essay on drug abuse in youth

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Risk and protective factors of drug abuse among adolescents: a systematic review

Azmawati mohammed nawi.

1 Department of Community Health, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Rozmi Ismail

2 Centre for Research in Psychology and Human Well-Being (PSiTra), Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor Malaysia

Fauziah Ibrahim

Mohd rohaizat hassan, mohd rizal abdul manaf.

3 Clinical Psychology and Behavioural Health Program, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Norhayati Ibrahim

Nurul shafini shafurdin, associated data.

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.

Drug abuse is detrimental, and excessive drug usage is a worldwide problem. Drug usage typically begins during adolescence. Factors for drug abuse include a variety of protective and risk factors. Hence, this systematic review aimed to determine the risk and protective factors of drug abuse among adolescents worldwide.

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) was adopted for the review which utilized three main journal databases, namely PubMed, EBSCOhost, and Web of Science. Tobacco addiction and alcohol abuse were excluded in this review. Retrieved citations were screened, and the data were extracted based on strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria include the article being full text, published from the year 2016 until 2020 and provided via open access resource or subscribed to by the institution. Quality assessment was done using Mixed Methods Appraisal Tools (MMAT) version 2018 to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. Given the heterogeneity of the included studies, a descriptive synthesis of the included studies was undertaken.

Out of 425 articles identified, 22 quantitative articles and one qualitative article were included in the final review. Both the risk and protective factors obtained were categorized into three main domains: individual, family, and community factors. The individual risk factors identified were traits of high impulsivity; rebelliousness; emotional regulation impairment, low religious, pain catastrophic, homework completeness, total screen time and alexithymia; the experience of maltreatment or a negative upbringing; having psychiatric disorders such as conduct problems and major depressive disorder; previous e-cigarette exposure; behavioral addiction; low-perceived risk; high-perceived drug accessibility; and high-attitude to use synthetic drugs. The familial risk factors were prenatal maternal smoking; poor maternal psychological control; low parental education; negligence; poor supervision; uncontrolled pocket money; and the presence of substance-using family members. One community risk factor reported was having peers who abuse drugs. The protective factors determined were individual traits of optimism; a high level of mindfulness; having social phobia; having strong beliefs against substance abuse; the desire to maintain one’s health; high paternal awareness of drug abuse; school connectedness; structured activity and having strong religious beliefs.

The outcomes of this review suggest a complex interaction between a multitude of factors influencing adolescent drug abuse. Therefore, successful adolescent drug abuse prevention programs will require extensive work at all levels of domains.

Introduction

Drug abuse is a global problem; 5.6% of the global population aged 15–64 years used drugs at least once during 2016 [ 1 ]. The usage of drugs among younger people has been shown to be higher than that among older people for most drugs. Drug abuse is also on the rise in many ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, especially among young males between 15 and 30 years of age. The increased burden due to drug abuse among adolescents and young adults was shown by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study in 2013 [ 2 ]. About 14% of the total health burden in young men is caused by alcohol and drug abuse. Younger people are also more likely to die from substance use disorders [ 3 ], and cannabis is the drug of choice among such users [ 4 ].

Adolescents are the group of people most prone to addiction [ 5 ]. The critical age of initiation of drug use begins during the adolescent period, and the maximum usage of drugs occurs among young people aged 18–25 years old [ 1 ]. During this period, adolescents have a strong inclination toward experimentation, curiosity, susceptibility to peer pressure, rebellion against authority, and poor self-worth, which makes such individuals vulnerable to drug abuse [ 2 ]. During adolescence, the basic development process generally involves changing relations between the individual and the multiple levels of the context within which the young person is accustomed. Variation in the substance and timing of these relations promotes diversity in adolescence and represents sources of risk or protective factors across this life period [ 6 ]. All these factors are crucial to helping young people develop their full potential and attain the best health in the transition to adulthood. Abusing drugs impairs the successful transition to adulthood by impairing the development of critical thinking and the learning of crucial cognitive skills [ 7 ]. Adolescents who abuse drugs are also reported to have higher rates of physical and mental illness and reduced overall health and well-being [ 8 ].

The absence of protective factors and the presence of risk factors predispose adolescents to drug abuse. Some of the risk factors are the presence of early mental and behavioral health problems, peer pressure, poorly equipped schools, poverty, poor parental supervision and relationships, a poor family structure, a lack of opportunities, isolation, gender, and accessibility to drugs [ 9 ]. The protective factors include high self-esteem, religiosity, grit, peer factors, self-control, parental monitoring, academic competence, anti-drug use policies, and strong neighborhood attachment [ 10 – 15 ].

The majority of previous systematic reviews done worldwide on drug usage focused on the mental, psychological, or social consequences of substance abuse [ 16 – 18 ], while some focused only on risk and protective factors for the non-medical use of prescription drugs among youths [ 19 ]. A few studies focused only on the risk factors of single drug usage among adolescents [ 20 ]. Therefore, the development of the current systematic review is based on the main research question: What is the current risk and protective factors among adolescent on the involvement with drug abuse? To the best of our knowledge, there is limited evidence from systematic reviews that explores the risk and protective factors among the adolescent population involved in drug abuse. Especially among developing countries, such as those in South East Asia, such research on the risk and protective factors for drug abuse is scarce. Furthermore, this review will shed light on the recent trends of risk and protective factors and provide insight into the main focus factors for prevention and control activities program. Additionally, this review will provide information on how these risk and protective factors change throughout various developmental stages. Therefore, the objective of this systematic review was to determine the risk and protective factors of drug abuse among adolescents worldwide. This paper thus fills in the gaps of previous studies and adds to the existing body of knowledge. In addition, this review may benefit certain parties in developing countries like Malaysia, where the national response to drugs is developing in terms of harm reduction, prison sentences, drug treatments, law enforcement responses, and civil society participation.

This systematic review was conducted using three databases, PubMed, EBSCOhost, and Web of Science, considering the easy access and wide coverage of reliable journals, focusing on the risk and protective factors of drug abuse among adolescents from 2016 until December 2020. The search was limited to the last 5 years to focus only on the most recent findings related to risk and protective factors. The search strategy employed was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) checklist.

A preliminary search was conducted to identify appropriate keywords and determine whether this review was feasible. Subsequently, the related keywords were searched using online thesauruses, online dictionaries, and online encyclopedias. These keywords were verified and validated by an academic professor at the National University of Malaysia. The keywords used as shown in Table  1 .

The search strings

Selection criteria

The systematic review process for searching the articles was carried out via the steps shown in Fig.  1 . Firstly, screening was done to remove duplicate articles from the selected search engines. A total of 240 articles were removed in this stage. Titles and abstracts were screened based on the relevancy of the titles to the inclusion and exclusion criteria and the objectives. The inclusion criteria were full text original articles, open access articles or articles subscribed to by the institution, observation and intervention study design and English language articles. The exclusion criteria in this search were (a) case study articles, (b) systematic and narrative review paper articles, (c) non-adolescent-based analyses, (d) non-English articles, and (e) articles focusing on smoking (nicotine) and alcohol-related issues only. A total of 130 articles were excluded after title and abstract screening, leaving 55 articles to be assessed for eligibility. The full text of each article was obtained, and each full article was checked thoroughly to determine if it would fulfil the inclusion criteria and objectives of this study. Each of the authors compared their list of potentially relevant articles and discussed their selections until a final agreement was obtained. A total of 22 articles were accepted to be included in this review. Most of the excluded articles were excluded because the population was not of the target age range—i.e., featuring subjects with an age > 18 years, a cohort born in 1965–1975, or undergraduate college students; the subject matter was not related to the study objective—i.e., assessing the effects on premature mortality, violent behavior, psychiatric illness, individual traits, and personality; type of article such as narrative review and neuropsychiatry review; and because of our inability to obtain the full article—e.g., forthcoming work in 2021. One qualitative article was added to explain the domain related to risk and the protective factors among the adolescents.

PRISMA flow diagram showing the selection of studies on risk and protective factors for drug abuse among adolescents.2.2. Operational Definition

Drug-related substances in this context refer to narcotics, opioids, psychoactive substances, amphetamines, cannabis, ecstasy, heroin, cocaine, hallucinogens, depressants, and stimulants. Drugs of abuse can be either off-label drugs or drugs that are medically prescribed. The two most commonly abused substances not included in this review are nicotine (tobacco) and alcohol. Accordingly, e-cigarettes and nicotine vape were also not included. Further, “adolescence” in this study refers to members of the population aged between 10 to 18 years [ 21 ].

Data extraction tool

All researchers independently extracted information for each article into an Excel spreadsheet. The data were then customized based on their (a) number; (b) year; (c) author and country; (d) titles; (e) study design; (f) type of substance abuse; (g) results—risks and protective factors; and (h) conclusions. A second reviewer crossed-checked the articles assigned to them and provided comments in the table.

Quality assessment tool

By using the Mixed Method Assessment Tool (MMAT version 2018), all articles were critically appraised for their quality by two independent reviewers. This tool has been shown to be useful in systematic reviews encompassing different study designs [ 22 ]. Articles were only selected if both reviewers agreed upon the articles’ quality. Any disagreement between the assigned reviewers was managed by employing a third independent reviewer. All included studies received a rating of “yes” for the questions in the respective domains of the MMAT checklists. Therefore, none of the articles were removed from this review due to poor quality. The Cohen’s kappa (agreement) between the two reviewers was 0.77, indicating moderate agreement [ 23 ].

The initial search found 425 studies for review, but after removing duplicates and applying the criteria listed above, we narrowed the pool to 22 articles, all of which are quantitative in their study design. The studies include three prospective cohort studies [ 24 – 26 ], one community trial [ 27 ], one case-control study [ 28 ], and nine cross-sectional studies [ 29 – 45 ]. After careful discussion, all reviewer panels agreed to add one qualitative study [ 46 ] to help provide reasoning for the quantitative results. The selected qualitative paper was chosen because it discussed almost all domains on the risk and protective factors found in this review.

A summary of all 23 articles is listed in Table  2 . A majority of the studies (13 articles) were from the United States of America (USA) [ 25 – 27 , 29 – 31 , 34 , 36 – 45 ], three studies were from the Asia region [ 32 , 33 , 38 ], four studies were from Europe [ 24 , 28 , 40 , 44 ], and one study was from Latin America [ 35 ], Africa [ 43 ] and Mediterranean [ 45 ]. The number of sample participants varied widely between the studies, ranging from 70 samples (minimum) to 700,178 samples (maximum), while the qualitative paper utilized a total of 100 interviewees. There were a wide range of drugs assessed in the quantitative articles, with marijuana being mentioned in 11 studies, cannabis in five studies, and opioid (six studies). There was also large heterogeneity in terms of the study design, type of drug abused, measurements of outcomes, and analysis techniques used. Therefore, the data were presented descriptively.

Study characteristic and main findings

After thorough discussion and evaluation, all the findings (both risk and protective factors) from the review were categorized into three main domains: individual factors, family factors, and community factors. The conceptual framework is summarized in Fig.  2 .

Conceptual framework of risk and protective factors related to adolescent drug abuse

DOMAIN: individual factor

Risk factors.

Almost all the articles highlighted significant findings of individual risk factors for adolescent drug abuse. Therefore, our findings for this domain were further broken down into five more sub-domains consisting of personal/individual traits, significant negative growth exposure, personal psychiatric diagnosis, previous substance history, comorbidity and an individual’s attitude and perception.

Personal/individual traits

Chuang et al. [ 29 ] found that adolescents with high impulsivity traits had a significant positive association with drug addiction. This study also showed that the impulsivity trait alone was an independent risk factor that increased the odds between two to four times for using any drug compared to the non-impulsive group. Another longitudinal study by Guttmannova et al. showed that rebellious traits are positively associated with marijuana drug abuse [ 27 ]. The authors argued that measures of rebelliousness are a good proxy for a youth’s propensity to engage in risky behavior. Nevertheless, Wilson et al. [ 37 ], in a study involving 112 youths undergoing detoxification treatment for opioid abuse, found that a majority of the affected respondents had difficulty in regulating their emotions. The authors found that those with emotional regulation impairment traits became opioid dependent at an earlier age. Apart from that, a case-control study among outpatient youths found that adolescents involved in cannabis abuse had significant alexithymia traits compared to the control population [ 28 ]. Those adolescents scored high in the dimension of Difficulty in Identifying Emotion (DIF), which is one of the key definitions of diagnosing alexithymia. Overall, the adjusted Odds Ratio for DIF in cannabis abuse was 1.11 (95% CI, 1.03–1.20).

Significant negative growth exposure

A history of maltreatment in the past was also shown to have a positive association with adolescent drug abuse. A study found that a history of physical abuse in the past is associated with adolescent drug abuse through a Path Analysis, despite evidence being limited to the female gender [ 25 ]. However, evidence from another study focusing at foster care concluded that any type of maltreatment might result in a prevalence as high as 85.7% for the lifetime use of cannabis and as high as 31.7% for the prevalence of cannabis use within the last 3-months [ 30 ]. The study also found significant latent variables that accounted for drug abuse outcomes, which were chronic physical maltreatment (factor loading of 0.858) and chronic psychological maltreatment (factor loading of 0.825), with an r 2 of 73.6 and 68.1%, respectively. Another study shed light on those living in child welfare service (CWS) [ 35 ]. It was observed through longitudinal measurements that proportions of marijuana usage increased from 9 to 18% after 36 months in CWS. Hence, there is evidence of the possibility of a negative upbringing at such shelters.

