11 Shocking Facts About Teens and Drug Use
- Alcohol kills 6.5 times more youth than all other illicit drugs combined.
- Traffic crashes are the greatest single cause of death for all persons age 6–33. About 45% of these fatalities are alcohol-related crashes.
- More than 60% of teens said that drugs were sold, used, or kept at their school.
- Crystal meth has become the most dangerous drug problem of small town America. Kids between 12 and 14 that live in smaller towns are 104% more likely to use meth than those who live in larger cities.
- Youth who drink alcohol are 50 times more likely to use cocaine than young people who never drink alcohol.
- About 64% of teens (12-17) who have abused pain relievers say they got them from friends or relatives, often without their knowledge.
- While rates of illicit drug use are declining, the rate of prescription drug use remains high. 15.4% of HS seniors reported non-medical use of at least one prescription medication within the past year.
- In 2008, 1.9 million youth age 12 to 17 abused prescription drugs.
- Around 28% of teens know a friend or classmate who has used ecstasy, with 17% knowing more than one user.
- By the 8th grade, 52% of adolescents have consumed alcohol, 41% have smoked cigarettes, and 20% have used marijuana.
- Teenagers whose parents talk to them regularly about the dangers of drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs than those whose parents don't, yet only a quarter of teens report having these conversations.
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base Prescription for Danger
