EDITORIAL: High Rise
By The Daily Oklahoman
Jan. 6–HERE’S some news that should be assuring for parents: Kids aren’t abusing alcohol and narcotics quite as much as they once did.
The other shoe? Prescription drug use among youngsters is on the rise, and in Oklahoma the use of inhalants is more popular than ever.
A recent report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse showed that while teenagers’ use of illegal drugs has dropped 23 percent during the past five years, and alcohol use has fallen as well, the use of prescription medications has increased. From cough syrup to painkillers and anti-depressants, kids here and around the country are finding new ways to get high.
In Oklahoma, sad to say, studies show that while the use of drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and ecstacy by young people has declined, the average percentage of kids in grades eight, 10 and 12 who say they’ve tried those substances is above the national average.
“Even though we have come down on some numbers, we really have a lot of work to do,” Leslie Clinkenbeard with the state Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, told the Tulsa World.
Such as in the area of binge drinking. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the percentage of Oklahoma teens who reported binge drinking — downing five or more drinks of alcohol in a few hours’ time — in 2005 was lower than two years earlier, but still slightly above the national average.
Inhalants are a problem as well. A 2006 survey of Oklahoma sixth-, eighth-, 10th- and 12-graders revealed an increase in the number of kids who are “huffing” — that is, sniffing such items as glue or spray paint to get high.
They’re the kinds of statistics that should leave parents keeping a closer eye on their kids and asking them plenty of questions — not to mention scared silly.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Daily Oklahoman
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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