Personal psychiatric diagnosis

The robust studies conducted in the USA have deduced that adolescents diagnosed with a conduct problem (CP) have a positive association with marijuana abuse (OR = 1.75 [1.56, 1.96], p  < 0.0001). Furthermore, those with a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) showed a significant positive association with marijuana abuse.

Previous substance and addiction history

Another study found that exposure to e-cigarettes within the past 30 days is related to an increase in the prevalence of marijuana use and prescription drug use by at least four times in the 8th and 10th grades and by at least three times in the 12th grade [ 34 ]. An association between other behavioral addictions and the development of drug abuse was also studied [ 29 ]. Using a 12-item index to assess potential addictive behaviors [ 39 ], significant associations between drug abuse and the groups with two behavioral addictions (OR = 3.19, 95% CI 1.25,9.77) and three behavioral addictions (OR = 3.46, 95% CI 1.25,9.58) were reported.

Comorbidity

The paper by Dash et al. (2020) highlight adolescent with a disease who needs routine medical pain treatment have higher risk of opioid misuse [ 38 ]. The adolescents who have disorder symptoms may have a risk for opioid misuse despite for the pain intensity.

Individual’s attitudes and perceptions

In a study conducted in three Latin America countries (Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay), it was shown that adolescents with low or no perceived risk of taking marijuana had a higher risk of abuse (OR = 8.22 times, 95% CI 7.56, 10.30) [ 35 ]. This finding is in line with another study that investigated 2002 adolescents and concluded that perceiving the drug as harmless was an independent risk factor that could prospectively predict future marijuana abuse [ 27 ]. Moreover, some youth interviewed perceived that they gained benefits from substance use [ 38 ]. The focus group discussion summarized that the youth felt positive personal motivation and could escape from a negative state by taking drugs. Apart from that, adolescents who had high-perceived availability of drugs in their neighborhoods were more likely to increase their usage of marijuana over time (OR = 11.00, 95% CI 9.11, 13.27) [ 35 ]. A cheap price of the substance and the availability of drug dealers around schools were factors for youth accessibility [ 38 ]. Perceived drug accessibility has also been linked with the authorities’ enforcement programs. The youth perception of a lax community enforcement of laws regarding drug use at all-time points predicted an increase in marijuana use in the subsequent assessment period [ 27 ]. Besides perception, a study examining the attitudes towards synthetic drugs based on 8076 probabilistic samples of Macau students found that the odds of the lifetime use of marijuana was almost three times higher among those with a strong attitude towards the use of synthetic drugs [ 32 ]. In addition, total screen time among the adolescent increase the likelihood of frequent cannabis use. Those who reported daily cannabis use have a mean of 12.56 h of total screen time, compared to a mean of 6.93 h among those who reported no cannabis use. Adolescent with more time on internet use, messaging, playing video games and watching TV/movies were significantly associated with more frequent cannabis use [ 44 ].

Protective factors

Individual traits.

Some individual traits have been determined to protect adolescents from developing drug abuse habits. A study by Marin et al. found that youth with an optimistic trait were less likely to become drug dependent [ 33 ]. In this study involving 1104 Iranian students, it was concluded that a higher optimism score (measured using the Children Attributional Style Questionnaire, CASQ) was a protective factor against illicit drug use (OR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.85–0.95). Another study found that high levels of mindfulness, measured using the 25-item Child Acceptance and Mindfulness Measure, CAMM, lead to a slower progression toward injectable drug abuse among youth with opioid addiction (1.67 years, p  = .041) [ 37 ]. In addition, the social phobia trait was found to have a negative association with marijuana use (OR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.77–0.97), as suggested [ 31 ].

According to El Kazdouh et al., individuals with a strong belief against substance use and those with a strong desire to maintain their health were more likely to be protected from involvement in drug abuse [ 46 ].

DOMAIN: family factors

The biological factors underlying drug abuse in adolescents have been reported in several studies. Epigenetic studies are considered important, as they can provide a good outline of the potential pre-natal factors that can be targeted at an earlier stage. Expecting mothers who smoke tobacco and alcohol have an indirect link with adolescent substance abuse in later life [ 24 , 39 ]. Moreover, the dynamic relationship between parents and their children may have some profound effects on the child’s growth. Luk et al. examined the mediator effects between parenting style and substance abuse and found the maternal psychological control dimension to be a significant variable [ 26 ]. The mother’s psychological control was two times higher in influencing her children to be involved in substance abuse compared to the other dimension. Conversely, an indirect risk factor towards youth drug abuse was elaborated in a study in which low parental educational level predicted a greater risk of future drug abuse by reducing the youth’s perception of harm [ 27 , 43 ]. Negligence from a parental perspective could also contribute to this problem. According to El Kazdouh et al. [ 46 ], a lack of parental supervision, uncontrolled pocket money spending among children, and the presence of substance-using family members were the most common negligence factors.

While the maternal factors above were shown to be risk factors, the opposite effect was seen when the paternal figure equipped himself with sufficient knowledge. A study found that fathers with good information and awareness were more likely to protect their adolescent children from drug abuse [ 26 ]. El Kazdouh et al. noted that support and advice could be some of the protective factors in this area [ 46 ].

DOMAIN: community factors

Risk factor.

A study in 2017 showed a positive association between adolescent drug abuse and peers who abuse drugs [ 32 , 39 ]. It was estimated that the odds of becoming a lifetime marijuana user was significantly increased by a factor of 2.5 ( p  < 0.001) among peer groups who were taking synthetic drugs. This factor served as peer pressure for youth, who subconsciously had desire to be like the others [ 38 ]. The impact of availability and engagement in structured and unstructured activities also play a role in marijuana use. The findings from Spillane (2000) found that the availability of unstructured activities was associated with increased likelihood of marijuana use [ 42 ].

Protective factor

Strong religious beliefs integrated into society serve as a crucial protective factor that can prevent adolescents from engaging in drug abuse [ 38 , 45 ]. In addition, the school connectedness and adult support also play a major contribution in the drug use [ 40 ].

The goal of this review was to identify and classify the risks and protective factors that lead adolescents to drug abuse across the three important domains of the individual, family, and community. No findings conflicted with each other, as each of them had their own arguments and justifications. The findings from our review showed that individual factors were the most commonly highlighted. These factors include individual traits, significant negative growth exposure, personal psychiatric diagnosis, previous substance and addiction history, and an individual’s attitude and perception as risk factors.

Within the individual factor domain, nine articles were found to contribute to the subdomain of personal/ individual traits [ 27 – 29 , 37 – 40 , 43 , 44 ]. Despite the heterogeneity of the study designs and the substances under investigation, all of the papers found statistically significant results for the possible risk factors of adolescent drug abuse. The traits of high impulsivity, rebelliousness, difficulty in regulating emotions, and alexithymia can be considered negative characteristic traits. These adolescents suffer from the inability to self-regulate their emotions, so they tend to externalize their behaviors as a way to avoid or suppress the negative feelings that they are experiencing [ 41 , 47 , 48 ]. On the other hand, engaging in such behaviors could plausibly provide a greater sense of positive emotions and make them feel good [ 49 ]. Apart from that, evidence from a neurophysiological point of view also suggests that the compulsive drive toward drug use is complemented by deficits in impulse control and decision making (impulsive trait) [ 50 ]. A person’s ability in self-control will seriously impaired with continuous drug use and will lead to the hallmark of addiction [ 51 ].

On the other hand, there are articles that reported some individual traits to be protective for adolescents from engaging in drug abuse. Youth with the optimistic trait, a high level of mindfulness, and social phobia were less likely to become drug dependent [ 31 , 33 , 37 ]. All of these articles used different psychometric instruments to classify each individual trait and were mutually exclusive. Therefore, each trait measured the chance of engaging in drug abuse on its own and did not reflect the chance at the end of the spectrum. These findings show that individual traits can be either protective or risk factors for the drugs used among adolescents. Therefore, any adolescent with negative personality traits should be monitored closely by providing health education, motivation, counselling, and emotional support since it can be concluded that negative personality traits are correlated with high risk behaviours such as drug abuse [ 52 ].

Our study also found that a history of maltreatment has a positive association with adolescent drug abuse. Those adolescents with episodes of maltreatment were considered to have negative growth exposure, as their childhoods were negatively affected by traumatic events. Some significant associations were found between maltreatment and adolescent drug abuse, although the former factor was limited to the female gender [ 25 , 30 , 36 ]. One possible reason for the contrasting results between genders is the different sample populations, which only covered child welfare centers [ 36 ] and foster care [ 30 ]. Regardless of the place, maltreatment can happen anywhere depending on the presence of the perpetrators. To date, evidence that concretely links maltreatment and substance abuse remains limited. However, a plausible explanation for this link could be the indirect effects of posttraumatic stress (i.e., a history of maltreatment) leading to substance use [ 53 , 54 ]. These findings highlight the importance of continuous monitoring and follow-ups with adolescents who have a history of maltreatment and who have ever attended a welfare center.

Addiction sometimes leads to another addiction, as described by the findings of several studies [ 29 , 34 ]. An initial study focused on the effects of e-cigarettes in the development of other substance abuse disorders, particularly those related to marijuana, alcohol, and commonly prescribed medications [ 34 ]. The authors found that the use of e-cigarettes can lead to more severe substance addiction [ 55 ], possibly through normalization of the behavior. On the other hand, Chuang et al.’s extensive study in 2017 analyzed the combined effects of either multiple addictions alone or a combination of multiple addictions together with the impulsivity trait [ 29 ]. The outcomes reported were intriguing and provide the opportunity for targeted intervention. The synergistic effects of impulsiveness and three other substance addictions (marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol) substantially increased the likelihood for drug abuse from 3.46 (95%CI 1.25, 9.58) to 10.13 (95% CI 3.95, 25.95). Therefore, proper rehabilitation is an important strategy to ensure that one addiction will not lead to another addiction.

The likelihood for drug abuse increases as the population perceives little or no harmful risks associated with the drugs. On the opposite side of the coin, a greater perceived risk remains a protective factor for marijuana abuse [ 56 ]. However, another study noted that a stronger determinant for adolescent drug abuse was the perceived availability of the drug [ 35 , 57 ]. Looking at the bigger picture, both perceptions corroborate each other and may inform drug use. Another study, on the other hand, reported that there was a decreasing trend of perceived drug risk in conjunction with the increasing usage of drugs [ 58 ]. As more people do drugs, youth may inevitably perceive those drugs as an acceptable norm without any harmful consequences [ 59 ].

In addition, the total spent for screen time also contribute to drug abuse among adolescent [ 43 ]. This scenario has been proven by many researchers on the effect of screen time on the mental health [ 60 ] that leads to the substance use among the adolescent due to the ubiquity of pro-substance use content on the internet. Adolescent with comorbidity who needs medical pain management by opioids also tend to misuse in future. A qualitative exploration on the perspectives among general practitioners concerning the risk of opioid misuse in people with pain, showed pain management by opioids is a default treatment and misuse is not a main problem for the them [ 61 ]. A careful decision on the use of opioids as a pain management should be consider among the adolescents and their understanding is needed.

Within the family factor domain, family structures were found to have both positive and negative associations with drug abuse among adolescents. As described in one study, paternal knowledge was consistently found to be a protective factor against substance abuse [ 26 ]. With sufficient knowledge, the father can serve as the guardian of his family to monitor and protect his children from negative influences [ 62 ]. The work by Luk et al. also reported a positive association of maternal psychological association towards drug abuse (IRR 2.41, p  < 0.05) [ 26 ]. The authors also observed the same effect of paternal psychological control, although it was statistically insignificant. This construct relates to parenting style, and the authors argued that parenting style might have a profound effect on the outcomes under study. While an earlier literature review [ 63 ] also reported such a relationship, a recent study showed a lesser impact [ 64 ] with regards to neglectful parenting styles leading to poorer substance abuse outcomes. Nevertheless, it was highlighted in another study that the adolescents’ perception of a neglectful parenting style increased their odds (OR 2.14, p  = 0.012) of developing alcohol abuse, not the parenting style itself [ 65 ]. Altogether, families play vital roles in adolescents’ risk for engaging in substance abuse [ 66 ]. Therefore, any intervention to impede the initiation of substance use or curb existing substance use among adolescents needs to include parents—especially improving parent–child communication and ensuring that parents monitor their children’s activities.

