Why Do Teens Use Opiate-Based Prescription Drugs?

They stimulate parts of the brain, killing off others for short term, artificial highs. For every up there is a down, and for every high, there is irreparable damage to the brain. Adolescents are at an important crossroad in the development of their brains. Their brains are working overtime to develop important reasoning, critical thinkings, and decision making skills for later life. Teenagers who use drugs halt the progress their brain makes on these fronts, and are bound to remain irresponsible and teenager-like well into adulthood. This is the cause of crime in our society. When people use drugs, they can no longer make the decisions necessary to understand the consequences of their actions. This causes people to self-destruct and cause harm to themselves and their personal

In "Identifying Students at Risk for Drug Use" the web site's author lists factors in a teen's life that can make him or her more susceptible to drug use and its immediate problems, such as low academic achievement, poor class attendance, and dropping out of school. Students coming from a family history of alcoholism, criminal, or antisocial behavior, are at a higher risk for drug use than students who do not have family structure and management problems. Students who have long periods of time without adult supervision and those who have bad school attendance also tend to have a lack of motivation to do school work. This means that they have alternate things to do with their time, so they are not performing as well as they could be as students.

This literature review will focus mainly on the drug use of heroin, the scary numbers behind the drug and the sudden rise of overdosing on the drug across the United States. Issues that will be discussed are what is Heroin, what’s in Heroin that makes it addicting, how it can increase the users risk of contracting other life threatening diseases and where it’s use and abuse are most popular across the United states and we will take a look at multiple studies that show examples of our new drug problem in the United States. While we looked at how homicide rates have dropped while in class, the flip side to that is that the amount of drug usage has risen.

Heroin addiction is one of the leading killers of adolescents and adults in the United States. In recent years, addiction has skyrocketed, and “the rate of heroin-related overdose deaths increased by 286 percent between 2002 and 2013.” In 2002, “100 people per 100,000 were addicted to heroin, and that number has doubled by 2013” (The National Institute on Drug Abuse 2013). The most affected populations include low income males, adolescents, and those who have a family history of addiction, due to their increased susceptibility and crime-ridden environment. While it may seem as though heroin addiction is “just another drug problem” in the U.S., it is actually a problem of major public health importance because there are numerous physical, economic, and social risks associated with heroin dependence. Heroin dependence in the United States accounts for brain damage, increased homelessness, crime, and incarceration rates, as well as economic decline.

A Youth Behavior Survey that was completed in 2015 from high schools all around the nation reported that New Mexico was ranked second in the use of cocaine, ecstasy, fifth for methamphetamine and highest for heroin. In the article they included that there is a lack of treatment options for young teens and the availability of these drugs is usually in their own homes. From these statistics, it shows that the society of New Mexico is beginning the use of drugs at a young age. With beginning to take drugs as a teen, it can become a gateway to worse drugs in the future, and just goes to show why there are so many deaths from drug overdose. In the article it states “advocates for addicts point to an abundance of illegal drugs in New Mexico, and a shortage of addiction treatment options.” (Uyttebrouck) For teens to get on a better track, rehab programs and the health department should be educating these teens on the many problems that can come from bad habits of taking drugs so they can have a better society.

Opioids are being over prescribed in the United States resulting in increased deaths by drug overdose. Pain medication strategies are being looked into as substitutes for pain management. Over decades, the amount of medicine being prescribed has more than tripled. State policies regarding the medication were implemented and who'd a small decrease in the likelihood of opioid prescriptions. Nationally, death rates are on the rise. Studies monitoring prescription drugs do not account for illegal opioids and manufactured fentanyl. While not mentioned in this article, there is a possible correlation between young people prescribed opioids and illegal drug use seeing that overdoses are common in patients already abusing their prescription medication, yet overdose death being most common after

Nonmedical Prescription-Opioid abuse in the United States and Michigan has continued to rise, and with it, the devastating results that accompany it. Research has shown that increased opioid abuse leads to an increase in overdose and death, increases in crime and increased incidences of costly blood borne diseases like HIV, AIDS and Hepatitis. It also leads to increased societal costs, such as an increasing number of children in foster care and increased healthcare, workplace and criminal justice costs that can decimate communities and local budgets. Many communities were caught with their heads in the sand, as they were overwhelmed by the influx of prescription opioids into their communities. When policies were finally implemented to curb the amount of prescription opioids in their communities, rates of heroin use (also an opioid) began to skyrocket and people began realizing they had an opioid epidemic on their hands. How to combat this heroin epidemic has been the topic of many debates. This article will attempt to examine the relationship of nonmedical prescription-opioid abuse and its effects on heroin use.

