An annual survey from the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found that teens are drinking and smoking less but abusing more prescription painkillers, stimulants, and marijuana.
According to the CASA report, smoking and drinking have been on a steady decline since 1997. For example, the percentage of 12th graders drinking decreased from 19% to 11%; among 10th graders, the decline was 43% to 29%.
However, more teenagers are using prescription drugs, especially painkillers OxyContin and Vicodin, and stimulants Ritalin and Adderall. The number of prescriptions written for these drugs has doubled in the past 10 years.
The annual survey, called "Monitoring the Future," was conducted by the University of Michigan, using data on 46,000 students in grades eight to 12.
Labels: abuse, drug_use, prescription_drugs
Posted By: Contributor