Finally, the community also contributes to drug abuse among adolescents. As shown by Li et al. [ 32 ] and El Kazdouh et al. [ 46 ], peers exert a certain influence on other teenagers by making them subconsciously want to fit into the group. Peer selection and peer socialization processes might explain why peer pressure serves as a risk factor for drug-abuse among adolescents [ 67 ]. Another study reported that strong religious beliefs integrated into society play a crucial role in preventing adolescents from engaging in drug abuse [ 46 ]. Most religions devalue any actions that can cause harmful health effects, such as substance abuse [ 68 ]. Hence, spiritual beliefs may help protect adolescents. This theme has been well established in many studies [ 60 , 69 – 72 ] and, therefore, could be implemented by religious societies as part of interventions to curb the issue of adolescent drug abuse. The connection with school and structured activity did reduce the risk as a study in USA found exposure to media anti-drug messages had an indirect negative effect on substances abuse through school-related activity and social activity [ 73 ]. The school activity should highlight on the importance of developmental perspective when designing and offering school-based prevention programs [75].

Limitations

We adopted a review approach that synthesized existing evidence on the risk and protective factors of adolescents engaging in drug abuse. Although this systematic review builds on the conclusion of a rigorous review of studies in different settings, there are some potential limitations to this work. We may have missed some other important factors, as we only included English articles, and article extraction was only done from the three search engines mentioned. Nonetheless, this review focused on worldwide drug abuse studies, rather than the broader context of substance abuse including alcohol and cigarettes, thereby making this paper more focused.

Conclusions

This review has addressed some recent knowledge related to the individual, familial, and community risk and preventive factors for adolescent drug use. We suggest that more attention should be given to individual factors since most findings were discussed in relation to such factors. With the increasing trend of drug abuse, it will be critical to focus research specifically on this area. Localized studies, especially those related to demographic factors, may be more effective in generating results that are specific to particular areas and thus may be more useful in generating and assessing local control and prevention efforts. Interventions using different theory-based psychotherapies and a recognition of the unique developmental milestones specific to adolescents are among examples that can be used. Relevant holistic approaches should be strengthened not only by relevant government agencies but also by the private sector and non-governmental organizations by promoting protective factors while reducing risk factors in programs involving adolescents from primary school up to adulthood to prevent and control drug abuse. Finally, legal legislation and enforcement against drug abuse should be engaged with regularly as part of our commitment to combat this public health burden.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge The Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia and The Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, (UKM) for funding this study under the Long-Term Research Grant Scheme-(LGRS/1/2019/UKM-UKM/2/1). We also thank the team for their commitment and tireless efforts in ensuring that manuscript was well executed.

Authors’ contributions

Manuscript concept, and drafting AMN and RI; model development, FI, NI and NA.; Editing manuscript MRH, MRAN, NSS,; Critical revision of manuscript for important intellectual content, all authors. The authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Financial support for this study was obtained from the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia through the Long-Term Research Grant Scheme-(LGRS/1/2019/UKM-UKM/2/1). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Data availability and materials

Declarations.

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Secretariat of Research Ethics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Faculty of Medicine, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur (Reference no. UKMPPI/111/8/JEP-2020.174(2). Dated 27 Mac 2020.

Not applicable.

The authors AMN, RI, FI, MRM, MRAM, NA, NI NSS declare that they have no conflict of interest relevant to this work.

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Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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Teenage Drug Addiction: An Overview

• Substance Use Statistics
• Why Teens Use Drugs
• Drug Effects
• Specific Health Risks
• Symptoms and Warning Signs
• Four Stages of Addiction

Many teens experiment with substances but don’t continue to use them. For some adolescents, however, trying a substance like alcohol, marijuana, or illicit drugs leads to regular use. Once withdrawal and cravings set in, a teen dealing with addiction and dependence may not be able to stop using a substance, even if they want to.

Caregivers can prevent teen drug abuse by knowing the signs and talking to their children about the consequences of using substances. This article reviews statistics, risk factors, health effects, signs, and treatment for teenage  drug addiction .

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Teenage Substance Use Statistics

Public health experts track the rates of substance use in people of all ages. One group that they pay particular attention to is teens.

Basic Statistics

Here are some of the key statistics from the Monitoring the Future survey, which has been tracking youth substance use in the United States for over 40 years.

In 2023, here’s how many teens in the U.S. reported any illicit drug use in the last year:

• Eighth graders: 10.9%
• 10th graders: 19.2%
• 12th graders: 31.2%

In addition:

• By the time they reach 12th grade, 21.3% of teens have tried an illicit drug at least once.
• From 2016 to 2020, drug use among eighth graders increased by 61%.
• In a year, around 4,477 15-to-24-year-olds die of illicit drug overdoses (about 11.2% of all overdose deaths are in this age group).

Substances Used

Here is how many teens reported using a specific substance in the last year:

• Eighth graders: 15.1%
• 10th graders: 30.6%
• 12th graders: 45.7%
• Eighth graders: 8.3%
• 10th graders: 17.8%
• 12th graders: 29%
• Any illicit drugs:
• 10th graders: 19.8%
• 12th graders: 31.2 %
• Cigarettes:
• Eighth graders: 5.8%
• 10th graders: 9.4%
• 12 t thgraders: 15%
• Vaping nicotine (e-cigarettes):
• Eighth graders: 11.4%
• 10th graders: 17.6%
• 12th graders: 23.2%

Prescription Medications

Alcohol is the most commonly abused substance among teens, but rates of nicotine and prescription medication abuse are increasing. Examples of prescription drugs teens may misuse include stimulants like Adderall and benzodiazepines like Xanax .

What Causes Teens to Use Drugs?

The reasons why any person uses drugs are complex, and the same is true for teens. Wanting to fit in with peers, feeling overwhelmed by their changing brains and bodies, and pressure to perform in school or sports are just a few reasons why teens may start experimenting with drugs. Teens may not seek drugs out but are instead introduced to substances by someone they know, such as a friend, teammate, or even a family member.

In addition, teens often don’t know or understand the dangers of substance abuse. They may see occasional use as being safe and don’t believe they could become addicted to drugs or face consequences. They may also assume that they can stop using if they want to.

Other risk factors for drug use in teens include:

• Family history of substance use 
• Academic pressure
• Adverse childhood events ( ACES )
• Lack of supervision
• Mental health disorders
• Peer pressure
• Desire to escape (e.g., external situation like home life or internal situation like complex feelings)
• Social acceptance (e.g., fitting in with peers)
• Low  self-esteem
• Increased access to substances
• Transitional periods (e.g., starting puberty or attending a new school)

While drug use can lead to mental health disorders, sometimes it’s the other way around. Teens may use substances to self-medicate or numb emotional pain.

What Are the Effects of Using Drugs During Adolescence?

The body sends out a “feel good” chemical called  dopamine  when using a substance. This response tells the brain that it is worth using the substance again to get that feeling. As a result, a person starts having cravings for the substance. Addiction happens when cravings don’t stop,  withdrawal  occurs without the substance, and use continues even when there are negative consequences. Since the physical and mental urge to use is so strong, it becomes very hard to stop using a substance.

Teenagers who misuse substances can experience drug dependence ( substance use disorder ). Developmentally, adolescents are at the highest risk for drug dependence and severe addiction.  

Effects on Brain Development and Growth

The human brain continues to develop until about the age of 25. Using substances during adolescence can change brain structure and negatively affect brain functions like learning, processing emotions, and decision-making. It can also lead to the following:

• More risky behaviors : Substance abuse makes teens more likely to engage in risky behaviors like unprotected sex (or "condomless sex") or dangerous driving.
• Higher risk for adult health problems : Teenagers who abuse substances have a higher risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and sleep disorders.
• Mental health disorders : It is common for teens with substance abuse disorders to have mental health conditions (and vice versa).
• Impaired academic performance : Substance use affects a teen’s concentration and memory, which may negatively affect their schoolwork.

Substance Misuse and Mental Health

A study showed that 60% of teens in a community-based substance use treatment program were also diagnosed with a mental health disorder.

What Are the Health Risks of Drug Abuse?

Drug and alcohol use can lead to substance use disorder as well as the specific health risks of the substance being abused.

Alcohol use can lead to an increased risk of:

• Liver disease, cirrhosis, and cancer
• Heart disease and stroke
• Depression 
• Lack of focus 
• Alcohol poisoning
• Increased risky behavior

Alcohol Statistics

In the United States, 29.5 million people ages 12 and older have an alcohol use disorder.

Marijuana can impair concentration, worsen mental health, interfere with prescription medications, lead to risky sexual behaviors, or contribute to dangerous driving. Smoking marijuana can also negatively affect lung health.

Marijuana is often thought of as not being "as bad" as other drugs and, in some cases, even good for you. However, marijuana can be harmful to teens because their brains are still developing. Marijuana use in teens is linked to difficulty with problem-solving, memory and learning issues, impaired coordination, and problems with maintaining attention.

Vaping and Edible Marijuana Use Is on the Rise

Recent data shows a shift from teens smoking marijuana to using vaping devices and edibles instead.

Opioids include legal prescription medications such as hydrocodone, oxycontin, and fentanyl, as well as illegal drugs such as heroin. These drugs carry a high risk of overdose and death. The annual rate of opioid overdose deaths for those aged 15 to 24 years is 12.6 per 100,000 people.

Over-the-Counter and Prescription Medications

Over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications can be misused more easily than others because they’re often easy for teens to obtain. Diet pills, caffeine pills, and cold and flu products with dextromethorphan are just a few examples of OTC substances teens may use. They may also have access to family member’s prescriptions for drugs like opiate painkillers and stimulants or get them from friends who do.

There are serious health risks to misusing OTC cold and cough products, including increased blood pressure, loss of consciousness, and overdose. There can also be legal issues if a teen is using someone else’s prescriptions.

Tobacco can lead to multiple chronic illnesses, including:

• Lung disease 
• Heart disease
• Vision loss
• Decreased fertility

E-Cigarettes (Vaping)

Vaping  is attractive to teens because e-cigarettes are often flavored like fruit, candy, or mint. These products may contain nicotine or other synthetic substances that damage the brain and lungs. The teenage brain is vulnerable to the harmful effects of nicotine, including anxiety and addiction.

E-cigarettes come in a variety of shapes and sizes and might be disguised as everyday items, such as:

• USB Flash Drives
• Hoodie (sweatshirt) strings
• Smartwatches
• Toys (e.g., fidget spinners)
• Phone cases

Cocaine  carries a risk of overdose and withdrawal. It causes decreased impulse control and poor decision-making. Withdrawal symptoms from cocaine include restlessness, paranoia, and irritability. Snorting cocaine can cause nosebleeds and a loss of smell. Using cocaine can lead to heart attacks, lung problems, strokes, seizures, and coma.

Cocaine Can Be Fatal With First Use

There have been reports of people dying the first time they use cocaine, often from sudden cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, or seizures.

Ecstasy (MDMA)

Ecstasy is a stimulant that causes an increased heart rate, blurred vision, and nausea. It can also lead to brain swelling, seizures, and organ damage.

Ecstasy is also known as:

Inhalants are fumes from gases, glue, aerosols, or solvents that can damage the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver. Using inhalants even once can lead to overdose, suffocation, seizures, and death.

Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine (crystal meth) is a highly addictive stimulant that has multiple health consequences, including:

• Severe weight loss
• Lack of sleep
• Dental problems
• Change in brain structure
• Paranoia and hallucinations

Disease Transmission Risk

Injecting drugs with shared needles increases the risk of contracting HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.

What Are the Signs a Teen Is Using Drugs?

Being on the lookout for drug paraphernalia and signs and symptoms of drug abuse can help adults recognize at-risk teens. 

Behavioral warning signs of drug use in teens include:

• Personality changes 
• Irritability 
• Difficulty sleeping
• Inappropriate or odd behavior (e.g., laughing randomly)
• Loss of interest in hobbies or extracurricular activities
• Avoiding eye contact
• Acting secretive or like they’re hiding something
• Staying out late
• Social withdrawal (e.g., from family, friends)
• Poor academic performance
• Hanging out with new friends or no longer hanging out with their usual friend group
• Poor hygiene
• Skipping school
• Isolation (e.g., staying in their room, refusing family meals)

Not All Warning Signs Indicate Drug Use

These warning signs do not necessarily mean a teen is using drugs. Other health problems like allergies, sinus infections, hormone imbalances, or mental disorders can also cause these symptoms in teens.

Physical signs  of drug use in teens may include:

• Persistent cough
• Dilated pupils
• Increased or decreased energy
• Sleeping all the time or not at all
• Mood swings
• Memory problems
• Talking very fast or slowly
• Runny nose or nosebleeds
• Increased/decreased appetite
• Weight loss
• Smells like smoke or alcohol (e.g., on clothes, skin, or breath)

Other than behavior and physical signs in a teen, you should also be aware of objects that can be used to do drugs. Examples of drug paraphernalia include:

• Mirrors with white powder
• Razorblades
• Rolled dollar bills
• Crack pipes and spoons
• Needles and syringes
• Rolling paper

Substance Abuse Screening

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that teens be screened at each annual medical exam appointment with questionnaires that ask them about substance use and their knowledge of the risks.

What Are the Four Stages of Drug Addiction?