using heroin is terrifying to most, but “popping” a little pill is not too most

Nonmedical Prescription-Opioid abuse in the United States and Michigan has continued to rise, and with it, the devastating results that accompany it. Research has shown that increased opioid abuse leads to an increase in overdose and death, increases in crime and increased incidences of costly blood borne diseases like HIV, AIDS and Hepatitis. It also leads to increased societal costs, such as an increasing number of children in foster care and increased healthcare, workplace and criminal justice costs that can decimate communities and local budgets. Many communities were caught with their heads in the sand, as they were overwhelmed by the influx of prescription opioids into their communities. When policies were finally implemented to curb the amount of prescription opioids in their communities, rates of heroin use (also an opioid) began to skyrocket and people began realizing they had an opioid epidemic on their hands. How to combat this heroin epidemic has been the topic of many debates. This article will attempt to examine the relationship of nonmedical prescription-opioid abuse and its effects on heroin use.

Arielle Duhaime-Ross (2015) concludes, “ [In today’s world] those who are most at-risk for heroin dependence are non-Hispanic whites, people between the ages of 18 and 25, Medicaid recipients, men, people who don 't have health insurance, and people who make less than $20,000 a year” (p.1). Though these are the typical stereotypes for heroin users, heroin addiction can affect any human being no matter their age, wealth, or gender. Straight-A students, millionaires, and people with no history of drug abuse ever before, are all potential candidates for drug addiction. Heroin does not care if your friends miss you being sober, or if your family loses sleep each night wondering where you are. People do not think that one time does anything detrimental, but it can and it will.

In today’s society, there is a growing opioid epidemic. Many teens are abusing every day medicines such as depressants, stimulants and painkillers. Most teens also have an addiction for heroin. In the article, it talks about how over the counter drugs are misused by Americans aged 14 years or older. when it comes to drug abuse the number of casualties have grown exponentially. I learned that in 2012 to 2013 there was an increase of 39% of heroin related deaths. Most first time users are Caucasians. In addition, Heroin users first abuse prescription painkillers such as opioid painkillers. When it comes to teens, they choose cheaper methods of drugs because heroin is a lot cheaper then prescription pills. Heroin by its self is horrible enough,

Heroin is making a comeback in the United States and is highly prevalent in certain areas. The heroin epidemic is sweeping across the Midwest, and claiming the lives of young white males. It is very different from the 1960’s use of heroin, and is now typically used because of its low cost and previous opioid addictions to other prescription drugs. Young white males in many different communities are becoming hooked because of the careless use of pain pills prescribed or taking them from parents’ medicine cabinets. The communities include rural towns, big cities, and suburbs all across the country.

Headlines such as ¨Heroin Addiction Sweeps Small Towns¨ and David Muir Reporting Breaking Point Heroin in America¨ (ABC 20/20 March 2016) are only two of hundreds of such headlines that give credence to this epidemic. This is taking a heartbreaking toll on communities across America. Heroin is a drug that does not discriminate based on sex, age or ethnic backgrounds. A user can be your neighbor, a family member and even someone who has affluence status. The fastest growing segment of society is teenagers and young adults in their early 20ś making up 57% of the total users.

Children and teenagers also face dangers when they use drugs, often beginning to experiment with drugs in grade school. According to a recent USA Today article, children between the ages of 12 and 17 who use marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol are 266 times more likely to use cocaine than those who do not use those three substances. Children who use drugs learn less, are absent from school more often, quit school more frequently,

Heroin use and overdose related deaths have increased considerably in the United States in recent years (Jones, Logan, Gladden, & Bohm, 2015). The results of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health [NSDUH] (2014), showed in the year 2013, approximately 517,000 Americans abused heroin, which was almost a 150 percent increase since 2007 (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2014). According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse [NIDA] (2014), in the year 2011, 4.2 million people who were twelve years of age or older said they used heroin at least once in their lifetime. Furthermore, data from NSDUH showed approximately 460 people, twelve years of age or older, used heroin each day in 2013 (Lipari and Hughes, 2015). An even more frightening statistic is death rates doubled for people who were twelve years of age or older as a result of heroin overdose in the years 2010 through 2012 (Hedegaard, Chen, and Warner, 2015).