DRUG ABUSE: PREVENTIVE EFFORTS MUST TARGET YOUTH

The rampant problem of prescription drug abuse is showing no signs of
slowing down in the region. According to the "2009 Monitoring the
Future" survey recently released by the National Institute on Drug
Abuse and the University of Michigan, the problem is now being
further agitated by a growing number of youth who may be
experimenting with prescription narcotics.

The study found slight decreases were reported in the use of cocaine
and methamphetamine use among youth -- which is a certainly a
positive. However, the report also found that marijuana use among
adolescents increased gradually over the past two years after years
of declining use; and past year rates of Vicodin and OxyContin abuse
increased during the last five years among 10th graders and remained
unchanged among 8th and 12th graders.

That's a troubling and alarming statement.

To think that teens who are still in high school are experimenting
with dangerous prescription narcotics such as OxyContin and Vicodin
must be seen as a call to action for our community.

The report also found that several drugs showed signs of increasing
with attitudes softening for drugs such as marijuana, ecstasy,
inhalants and LSD, according to a press release issued by the
Creating Opportunities for Youth Coalition.

For example, the report found that the percentage of eighth graders
who view occasional marijuana use as potentially harmful dropped to
44 percent as compared to 48 percent last year. In addition, the
perception of "great risk" associated with marijuana use declined
among 8th and 10th graders.

Greg Puckett, executive director of Community Connections and a
member of the COFY coalition, said the 2009 Monitoring the Future
survey should be viewed as a "wake-up call" to the entire community.

"It shows that our teens still don't understand the dangers of
abusing prescription drugs, such as Vicodin and OxyContin; and they
don't realize the harm that marijuana use can cause," Pucket said.
"Beliefs and attitudes about these drugs are going in the wrong
direction. The decreases of perception of harm around marijuana and
inhalants are especially concerning, as that often leads to an
increase in use. "

According to Puckett, the COFY coalition is working to address the
drug abuse problem in Mercer County through the implementation of new
strategies aimed at changing attitudes and availability. As a result,
the coalition is calling upon local, state and federal officials to
increase their investments in substance abuse prevention efforts.

"More young people need to get the message that these drugs are
harmful if we are to reverse these trends, but our coalition can't do
it alone," Puckett said. "We need the help of everyone in the community."

We agree. It will take a community working together to stem this
troubling trend of prescription drug abuse -- particularly among our youth.

If we are to win this war against prescription drug abuse, we must
reach our younger generations. We must change their attitudes, and
beliefs. We must implement prevention strategies aimed at keeping our
youth away from prescription narcotics. And we must communicate to
our youth in no uncertain terms that drugs -- and prescription
narcotics -- are harmful and should never be abused.