You should also be aware of the four stages of addiction. The earlier teen drug use is recognized, the sooner they can get help.

• Experimentation: A teen tries one or more substances. Some teens will only try a substance once. Others will continue to experiment and increase their use.
• Regular or “social” use: A teen begins to use one or more substances regularly. At this stage, they may limit their use to just when they’re with friends or only in situations where they feel it’s needed—e.g., before a test.
• Risky use: A teen continues to use a substance that they have regularly been using, even if it’s caused problems for them at school, at home, and in their relationships. They crave the substance, both physically and mentally. At this stage, the substance has become central to a teen’s life, and they’ll take risks to get and use it.
• Dependence and Addiction: A teen is addicted to a substance, and most of their time and energy is devoted to getting and using it. At this stage, they would need intervention and treatment to quit, as they may not be able to stop on their own, even if they wanted to. 

How Can Parents Prevent Teenage Drug Use?

While they may not express it, teens do value bonds with the adults in their lives. Nurturing that connection with them includes being involved in their lives and having open, honest communication. 

How to Talk to Your Teen About Drug Use

Open communication starts by showing an interest in and talking to your teen about everything. This dialogue builds trust and respect, making it easier for you to talk about difficult topics.

Giving teens your undivided attention, without distractions, helps them feel special and heard. This quality time could be during chores, dinner, walks, car rides, or a fun family game night.

Here are some general tips to keep in mind when you’re talking about drugs with your teen:

• Stay curious and show interest.
• Ask open-ended questions.
• Actively listen.
• Don’t interrupt.
• Give compliments.
• Stay up late to talk.
• Chat over their favorite food. 

If you’re trying to start a conversation with your teen because you think they may be using drugs, their response to being confronted will determine how you’ll need to approach the conversation.

If your teen admits to using drugs, stay calm. Be supportive and willing to listen. Find out as much as you can about their drug use—what substances they’re using, how often they’re using them, and how they’re getting them. Be clear that the risks of drugs are serious and that drug use will not be tolerated. At the same time, make sure that you reassure your teen that you love them and that you want to help.

If your teen denies using drugs and you think they are lying , communicate the negative consequences of drug and alcohol use. Be clear that you want them to be safe and that experimenting with substances is dangerous—even if it’s just one time. If you are not able to keep the line of communication open with your teen, talk to their healthcare provider. They can help connect you to resources and support you in taking more decisive action, like drug testing.

Other Strategies

Talking to your teen openly and often is key, but there are also other steps you can take:

• Model responsible behavior for them.
• Stay involved with their activities but let them express their boundaries.
• Meet their friends and their parents.
• Teach them how to make good decisions when under pressure.

Protect Teens From Prescription Medications

Prescription drugs are generally safe when they're taken as prescribed. However, any time a person takes medication for reasons other than what they were prescribed for, it is considered medication abuse. Strategies to protect teens from prescription medication misuse include:

• Storing prescription medications in a safe place
• Locking up controlled substances 
• Getting rid of old medications

Safe Medication Disposal

Do not dispose of medications by flushing them down the toilet or pouring them down the sink. Medications can be crushed and mixed into the trash (to keep them away from children and pets) or returned to your local pharmacy or community drug take-back program.

Drug Addiction Treatment for Teens

Even if the adults in their lives try to prevent it, some teens will develop substance use disorders. Support for teens with drug addiction includes treating withdrawal or underlying mental health conditions, and addressing emotional needs, usually with a qualified mental health professional such as a psychiatrist or psychologist.

Treatment for teens experiencing substance use disorder includes a combination of the following:

• Outpatient clinics
• 12-step programs
• Inpatient mental health or substance use units 
• Medications
• Therapy (individual, group, or family)

Substance Use Helpline

If your teen is struggling with substance use or addiction, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, dial 988 to contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and connect with a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911 .

For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database .

Talk to your teen’s healthcare provider about what treatment would be best for them. Here are a few topics to discuss:

• Underlying health problems
• Benefits of treatment
• Credentials of team members
• Side effects 
• Family involvement
• Schoolwork during treatment
• Length of treatment
• Follow-up care

Experimenting with drugs or alcohol is tempting for teenagers because they may not know or understand the dangers of using substances—even just once. Academic pressure, low self-esteem, and peer pressure are just a few factors that increase their risk of substance use.

Caregivers need to have an open line of communication with their teens and teach them about the risks of using drugs. It’s also important to know the signs of drug use and intervene early to help teens who are at risk for or have already developed substance use disorders.

While drug use may increase the risk of mental health disorders, it’s also important to note that these disorders can lead to substance abuse to self-medicate or numb the emotional pain. If you suspect that a teenager is experiencing either, consult a pediatrician or mental health professional as soon as possible. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Depending on the substance and severity, a tube may be placed through the nose to suction drugs from the stomach. Activated charcoal is given through the tube to bind with the drug to release it from the body, decreasing the amount released into the bloodstream. If an antidote (reversal agent) such as Narcan is available for that substance, it may be given. 

National surveys from the National Institute on Drug Abuse show adolescent drug use rates have remained steady. However, the survey’s detected a shift in the types of drugs used by teens. Alcohol is still the most often abused substance, but the rates are decreasing. Instead, nicotine use and misuse of prescription medications are on the rise.  

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By Brandi Jones, MSN-ED RN-BC Jones is a registered nurse and freelance health writer with more than two decades of healthcare experience.

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• Tween and teen health

Teen drug abuse: Help your teen avoid drugs

Teen drug abuse can have a major impact on your child's life. Find out how to help your teen make healthy choices and avoid using drugs.

The teen brain is in the process of maturing. In general, it's more focused on rewards and taking risks than the adult brain. At the same time, teenagers push parents for greater freedom as teens begin to explore their personality.

That can be a challenging tightrope for parents.

Teens who experiment with drugs and other substances put their health and safety at risk. The teen brain is particularly vulnerable to being rewired by substances that overload the reward circuits in the brain.

Help prevent teen drug abuse by talking to your teen about the consequences of using drugs and the importance of making healthy choices.

Why teens use or misuse drugs

Many factors can feed into teen drug use and misuse. Your teen's personality, your family's interactions and your teen's comfort with peers are some factors linked to teen drug use.

Common risk factors for teen drug abuse include:

• A family history of substance abuse.
• A mental or behavioral health condition, such as depression, anxiety or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
• Impulsive or risk-taking behavior.
• A history of traumatic events, such as seeing or being in a car accident or experiencing abuse.
• Low self-esteem or feelings of social rejection.

Teens may be more likely to try substances for the first time when hanging out in a social setting.

Alcohol and nicotine or tobacco may be some of the first, easier-to-get substances for teens. Because alcohol and nicotine or tobacco are legal for adults, these can seem safer to try even though they aren't safe for teens.

Teens generally want to fit in with peers. So if their friends use substances, your teen might feel like they need to as well. Teens also may also use substances to feel more confident with peers.

If those friends are older, teens can find themselves in situations that are riskier than they're used to. For example, they may not have adults present or younger teens may be relying on peers for transportation.

And if they are lonely or dealing with stress, teens may use substances to distract from these feelings.

Also, teens may try substances because they are curious. They may try a substance as a way to rebel or challenge family rules.

Some teens may feel like nothing bad could happen to them, and may not be able to understand the consequences of their actions.

Consequences of teen drug abuse

Negative consequences of teen drug abuse might include:

• Drug dependence. Some teens who misuse drugs are at increased risk of substance use disorder.
• Poor judgment. Teenage drug use is associated with poor judgment in social and personal interactions.
• Sexual activity. Drug use is associated with high-risk sexual activity, unsafe sex and unplanned pregnancy.
• Mental health disorders. Drug use can complicate or increase the risk of mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety.
• Impaired driving. Driving under the influence of any drug affects driving skills. It puts the driver, passengers and others on the road at risk.
• Changes in school performance. Substance use can result in worse grades, attendance or experience in school.

Health effects of drugs

Substances that teens may use include those that are legal for adults, such as alcohol or tobacco. They may also use medicines prescribed to other people, such as opioids.

Or teens may order substances online that promise to help in sports competition, or promote weight loss.

In some cases products common in homes and that have certain chemicals are inhaled for intoxication. And teens may also use illicit drugs such as cocaine or methamphetamine.

Drug use can result in drug addiction, serious impairment, illness and death. Health risks of commonly used drugs include the following:

• Cocaine. Risk of heart attack, stroke and seizures.
• Ecstasy. Risk of liver failure and heart failure.
• Inhalants. Risk of damage to the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys from long-term use.
• Marijuana. Risk of impairment in memory, learning, problem-solving and concentration; risk of psychosis, such as schizophrenia, hallucination or paranoia, later in life associated with early and frequent use. For teens who use marijuana and have a psychiatric disorder, there is a risk of depression and a higher risk of suicide.
• Methamphetamine. Risk of psychotic behaviors from long-term use or high doses.
• Opioids. Risk of respiratory distress or death from overdose.
• Electronic cigarettes (vaping). Higher risk of smoking or marijuana use. Exposure to harmful substances similar to cigarette smoking; risk of nicotine dependence. Vaping may allow particles deep into the lungs, or flavorings may include damaging chemicals or heavy metals.

Talking about teen drug use

You'll likely have many talks with your teen about drug and alcohol use. If you are starting a conversation about substance use, choose a place where you and your teen are both comfortable. And choose a time when you're unlikely to be interrupted. That means you both will need to set aside phones.

It's also important to know when not to have a conversation.

When parents are angry or when teens are frustrated, it's best to delay the talk. If you aren't prepared to answer questions, parents might let teens know that you'll talk about the topic at a later time.

And if a teen is intoxicated, wait until the teen is sober.

To talk to your teen about drugs:

• Ask your teen's views. Avoid lectures. Instead, listen to your teen's opinions and questions about drugs. Parents can assure teens that they can be honest and have a discussion without getting in trouble.
• Discuss reasons not to use drugs. Avoid scare tactics. Emphasize how drug use can affect the things that are important to your teen. Some examples might be sports performance, driving, health or appearance.
• Consider media messages. Social media, television programs, movies and songs can make drug use seem normal or glamorous. Talk about what your teen sees and hears.
• Discuss ways to resist peer pressure. Brainstorm with your teen about how to turn down offers of drugs.
• Be ready to discuss your own drug use. Think about how you'll respond if your teen asks about your own drug use, including alcohol. If you chose not to use drugs, explain why. If you did use drugs, share what the experience taught you.

Other preventive strategies

Consider other strategies to prevent teen drug abuse:

• Know your teen's activities. Pay attention to your teen's whereabouts. Find out what adult-supervised activities your teen is interested in and encourage your teen to get involved.
• Establish rules and consequences. Explain your family rules, such as leaving a party where drug use occurs and not riding in a car with a driver who's been using drugs. Work with your teen to figure out a plan to get home safely if the person who drove is using substances. If your teen breaks the rules, consistently enforce consequences.
• Know your teen's friends. If your teen's friends use drugs, your teen might feel pressure to experiment, too.
• Keep track of prescription drugs. Take an inventory of all prescription and over-the-counter medications in your home.
• Provide support. Offer praise and encouragement when your teen succeeds. A strong bond between you and your teen might help prevent your teen from using drugs.
• Set a good example. If you drink, do so in moderation. Use prescription drugs as directed. Don't use illicit drugs.

Recognizing the warning signs of teen drug abuse

Be aware of possible red flags, such as:

• Sudden or extreme change in friends, eating habits, sleeping patterns, physical appearance, requests for money, coordination or school performance.
• Irresponsible behavior, poor judgment and general lack of interest.
• Breaking rules or withdrawing from the family.
• The presence of medicine containers, despite a lack of illness, or drug paraphernalia in your teen's room.

Seeking help for teen drug abuse

If you suspect or know that your teen is experimenting with or misusing drugs:

• Plan your action. Finding out your teen is using drugs or suspecting it can bring up strong emotions. Before talking to your teen, make sure you and anyone who shares caregiving responsibility for the teen is ready. It can help to have a goal for the conversation. It can also help to figure out how you'll respond to the different ways your teen might react.
• Talk to your teen. You can never step in too early. Casual drug use can turn into too much use or addiction. This can lead to accidents, legal trouble and health problems.
• Encourage honesty. Speak calmly and express that you are coming from a place of concern. Share specific details to back up your suspicion. Verify any claims your child makes.
• Focus on the behavior, not the person. Emphasize that drug use is dangerous but that doesn't mean your teen is a bad person.
• Check in regularly. Spend more time with your teen. Know your teen's whereabouts and ask questions about the outing when your teen returns home.
• Get professional help. If you think your teen is involved in drug use, contact a health care provider or counselor for help.

It's never too soon to start talking to your teen about drug abuse. The conversations you have today can help your teen make healthy choices in the future.

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• Gage SH, et al. Association between cannabis and psychosis: Epidemiologic evidence. Biological Psychiatry. 2016;79:549.
• Quick facts on the risks of e-cigarettes for kids, teens and young adults. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/Quick-Facts-on-the-Risks-of-E-cigarettes-for-Kids-Teens-and-Young-Adults.html. Accessed Jan. 30, 2023.
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Why Do Teens Use Drugs?

