them away from the mistakes that could cost them their lives.
- https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/ohio-state-students-overdose-cause-of-death/530-d526fae7-859e-4fe7-a529-4f7760b60554#:~:text=COLUMBUS%2C%20Ohio%20%E2%80%94%20The%20Montgomery%20County,old%20Jessica%20Lopez%20as%20accidental.
- https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/19/health/pills-fentanyl-social-media.html