Last Updated: Friday March 31, 2023

The teen years are often a time to explore and learn more about themselves as they approach adulthood. Often, this involves experimenting and testing their boundaries. The desire to do something new or risky is a normal part of teen development.

Teens who perceive little risk in using drugs are more likely to use drugs. Teens may also use drugs or alcohol to:

• Relieve boredom
• Forget their troubles and relax
• Satisfy their curiosity
• Ease their pain
• Feel grown up
• Show their independence
• Belong to a specific group

What are the Risk Factors and Protective Factors for Drug Use?

Many factors influence a child’s likelihood to use illegal substances or develop a substance abuse disorder. Effective drug prevention focuses on reducing the risk factors and strengthening the protective factors that are most closely related to substance abuse.

Risk factors are circumstances or events that increase a child’s use and abuse of drugs. The more risk factors present, the more likely a child may be to use drugs and develop problems. Risk factors for drug use include:

• Low grades or failure in school
• Victim of bullying or cyberbullying
• Low self esteem
• Permissive parenting
• Parent or older sibling drug/alcohol use
• Living in a community with a high tolerance for smoking, drinking, or drug use among youth
• Attending a school without strict rules for tobacco, alcohol, or drugs and inconsistent enforcement for breaking those rules
• Belief that there is little risk in using a drug.

Protective Factors

Protective factors are those characteristics that can reduce a person's risk for substance abuse or addiction. Protective factors that may decrease the risk of drug use include:

• Strong bond with a parent or caregiver
• High self esteem
• Parent or caregiver who talks regularly with their child about drugs
• Active in faith-based organizations, school, athletic, or community activities
• Spending time around positive role models
• Living in a community that offers youths activities where drugs and alcohol are not tolerated
• Attending a school with an effective alcohol and drug education program and a non-tolerance policy for alcohol and drugs
• Belief that using drugs may be harmful or risky

As a parent you can control many of the risk and protective factors in your home. Remember that parents and caregivers are the most important role models in children’s lives. For more information see Growing up Drug Free: A Parent’s Guide to Prevention .

Understanding the “Why” Behind Your Child’s Substance Use (Partnership for Drug-Free Kids)

Source: O’Connell, M.E., Boat, T., & Warner, K.E. (Eds.). (2009) Preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders among young people: Progress and possibilities. National Research Council and Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.

Reasons Behind Youth’s Engagement to Drug Abuse in the 21st Century Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Question at Issue

• Unemployment and Drug Abuse among Youths in the 21st Century

Peer Pressure and Drug Abuse among Youths

Family lifestyle and drug abuse among youths, works cited.

What are the reasons behind youths’ engagement in drug abuse in the 21st century?

Although youths in the 21 st century engage in drug abuse due to several factors, it suffices to declare factors such as the rising unemployment status, peer pressure, and their hiked tendency to copy their parents’ behaviors as the principal drivers of drug abuse. However, one would wish to know why.

Unemployment and Drug Abuse among Youths in the 21 st Century

Eighner’s words of people being satisfied with what they have and or letting go of what their financial ability cannot afford do not seem to apply in the life of youths in the 21 st century.

Youth joblessness has become a key issue in the 21 st century. It has continued to have serious effects on development potential of young people. The increased rate of unemployment among young people encourages them to use drugs to change the way they feel or they way they perceive their incapacitated situation rather than accepting the situation and or using the right means of overcoming it.

They have to carry on with offensive acts and prostitution to sustain themselves. Drug abuse has physical, mental, and social effects. Physical injury also results from accidents that youths encounter while they are drunk. Joblessness and poverty also make the youths resort to self-treatment following the evident absence of funds for appropriate therapeutic treatment.

Morrel et al. confirm the existence of a “link between unemployment and increased drug, tobacco, and alcohol use” (237). Unemployment leads to stress, which makes youths use drugs hoping to feel better. However, on the contrary, they end up being drug addicts. Unemployment makes youths become vulnerable to drug abuse because they have a lot of free and idle time on their hands, which gives them the chances to involve themselves in socially deviant behaviors with drug abuse being one of those behaviors.

Lack of employment is among the factors that influence their feeding habits and hence their health. In fact, Eighner has come in handy to address the issue of healthy eating habits that even the jobless youth should use (6). However, he also points out financial issues that arise because of lack of jobs that determine what people or rather youth will choose to consume (drugs) based on their little or no cash at all (7).

Many youths who have no employment end up abusing drugs because they need to survive and or keep on pressing in this life. When youths are growing from being children to adults, they have a lot of hopes and aspirations, which fade off as time goes by as they involve in drug abuse as a way of forgetting their unemployment status.

Moreover, congruent with Eighner’s words, a decent job can help add to habitable earnings, civilized shelter, and high-quality social sustenance, which can help promote health and wellbeing of the youths, help them recover from mental health problems, and avoid substance abuse-related harms (6).

However, youths still abuse drugs despite some having good employment. In fact, Wells and Stacy say, “Finding meaningful employment will not solve all problems, but it’s a very important part of the bigger picture for many people” (164). Congruent with Curry’s Why We Work, it is possible for youths to experience stress to the extent of demanding ‘time offs’ (23) in their jobs. As a result, majority will use this opportunity to use stimulants as a way of relieving themselves from stress. Stimulants will make a youth forget his or her situation.

On the other hand, depressants like prescription of sleeping pills can give the youth a good and extended night’s sleep, which is especially common to unemployed young people for they want to remain sleepy so that they do not think much of their situation. They prefer taking depressants to escape their problems. As they repeatedly take the pills, they end up being drug addicts. Research done by Florida found out, “states with higher unemployment rates do tend to have higher rates of drug use” (Wells and Stacy 163).

Peer pressure is among the strongest predictors of drug use during adolescence. Peers initiate youths into drugs, provide drugs, model drug- using behaviors, and shape attitude about drugs. Currently, youths are adopting a common lifestyle.

Most adolescents are drained by this lifestyle not because they lack something essential in their lives like a job or because they have a genuine reason as to why they have adopted to that very lifestyle but because they want to fit into their peer group for acceptance. Peer pressure leads to the abuse of drugs by teenagers. Teens engage in drugs in order to rhyme with their peers. The extensive and continuous use of these drugs lands them to drug addiction.

A drastic rise in drug abuse among teens in the 21 st century has been noted following their parting with their parents to join their peers at school. On the contrary, Cisneros’ The Storyteller is an article that features the life of a young tutor who has been far from her parents for a while. Although Cisneros has peers in her workplace, she is an epitome of young people who choose to go against the norms to do what is right no matter the pressure (Cisneros 153) of experimenting things along with her peers.

According to Morrel et al., “teenagers seem to have more problems with peer pressure because they are just beginning to learn about whom they are and what their belief systems are” (240).

Peer pressure stands out as among the principal causes that can drive the present-day knowledgeable youths towards drugs dependence. When educated youths are through with their studies, they start hunting jobs. Sometimes, the jobless time can extend due to rapid changes in the job market thus leading them to start experiencing headaches, depressions, and confusion.

At this stage, the peers who seem to be helping them to overcome the situation lead the educated youths into the act of abusing drugs. By the time they realize they are abusing drugs, they already have reached the addiction stage. Peer pressure qualifies as one of the central roots of drug abuse among youths because many teenagers try drugs because they were given by their friends. Unfortunately, what people believe their peers want them to do is often the cause of what they actually do.

The way family functions can have a strong impact on a teenager. Teenagers coming from families where there is minute parental management and attention have high chances of misusing drugs in relation to teens from homes with more parental participation. Teens who spent the better part of the day without their parents have high chances of participating in hazardous behaviors. Tough folk relations can help prevent drug abuse.

Coming from a home that stresses on using of harmful substances has a tendency to make a young person perceive it as up to standard. Detrimental family pressure may be an aspect in a teen’s early drug testing. In fact, “Exposure to family members who reach for a substance to cure every pain of ailment can cause a teen to do the same” (239). Young people acquire many of their principles from parents and other mature influences.

They often mimic what they see. In addition, adolescents who have the perception that they are not close to or treasured by their parents are at a larger hazard because they have low self-esteem, which leads to depression and hence drug addiction. A teen may also engage in a drug abuse act when he or she comes from a family with poor familial factors like poor communication strategies between youths and their parents.

In conclusion, youths lie within a delicate age set, which is prone to many dangers especially drug abuse. The paper has discussed drug abuse as the main challenge facing youths in the 21 st century. It has clearly described how youths engage in drug abusing activities. Three reasons behind this engagement have been addressed.

Unemployment is one of the issues discussed in this paper whereby many unemployed persons engage in abusing drugs as a way of getting consolation. Peer pressure also plays a big role in the act of drug abuse among the youths. Lastly, family lifestyle has a major influence on teens and their likelihood of abusing drugs.

Curry, Andrew. Why We Work. London: Routledge, 2010. Print.

Cisneros, Sandra. “The Storyteller.” The Oprah Magazine 10.3(2009): 153. Print.

Eighner, Lars. “On Dumpster Diving.” The Threepenny Review 1.47(1991): 6-8. Print.

Morrel, Stanley, Jack Taylor, and Kerr Bill. “Jobless. Unemployment and Young People’s Health.” Medical Journal of Australia 168.5(1998): 236-40. Print.

Wells, Brian, and Barrie Stacy. “A Further Comparison of Cannabis (marijuana) Users and Non users.” British Journal of Addiction to Alcohol and Other Drugs 71.2(1976): 161-165. Print.

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IvyPanda. (2018, November 28). Reasons Behind Youth’s Engagement to Drug Abuse in the 21st Century. https://ivypanda.com/essays/reasons-behind-youths-engagement-to-drug-abuse-in-the-21st-century/

"Reasons Behind Youth’s Engagement to Drug Abuse in the 21st Century." IvyPanda , 28 Nov. 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/reasons-behind-youths-engagement-to-drug-abuse-in-the-21st-century/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'Reasons Behind Youth’s Engagement to Drug Abuse in the 21st Century'. 28 November.

IvyPanda . 2018. "Reasons Behind Youth’s Engagement to Drug Abuse in the 21st Century." November 28, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/reasons-behind-youths-engagement-to-drug-abuse-in-the-21st-century/.

1. IvyPanda . "Reasons Behind Youth’s Engagement to Drug Abuse in the 21st Century." November 28, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/reasons-behind-youths-engagement-to-drug-abuse-in-the-21st-century/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Reasons Behind Youth’s Engagement to Drug Abuse in the 21st Century." November 28, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/reasons-behind-youths-engagement-to-drug-abuse-in-the-21st-century/.

Essay on Drugs On Youth

Students are often asked to write an essay on Drugs On Youth in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Drugs On Youth

Introduction.

Drugs are harmful substances that can hurt our bodies. When young people use drugs, it can cause big problems. This essay will talk about how drugs affect youth.

Why Youth Use Drugs

Many young people start using drugs because of peer pressure or stress. They might think it’s cool or a way to escape problems. But, it’s not a good solution and can lead to serious issues.

Effects of Drugs on Youth

Drugs can harm a person’s mind and body. They can make a young person feel sick, act differently, and have trouble in school. Over time, it can even lead to addiction.

Prevention and Help

It’s important to teach young people about the dangers of drugs. If someone is using drugs, they should seek help from a trusted adult or a professional. There are many resources available to help.

In conclusion, drugs can have a negative impact on youth. It’s important to understand the risks and seek help if needed. We must work together to prevent drug use and help those in need.

250 Words Essay on Drugs On Youth

Drugs can harm young people in many ways. They can change how the brain works, making it hard for youth to think, learn, and make good choices.

Drugs and Health Risks

Drugs are risky for everyone, but they’re especially dangerous for young people. This is because their bodies and brains are still growing. Drugs can harm this growth, leading to long-term health problems. For example, drugs can harm the heart, lungs, and other important parts of the body.

Drugs and Behavior

Drugs can also change how young people behave. They can make youth act in ways they normally wouldn’t, like being violent or taking risks. This can lead to problems at school, with friends, or with the law.

Drugs and Addiction

Drugs can be very addictive. This means that once a young person starts using drugs, it can be hard for them to stop. This can lead to a life-long struggle with drug use.

It’s important for young people to understand the risks of drug use. This can help them make good choices and stay healthy. Remember, saying no to drugs is always the best choice.

500 Words Essay on Drugs On Youth

Drugs are harmful substances that can change the way our body works. When we talk about ‘Drugs On Youth’, we mean the impact of these substances on young people. This is a serious issue because drugs can harm young people’s health, their school work, and their relationships.

The Attraction of Drugs

Many young people start using drugs out of curiosity or because friends are doing it. They might think that drugs can help them forget their problems or feel more relaxed and happy. But this is not true. Drugs can make problems worse and can lead to new problems.

Health Problems

One of the main impacts of drugs on youth is health problems. Drugs can damage important parts of the body like the brain, heart, and lungs. They can also make young people feel tired, confused, or scared. Some drugs can even lead to death.

Impact on School Work

Another impact of drugs on youth is on their school work. Drugs can make it hard for young people to concentrate, learn, and remember things. This can lead to poor grades, trouble with teachers, and even dropping out of school.

Relationship Problems

Drugs can also harm young people’s relationships. They can lead to fights with family and friends, and can make it hard to trust others. Young people who use drugs might also start hanging out with other drug users, which can lead to more problems.

Prevention is Key

To stop the impact of drugs on youth, we need to prevent young people from starting to use drugs in the first place. This can be done by teaching them about the dangers of drugs, and by giving them healthy ways to deal with stress and problems. Parents, teachers, and friends can all help in this.

In conclusion, drugs can have a big impact on young people’s health, school work, and relationships. It’s important to prevent young people from starting to use drugs, and to help those who are already using drugs to stop. By doing this, we can protect our youth and help them to have a bright and healthy future.

(Word Count: 325)

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• Essay on Drugs Education
• Essay on Drugs And Alcohol
• Essay on Drug Prevention

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Teen Drug Use, by the Numbers

Annual survey data points to which drugs and other substances are most commonly used among teenagers today.

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Alcohol, marijuana and nicotine through vaping remained the most commonly used substances among teens in 2023, according to a survey by Monitoring the Future.

It's an age-old worry among many parents: Is my kid using drugs?

Data shows why such concerns these days go beyond fretting over a teen potentially puffing on pot, with the rise of fentanyl fueling record-high fatal overdose totals in the U.S. and research pointing to the synthetic opioid’s deadly impact on youth .

But there’s also more positive news: Illicit drug use among American teens has held fairly steady around the lower levels reached in 2021, amid the school and societal disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Estimates from the most recent iteration of the annual Monitoring the Future survey also show significant increases in the shares of 10th- and 12th-graders who have never used alcohol, marijuana or nicotine, to approximately 54% and 38%, respectively.

The Monitoring the Future survey since 1975 has provided a national snapshot on the state of substance use among America’s adolescents and teens. The most recent drug use estimates were drawn from surveys of more than 22,000 students in eighth, 10th and 12th grade across 235 public and private schools.

The Top 10 Causes of Death in the U.S.

Here’s a look at some of the notable teen drug use data identified by the project.

Which Drugs and Substances Are Teens Using the Most?

Alcohol, marijuana and nicotine through vaping remained the most commonly used substances among teens in 2023, though at levels notably below what they were prior to the pandemic.

Approximately 29% of 12th-graders, 18% of 10th-graders and 8% of 8th-graders had used marijuana sometime over the previous 12 months in 2023 – rates that remained relatively unchanged since 2021 . Among all three grades combined, lifetime use of marijuana/hashish stood at 23%. The drops in marijuana use since the onset of the pandemic have marked the first substantial change in prevalence in over a decade, researchers said.

Meanwhile, the share of 12th-graders estimated to have used alcohol over the past 12 months decreased from 52% in 2022 to 46% in 2023. Past-year prevalence stood at 31% among 10th-graders and 15% among eighth-graders, while lifetime use among all students was 36%.

Nicotine vaping within the past year fell significantly among both 10th- and 12th-graders from 2022 to 2023, landing at 18% and 23%, respectively. It held fairly steady at 11% among students in eighth grade. Lifetime use among all three grades was 25%.

Other Drug and Substance Use Among Teens

Relatedly, lifetime cigarette use “trended slightly downward in all three grades” in 2023, according to a Monitoring the Future report on the latest survey results. Lifetime use among all grade levels was approximately 10%.

“Overall, cigarette prevalence in 2023 (was) at or near the lowest ever recorded by the survey since the start of the survey in 1975,” the report states.

Lifetime prevalence rates for other drugs across all three grade levels include:

• Cocaine - 1.1%
• Methamphetamine - 0.5%
• Heroin - 0.5%
• Hallucinogens (including LSD and psilocybin ) - 4%

Among 12th-graders, past-year prevalence rates for select drugs include:

• OxyContin - 0.6%
• Vicodin - 0.6%
• Ecstasy (MDMA) - 0.7%
• Ketamine - 1%
• Any prescription drug (without doctor’s orders) - 4.1%

Digging Into Delta-8, aka ‘Diet Weed’

New to the survey in 2023 was asking 12th-graders about their use of delta-8 THC, which is a variant of the main psychoactive compound in cannabis and has been referred to as “diet weed.” Legal at the federal level due to a legislative loophole but not in all states, delta-8 has become accessible in places like gas stations, smoke shops and convenience stores. It comes in various forms, including gummy candies and flavored vaping devices.

More than 11% of 12th-grade students used delta-8 over the past 12 months in 2023, according to MTF estimates. Prevalence of delta-8 use was found to be higher among teens who lived in states that had not legalized recreational marijuana for adults.

“Potential health effects of delta-8, including dependence, are currently unknown,” the report states.

Spike in Legal Use of ADHD Medications

The share of 12th-grade students who had ever legally used drugs to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder declined slightly in 2023 to 14.3% after jumping from 11% in 2021 to a high of 14.6% in 2022 – its largest single-year increase on record.

Lifetime prevalence among 8th-grade students declined from 12% in 2022 to 10% in 2023, while the percentage remained unchanged at close to 11% among 10th grade students in both 2022 and 2023.

“It is possible that the need for treatment of ADHD increased during the pandemic due to adolescents experiencing more stress during the pandemic,” the MTF report states. “Another possibility is that sheltering at home during the pandemic may have made any attention issues of adolescents more salient to their parents.”

Illicit Prescription Drug Use Down

Use of any prescription drug without a doctor’s orders among 12th-graders continued to hover around the lower level reached in 2021, after the pandemic took hold.

In 2023, the past-year prevalence of prescription medication use was 4% among 12th-grade students, compared with 5% in 2022 and 7.5% in 2020. Lifetime prevalence in 2023 was 8.5%, down from 14% in 2020.

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Fentanyl is fueling a record number of youth drug deaths

The new trend has shocked many pediatricians, who say they feel unprepared to provide counseling on opioid addiction.

Fentanyl, a pervasive killer in America’s illicit drug supply, is increasingly landing in the hands of teens across the region and nation, worrying providers who say treatment options for youths are limited.

Across the country, fentanyl has largely fueled a more than doubling of overdose deaths among children ages 12 to 17 since the start of the pandemic, according to a Washington Post analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released this month.

Fatal overdoses in D.C., Maryland and Virginia are in keeping with the national increase in opioid fatalities, which until recently primarily claimed the lives of adults. In 2022, 45 teens succumbed to opioids locally, a number roughly equal to the previous three years combined, data show. And incomplete data for 2023 show no sign of the crisis abating in young people.

Physicians at area hospitals report a rise in young people who took opioids arriving to emergency rooms and local addiction specialists say the number of teens seeking help for opioid use is spiking — especially among Latinos.

The surge, experts said, reflects a collision between adolescents’ natural drive to experiment, a decline in teen mental health and an increase in the availability and potency of counterfeit pills that mimic the appearance of prescription medications, making the experimentation that is a hallmark of adolescence more dangerous. A single pill containing fentanyl can be lethal, and those who survive often need comprehensive addiction care that clinicians say isn’t widely available.

“You had this really, really disastrous combination of a dangerous drug supply with teens who were increasingly struggling,” said Scott Hadland, chief of adolescent and young adult medicine at Mass General for Children and Harvard Medical School.

Many pediatricians surveyed nationwide report feeling underprepared to counsel patients on opioid use, Hadland and his co-authors found in an analysis of survey results . As providers try to catch up and government agencies weigh how best to respond, many schools are stocking overdose reversal medication as recently recommended by the Biden administration and are working to teach students and families about the dangers.

Easy to get from friends or through social media, potent pills masquerading as prescription Percocet or oxycodone cost a few dollars each and seemed to flood the market as students reeling from the isolation and the trauma of the pandemic returned to school, treatment providers said in interviews.

Frequently sold online at $2 to $10 a piece, addiction specialists say, pills laced with fentanyl are hard to spot, easy to hide and can quickly lead to powerful dependencies — or worse.

“It’s not easy to stay away from drugs once your body has a substance abuse disorder. The pump is primed. The brain wiring has been rewired,” said Daniel Smith, director of addiction services at Mary’s Center, a community health center that predominantly serves Spanish-speaking patients in D.C. and Maryland.

Smith and Sivabalaji Kaliamurthy, a pediatric addictions specialist who runs the Children’s National Hospital addictions clinic, have spent years treating young people addicted to marijuana or alcohol. In the summer of 2022, they saw a change that shocked them both: teens were seeking treatment for opioid dependency. Now they almost exclusively treat opioid use disorder.

“We did not anticipate this happening with teens. It kind of fell in our lap,” Smith said, adding: “Before 2022, we had no kids ever [for that].”

“All of this has come together when kids were coming back to school post covid,” Kaliamurthy said.

Opioid-related visits to the emergency department at Children’s National in Northwest D.C. from 12-to-21-year-olds doubled from 2022 to 2023, while visits for other drugs remained flat, said Anisha Abraham, the hospital’s chief of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine.

A dozen young people ages 16 to 19 died in the District last year, surpassing the previous high of six in 2021 and echoing the precipitous rise in adult overdose deaths which hit a record 522 last year, according to a recent medical examiner’s report.

Montgomery County emergency rooms tracked a spike in opioid-related visits last year among young people ages 10 to 21, according to state surveillance data . Hispanic youths made up 4 in 10 visits; Black youths a quarter and White youths about 20 percent, data show.

While White teens make up the largest share of adolescent opioid deaths nationally and locally, Black and Hispanic adolescents are now dying at a faster rate, CDC data show.

Liseth’s mother knew something was wrong in summer of 2022 when her teenage daughter stopped cleaning her room and started smoking marijuana. Within months, Liseth lost weight, ate less, came home late and vomited often. Even while raising two other children and working, her mother could tell Liseth wasn’t herself. The first doctor the Maryland family saw dismissed her concerns but when they ended up at the Children’s National Hospital emergency department in Northwest Washington last year, Liseth admitted she was using fentanyl.

The mother shared her daughter’s story with her permission, speaking Spanish through an interpreter on the condition of anonymity to protect the family’s privacy and identifying Liseth, now 17, by her middle name.

While data shows the profile of a fatal overdose victim in D.C. is a middle-aged Black man who snorts or injects heroin, treatment providers say adolescents like Liseth almost exclusively use pills, known as M30s, perks or blues, by inhaling the fumes off a foil. Teens tell providers they have easy access to the pills at school and once their friend group begins using, it’s hard to say no.

Experimentation and pushing boundaries is part of being an adolescent, Smith said, “but you can die from using a perk one time and that is terrifying.” As of 2020, drug overdoses and poisonings rank as the third-leading cause of pediatric deaths in America, after firearm-related injuries and motor vehicle crashes. Fentanyl is present in at least three-quarters of teen overdose deaths, CDC data show.

Treatment has been tough on Liseth, who was born in Virginia to Guatemalan parents and lives in a tidy suburban home in Maryland filled with flowers and symbols of her family’s Catholic faith. There were relapses, disappearances, a 911 call and a stay at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington. Her mom considered moving the family back to Guatemala.

Kaliamurthy, Liseth’s doctor, advised them to stay in the U.S. and started the girl on monthly injections of extended-release buprenorphine , a medication commonly used to treat opioid use disorder that blunts withdrawal symptoms and cravings. Finally, things are turning around. She is eating again, looking healthy and — unable to go to school where drugs are ubiquitous — ready to start a GED program.

How families can approach youth opioid use

• Talk to your teen about your concerns. Ask about use by friends and classmates as well
• Remind your child that you love them and will be there to support them
• Consider involving a health professional or counselor soon as possible
• Remind your teen to have Narcan available and to never use alone
• Look out for small, constricted “pinpoint pupils”
• Choking or gurgling sounds
• Slow, shallow breathing
• Limp body; loss of consciousness
• Having pale, blue or cold skin
• Call 911 for emergency medical help.
• Give naloxone (if available) which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose
• Keep your child or teen awake and breathing by rubbing their chest with your knuckles
• Lay them on their side to prevent choking if they vomit
• Stay with your child or teen until professional help arrives
• Pick it up free at participating pharmacies in each ward
• Text LiveLongDC to 888-811 and an outreach worker will deliver it within two business days
• Fill out a form online to have it mailed to your home in discrete packaging
• Contact a Public Overdose Response Program to pick up free naloxone or have it delivered to your home
• Naloxone may also be found in your local pharmacy and billed to insurance and Medicaid.​​
• For more information or if you need help finding naloxone, contact [email protected]
• Ask about free naloxone at your local Community Service Board or health department
• Most pharmacies sell a two-pack of naloxone nasal sprays over the counter for about $45

Provisional data released in May by the CDC showed a slight decrease in overdose deaths among all ages across the country last year — heralded by some public health leaders as a glimmer of progress.

The contrasting increase among youths is especially troubling, experts say, because when and where counterfeit pills can trigger a spate of overdoses is unpredictable. Teens are especially vulnerable to the consequences of hidden fentanyl as many are experimenting and have no tolerance to opioids, Hadland said.

A spate of nonfatal overdoses in Loudoun and a suspected overdose in Arlington last year prompted schools to institute drug-sniffing dogs and embrace the overdose antidote naloxone, adding it to first aid kits and allowing students to carry it.

As prevention techniques ramp up, officials are seeking more ways to expand intensive treatment options for adolescents who need inpatient and outpatient care, using medication and individual, group and family therapy. The District this year sought a teen residential treatment provider and awarded the Children’s National clinic an $830,000 contract to expand outpatient substance use services.

For adolescents on public insurance, there are no residential treatment options in D.C. and only a few spots in Maryland, leaving youths to navigate the challenges of outpatient care while surrounded by triggers.

“If you live with people who are using drugs, if you go to school with people who are using drugs, if you encounter people between home and school using drugs … It’s very hard to stay sober,” Smith said.

The mother of a 16-year-old from Silver Spring, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect her daughter’s privacy with the teen’s permission, said it never occurred to her that any of her daughter’s friends would be using fentanyl or that her child could become addicted.

Then her daughter’s girlfriend died, and she noticed the teen was spending more time alone. The family smelled the telltale odor of fentanyl fumes, like burnt tires, emanating from the basement.

They turned to Children’s National, where she was already receiving mental health care, and entered an intensive outpatient treatment program. After bristling at the daily reminder of her struggle when taking daily buprenorphine as a tablet, she switched to a longer-acting injection form of the drug and started to feel better.

There are hard days, but the family feels lucky to be able to navigate insurance hurdles and afford the out-of-pocket costs associated with her treatment.

The spike is driving public health experts to rethink preventive drug education for young people. Guidance should present not using drugs as the safest choice but also include information about reducing risk for those who choose to experiment, Mass General’s Hadland and a co-author said in a New England Journal of Medicine article earlier this year.

“We always say to teenagers, ‘Don’t use drugs,’” said Abraham, the Children’s National adolescent medicine specialist. “But I will also say that the nature of being a young person, is that they’re going to try things — especially when you tell them not to.”

David Ovalle contributed to this report.

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The Morning

Has fentanyl peaked.

We explain a decline in overdose deaths.

By German Lopez

Last week brought some rare good news on drugs: Overdose deaths declined in 2023 . And while the opioid crisis has taken some surprising and terrible twists over the years, it may finally be turning around.

There are two main causes. First, drug epidemics tend to follow a natural course in which the drugs enter a market, spread and then fade away, at least for some time. The opioid epidemic appears to have entered that final phase. Second, policymakers have increased access to both Narcan, a medication that reverses opioid overdoses, and addiction treatment. These changes have saved lives. Today’s newsletter will explain both causes.

Faddish cycle

Drugs are often faddish; epidemics tend to ebb on their own. Why? Users die. People see the damage that a drug does, and they shun it. Surviving users move on to other drugs that they see as better or safer, sometimes incorrectly.

Think of all the drugs that have come and gone over the past several decades, such as crack, meth and synthetic marijuana. (In the case of meth, a comeback is underway . Even the worst fads can return.)

The opioid epidemic is no exception. In fact, it has arguably been a succession of three different fads — first opioid painkillers, then heroin and finally fentanyl — that have felt like one.

Annual drug overdose deaths in the United States

100,000 deaths

In the 1990s, doctors started to prescribe more painkillers. The drugs proliferated not just among patients but everyone else as teenagers took them from parents’ medicine cabinets and peddlers sold them on the black market. By the 2010s, many painkiller users had moved on to heroin as they lost access to the pills — because doctors stopped prescribing them — or sought a stronger high. Then, fentanyl arrived.

Fentanyl has been worse than heroin and other opioids. Drug cartels make it in laboratories in Mexico, using ingredients typically imported from China. Before the current crisis, fentanyl was not widely misused in the U.S. It first spread in drug markets across the East Coast and the Midwest in the mid-2010s, consistently causing a spike in overdoses wherever it went.

For a little while, its spread largely stopped at the Mississippi River. It was easier to mix with the white-powder heroin popular in the eastern U.S. than with the black tar heroin popular in the western U.S. As fentanyl’s spread briefly stalled, overdose deaths declined nationally in 2018. But then the drug went westward, reaching the Pacific Coast. That new wave, coupled with the Covid pandemic, caused annual overdose deaths to exceed 100,000.

So why is last year’s drop different from 2018’s? Opioids, including fentanyl, have already reached every corner of the country; they have few places left to spread. The Covid pandemic is over, taking with it the chaos and isolation that led to more overdoses. The drug users most likely to die have already done so. More people have rejected opioid use. And the remaining users have learned how to use fentanyl more safely.

Policy’s impact

Some policy changes have played a role in the decline, too.

In particular, federal officials have successfully pushed the use of Narcan (also known as naloxone), a medication that reverses opioid overdoses. Police officers and firefighters often administer it. Libraries and schools carry it. Pharmacies sell it over the counter. Some first aid kits include it. People who overdose are now much likelier to get Narcan quickly enough to save their lives.

The federal government has also put more money toward addiction treatment, both through Medicaid and through new laws aimed at the drug crisis. The government has pushed doctors to prescribe medications that treat opioid addiction. Some states, like Vermont , have made treatment more accessible and higher quality.

These changes have not addressed every problem. Patients can struggle to pay for treatment. And some programs continue to use practices not supported by science, such as confrontational approaches and therapies in which patients bond with horses . Still, the policy changes have helped improve the treatment system overall.

Even after last year’s decline, annual overdose deaths remain above 100,000. That death toll is higher than all annual deaths from car crashes and guns combined. The introduction of a new drug — the next fad — could still increase that death toll again.

Policymakers could speed up the drop in deaths. They could require health insurance plans to cover addiction treatment. They could fund more high-quality treatment. They could reduce the price of Narcan and similar medications. They could better coordinate with China and Mexico to reduce the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.

The opioid epidemic is burning out anyway, but its decline could be steeper, saving thousands more lives.

Related: A major study found that weed use among teenagers was lower in states where the drug was legal, confounding expectations.

THE LATEST NEWS

Trump on trial.

The prosecution rested its case in Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial after Michael Cohen finished testifying. The defense is likely to rest today .

Prosecutors found a photo of Trump with his bodyguard from October 2016, taken shortly before Cohen said he called the bodyguard to discuss the payment to Stormy Daniels with Trump. The defense had challenged Cohen’s account of the call.

During cross-examination, Cohen admitted to stealing from Trump’s company . He kept money that was meant to go to a tech company hired to rig polls in Trump’s favor.

The defense called Robert Costello, a lawyer who advised Cohen before they had a falling out. Costello testified that Cohen told him that Trump “knew nothing” about paying off Daniels . Cohen previously said that he’d lied to Costello.

Trump has often sat still, his eyes closed, during the proceedings. Sometimes he’s sleeping; sometimes he seems to be compartmentalizing, our colleague Maggie Haberman says .

A verdict could come next week, answering the question of whether Trump will campaign for president as a convicted felon .

Iranian President’s Death

Iran began funeral events for Ebrahim Raisi, its former president who died in a helicopter crash.

A “technical failure” caused the crash that killed Raisi and Iran’s foreign minister, the state media reported.

Images of the crash site show that Raisi’s helicopter was a model developed for the Canadian military in the 1960s. Iran struggles to update its aviation fleet because of sanctions .

Raisi was a candidate to succeed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 85, as Iran’s supreme leader. His death complicates a difficult search for the next ruler .

Israel-Hamas War

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor requested arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of Hamas for crimes related to Oct. 7 and the war in Gaza.

President Biden called the prosecutor’s request outrageous: “There is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas.” He later said that what’s happening in Gaza “is not genocide.”

OpenAI asked Scarlett Johansson, who played a seductive virtual assistant in the movie “Her,” to become a voice of ChatGPT . She said no twice, but the company released an assistant that sounds like her.

“I was shocked, angered and in disbelief”: Johansson rebuked Sam Altman , OpenAI’s chief executive. The company has suspended the voice.

OpenAI designed a voice of a “lightly flirtatious, wholly attentive woman,” our movie critic writes. Read more about how the voice resembled the one in “Her.”

More on Business

The seafood chain Red Lobster has filed for bankruptcy . The company plans to close many of its restaurants.

The financier Ivan Boesky, who symbolized the brash Wall Street of the 1980s — and paid a $100 million penalty for insider trading — died at 87 .

2024 Election

Trump and the Republican Party beat Biden and the Democrats in fund-raising for the first time this election. The Biden campaign still has far more cash on hand.

Trump’s Truth Social account posted a video with hypothetical newspaper articles about what his victory would mean for America that referred to “the creation of a unified Reich.” His campaign said a staffer had posted it.

Other Big Stories

Gangs control Haiti’s infrastructure , including police stations and ports.

South Africa’s highest court barred former President Jacob Zuma, who is attempting a political comeback, from running for Parliament next week . His new party will still put his face on ballots, complicating the election.

Contaminated blood products killed about 3,000 patients of Britain’s National Health Service, a long-awaited report found. The authorities hid their failings for years.

Storms could bring tornadoes and damaging winds to the Midwest today.

Arizona has a choice: become more like Texas or more like California. This year’s U.S. Senate race will suggest where it’s headed , Tom Zoellner writes.

Samer Attar spent weeks documenting the struggle to save lives in Gaza’s ravaged hospitals. Watch his dispatches in this Opinion Video .

Here are columns by Michelle Goldberg on Trump’s criminal trial and Paul Krugman on the Dow’s hitting 40,000 .

MORNING READS

Travel: Spend 36 hours on the Spanish island of Minorca.

Climate questions: Is biodegradable plastic really a thing? Yes, but it isn’t a perfect solution .

Health: How to soothe — and prevent — ingrown hairs .

Lives Lived: Bruce Nordstrom, whose grandfather immigrated from Sweden and founded Nordstrom as a small shoe-store chain, was instrumental in turning the retailer into an international fashion giant. He died at 90 .

N.H.L.: The Edmonton Oilers survived Game 7 in Vancouver despite giving up two goals in the final nine minutes. They will play the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final.

N.B.A.: The Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers play in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals tonight. Boston is a favorite .

ARTS AND IDEAS

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s style — the skinny ties, button-downs and weather-beaten tan — is unique among this year’s presidential hopefuls. It also might be an electoral advantage: His preppy look evokes, in the American mind, his father and his uncle, the Times’s chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman writes .

“It matters because those unstated associations serve to moderate Mr. Kennedy’s more outré positions,” Vanessa adds.

More on culture

The Times sat down with the stars of Yorgos Lanthimos’s new dark comedy, “Kinds of Kindness,” which just premiered at Cannes .

Penguin Random House, the largest publishing house in the U.S., dismissed two top executives ; the industry faces financial challenges.

The author of “Crazy Rich Asians” left Singapore’s upper crust when he was 11. He’s still writing about it .

The Portal — a live video feed between Dublin and New York City — has reopened. It was shut off last week because of bad behavior on both sides, including a flasher.

Stephen Colbert had thoughts about Justice Samuel Alito blaming his wife for the flying of an upside-down American flag.

THE MORNING RECOMMENDS …

Roast a curry-rubbed half chicken with peppers , an ideal recipe for one.

Celebrate love with an anniversary gift .

Take a portable solar battery charger with you on a hike.

Here is today’s Spelling Bee . Yesterday’s pangram was taxonomy .

And here are today’s Mini Crossword , Wordle , Sudoku , Connections and Strands .

Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — German

P.S. We apologize: We told you yesterday that the comments section for David Leonhardt’s article on “neopopulism” would still be open, and it wasn’t. But it’s open again now and will remain so all day.

Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox . Reach our team at [email protected] .

German Lopez is a writer for The Morning newsletter. More about German Lopez

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A synthetic drug ravages youth in Sierra Leone. There’s little help, and some people are chained

A young man smokes Kush at a hideout in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Monday, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio declared a state of emergency in April over the drug kush, which is made from cannabis, fentanyl and tramadol. However, government resources are limited, and the country’s only public rehab center is unable to accommodate all the people in need of addiction treatment.

A young man smokes Kush at a hideout in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Monday, April 29, 2024. Sierra Leone declared a war on the cheap synthetic drug, calling it an epidemic and a national threat. The drug is ravaging youth, and healthcare services are severely limited. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

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View of Freetown, Sierra Leone, Sunday, April 28, 2024. Sierra Leone declared a war on the cheap synthetic drug, calling it an epidemic and a national threat. The drug is ravaging youth, and healthcare services are severely limited. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

Two boys walk in Moa Wharf, a slum where Kush users live in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Friday, April 26, 2024. Sierra Leone declared a war on Kush, a cheap synthetic drug, calling it an epidemic and a national threat. The drug is ravaging youth, and healthcare services are severely limited. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

A man sleeps in the shade on the streets of Freetown, Sierra Leone, Sunday, April 28, 2024. Sierra Leone declared a war on Kush, a cheap synthetic drug, calling it an epidemic and a national threat. The drug is ravaging youth, and healthcare services are severely limited. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

Kush users rest in a room where they receive care in an unconventional rehabilitation centre in the Bombay community, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Thursday, April 25, 2024. Some youth in the Bombay community are helping Kush addicts stop by rehabilitating them. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

A girl walks past a ‘No more Kush’ warning on a wall on Bombay Street in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Saturday, April 25, 2024. Sierra Leone declared a war on the cheap synthetic drug, calling it an epidemic and a national threat. The drug is ravaging youth, and healthcare services are severely limited. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

Habib Taigore Kamara, Executive Director of Sierra Leone’s Youth Development and Child Link (SLYDCL), stands in his office in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Thursday, April 25, 2024. Habib’s organisation provides medical care and psychological support for drug users in Sierra Leone. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

A group of youth meet in Bombay Street in a compound where they rehabilitate Kush users in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Saturday, April 28, 2024. Youth in the Bombay community are helping Kush addicts stop by rehabilitating them in a temporary space. Sierra Leone declared a war on the cheap synthetic drug, calling it an epidemic and a national threat. The drug is ravaging youth, and healthcare services are severely limited. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

An employee at Sierra Leone Youth Development and Child Link (SLYDCL) provides medical care for Kush users at Moa Wharf, a drug den in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Friday, April 26, 2024. Sierra Leone declared a war on the cheap synthetic drug, calling it an epidemic and a national threat. The drug is ravaging youth, and healthcare services are severely limited. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

A Kush user waits outside during a medical outreach center of Sierra Leone’s Youth Development and Child Link (SLYDCL), an NGO that provides medical care and psychological needs for drug users, Friday, April 26, 2024. Sierra Leone declared a war on the cheap synthetic drug, calling it an epidemic and a national threat. The drug is ravaging youth, and healthcare services are severely limited. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

Kush users’ queue to receive medical care at a medical outreach center of Sierra Leone’s Youth Development and Child Link (SLYDCL), an NGO that provides medical care and psychological needs for drug users, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

Kush users receive treatment at a medical outreach facility of Sierra Leone’s Youth Development and Child Link (SLYDCL),an NGO that provides medical care and psychological needs for drug users, Friday, April 26, 2024. Sierra Leone declared a war on the cheap synthetic drug, calling it an epidemic and a national threat. The drug is ravaging youth, and healthcare services are severely limited. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

A Kush user shows his injury through a window at a medical outreach center of Sierra Leone’s Youth Development and Child Link (SLYDCL), an NGO that provides medical care and psychological needs for drug users, Friday, April 26, 2024 . The drug leaves people lethargic, desperate and ill. While the government does not publish official figures on kush-related deaths or hospital admissions, Ansu Konneh, the director of mental health at the Ministry of Social Welfare, said there had been a sharp rise in people addicted to kush. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

Kush users rest in a room where they receive care in an unconventional rehabilitation centre in the Bombay community, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Thursday, April 25, 2024. Some youth in the Bombay community are helping Kush addicts stop by rehabilitating them. Over 70 drug users have received care and overcame drug abuse since January 2024. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

A Kush user reacts after receiving treatment at Sierra Leone’s Youth Development and Child Link (SLYDCL), an NGO that provides medical care and psychological needs for drug users in Sierra Leone, Friday, April 26, 2024. Sierra Leone declared a war on the cheap synthetic drug, calling it an epidemic and a national threat. The drug is ravaging youth, and healthcare services are severely limited. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

A boy looks at his phone on the street of Bombay at night, Freetown, Sierra Leone, Saturday, April 28, 2024 Sierra Leone declared a war on the cheap synthetic drug, calling it an epidemic and a national threat. The drug is ravaging youth, and healthcare services are severely limited. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

Ephraim Maculey, (R), a former Kush user and now an anti-drug activist, talks with drug users at a drug den in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Friday, April 26, 2024. Maculey is an employee of Sierra Leone’s Youth Development and Child Link (SLYDCL), an organisation that provides medical care and psychological services to drug users in Sierra Leone. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

A young man rolls Kush as other users sleep at a hideout in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Monday, April 29, 2024. Sierra Leone declared a war on the cheap synthetic drug, calling it an epidemic and a national threat. The drug is ravaging youth, and healthcare services are severely limited. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

Memunatu Kamara breaks down in tears next to her son Mohammed, who smokes Kush in Susan’s Bay, one of the three largest slums in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Sunday, April 28, 2024. Kamala said it’s a shame for her to see her son going wasteful due to Kush’s addiction. Sierra Leone declared a war on the cheap synthetic drug, calling it an epidemic and a national threat. The drug is ravaging youth, and healthcare services are severely limited. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

Mohammed Kamara, a Kush user, shows a picture of himself before he got addicted to Kush and dropped out of school at his family’s home in Susan’s Bay, one of the three largest slums in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Sunday, April 28, 2024 Kamara fell to peer pressure and dropped out of school when he was in Senior High. “I want to go back to school”, says Mohammed, and pursue my mechanical engineering dream."Sierra Leone declared a war on the cheap synthetic drug, calling it an epidemic and a national threat. The drug is ravaging youth, and healthcare services are severely limited. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

Young men work on a landfill in the east end of Freetown, Sierra Leone, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Kush users mostly sort through rubbles at dumpsites to make money. Sierra Leone declared a war on the cheap synthetic drug, calling it an epidemic and a national threat. The drug is ravaging youth, and healthcare services are severely limited. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — In Sierra Leone, a cheap, synthetic drug is ravaging youth. Trash-strewn alleys are lined with boys and young men slumped in addiction. Healthcare services are severely limited. One frustrated community has set up what it calls a treatment center, run by volunteers. But harsh measures can be used.

The project in the Bombay suburb of the capital, Freetown, started in the past year when a group of people tried to help a colleague’s younger brother off the drug called kush. After persuasion and threats failed, they locked him in his room for two months. It worked. He has returned to university and thanked them for setting him free.

“The only time I left the room was when I went to the bathroom,” Christian Johnson, 21, recalled. He said he was motivated to kick the drug by thoughts of his family, the fear of becoming a dropout and the abandonment by many of his friends.

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio declared a state of emergency in April over the drug kush, which is made from cannabis, fentanyl and tramadol.

The volunteers then expanded the effort and took over an abandoned building. They seize people at families’ request and sometimes chain them to prevent them from escaping — an echo of a practice the West African country’s only psychiatric hospital previously used. There’s little padding against the concrete floor and walls, and little to do beyond confronting their craving.

A group of youth meet in a compound where they rehabilitate Kush users in Freetown, Sierra Leone, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

“We turn parents away for lack of space,” said Suleiman Turay, a local football coach who helped launch the center. “The people in the community cooperate and help in their own individual ways. Some bring food, some bring water, doing whatever they can to help.” A doctor in the community visits from time to time. Police said they were not aware of the project or the practice of chaining people.

So far, the Bombay Community has treated 70 to 80 people, volunteers said. One showed the chains used in extreme cases, although no one was chained at the time. The youngest held was a 13-year-old boy sent there by his father.

“I was very angry, and I wanted to have nothing to do with him,” said the father, Gibrilla Bangura, a college lecturer. “I am very grateful to these men and women for their role in helping my son.”

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio this year declared a war on kush, calling it an epidemic and a national threat. He has launched a task force on drug and substance abuse, promising to lead a government approach focused on prevention and treatment involving law enforcement and community engagement.

“We are witnessing the destructive consequences of kush on our country’s very foundation, our young people,” Bio said in April.

A young man rolls Kush as other users sleep at a hideout in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Monday, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

People rarely know what they’re getting with kush, a derivative of cannabis mixed with synthetic drugs like fentanyl and tramadol and chemicals like formaldehyde. In some communities, civil society workers say, people have dug up graves to grind bones to cut with the drug, seeking chemicals used in embalming.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s director in Sierra Leone, Daphne Moffett, said one challenge in responding to the crisis is the drug’s changing composition. “Before appropriate interventions can be developed, we need to know what materials are in Kush,” she said in an email.

The drug leaves people lethargic, desperate and ill. While the government does not publish official figures on kush-related deaths or hospital admissions, Ansu Konneh, the director of mental health at the Ministry of Social Welfare, said there had been a sharp rise in people addicted to kush turning up at Sierra Leone’s only psychiatric hospital since 2022.

Kush users rest in a room where they receive care in an unconventional rehabilitation centre in the Bombay community, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

Konneh heads Sierra Leone’s first public drug rehabilitation enter, which opened in Freetown in February. He said kush has affected Sierra Leone like no other drug.

“It’s making young people drop out of college, and it’s having a physical effect on their health. You can see they have swollen feet, they have multiple organ failures, they’re involved in crimes,” he said. “It’s a very serious situation. It’s creating family disintegration, problems in communities, and they’re dying every day.”

Prince Bull-Luseni, the director of the West Africa Drug Policy Network, a group that aims to promote policy reforms, said Sierra Leone is the worst-hit country in the region. “Every community in Sierra Leone, not just in Freetown, has been hit by kush and it’s tearing them apart,” he told the AP, adding that with no treatment or rehabilitation for most users, “there’s no way to address it.”

The Social Linkages For Youth Development And Child Link, a nonprofit organization that seeks to fight drug use, relies on former users of the drug to help educate young people about its toll. The organization had lobbied the government for years to allocate more resources to fighting addiction.

“Overcoming the addiction wasn’t easy. It was one of the hardest steps of my life,” said Ephraim Macaulay, a peer educator who came across kush in college and soon was paying less than a dollar for a day’s supply. “It’s like you trying to get out of water and there’s water all around you.”

He motivated himself by comparing himself to friends and family. They were clean. He stank. Gradually, he stopped taking the drug. Now he sometimes feels like crying when talking to peers, reminded of what his life could have been if he hadn’t kicked the addiction.

Ephraim Maculey, (R), a former Kush user and now an anti-drug activist, talks with drug users at a drug den in Freetown, Sierra Leone, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

Habib Kamara, the executive director at SLYDCL, said the availability of kush has grown exponentially after suppliers began to manufacture it locally. He said law enforcement needs to do more to target manufacturers at the top of the supply chain instead of chasing buyers and low-level sellers. The government has said it wants to help, not punish, those who use the drug.

Habib Taigore Kamara, Executive Director of Sierra Leone’s Youth Development and Child Link (SLYDCL), stands in his office in Freetown, Sierra Leone, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

“This country has fought two pandemics,” he said, listing COVID and West Africa’s devastating Ebola outbreak that began a decade ago. Kush has had a similar impact, causing young people to drop out of school, straining the healthcare system and tearing apart families.

“If we cannot have an approach that reduces usage, in the future we will not have people to replace us tomorrow in the workforce,” Kamara said.

Some parents are exhausted. Memunatu Kamara, 49, sells smoked fish at a market in Freetown, providing the main income for her family of six. Her husband is an imam. Their son, the oldest, has dropped out of school and stolen the few valuables they owned to buy the drug.

“A very intelligent boy has become a dropout,” she said, wiping away tears. “I feel pain seeing him in this condition. I feel shame among my peers. I feel discouraged about his future. I have no idea what else to do about it.”

She has put her son on the waiting list for the Bombay Community.

Memunatu Kamara breaks down in tears next to her son Mohammed, who smokes Kush in Susan’s Bay, one of the three largest slums in Freetown, Sierra Leone, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/ Misper Apawu)

Associated Press writer Jessica Donati in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report.

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .

DDB youth camp aims to save youth from illegal drug use

The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) in partnership with the Anti-Drug Abuse Council (ADAC) of Sta. Rosa, Laguna organized a youth camp that encouraged the youth to shun illegal substance abuse and "be role models among their peers."

Through the Youth Camp Against Drug Abuse program, the DDB stated that youth are enticed to further promote the fight against illegal drugs among the younger generation through activities and discussions that address positive coping strategies for overcoming pressure and hardships.

“To effectively create a proactive and supportive environment that significantly reduces the likelihood of drug abuse among the younger generation, it is important to reinforce the youth with essential knowledge on drug abuse prevention education,’’ the DDB noted.

The DDB added that the program empowered and equipped the 50 young participants with the skills they need to strengthen their tenacity against the use of dangerous drugs. 

To better respond to the needs of the youth sector involved in substance abuse, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) also partnered with the DDB in the conduct of the “Design Thinking and Planning Workshop for the Development of the Model Interventions For the Special Drug Education Center" (SDEC) clients.

The workshop gathered key stakeholders and development partners for the formulation of the model of intervention to enhance the existing programs under the Special Drug Education Center.

“SDEC is a community-based facility, serving as a safe venue where out-of-school youth and street children receive education on the ill effects of substance abuse,’’ the DDB explained.

The DDB pointed out that the program aims to enable the affected youth to cope with the challenges of adolescence, particularly their vulnerability to drug and substance abuse by providing training in essential livelihood skills, promoting leadership, facilitating peer counseling and fostering community development.