Parents with teens already shudder as they recall those nights they asked an adult to buy beer for them. Drinking started so young, it seemed, and they fear their kids will make the same mistakes, no matter how much wisdom they try to impart. Current statistics prove, however, that heroin is now cheaper and easier to get than alcohol.
This would account for the rise in emergency room visits in Chicago relating to illegal drug use, the most common being heroin. This is no slight rise among the hills and valleys of statistical data, but what NBC Chicago calls a ‘spike’. In face, the use of heroin in Illinois rose more than 400% from 1998-2008. Contrary to popular assumption, high use groups are not inner-city youth and do not come from ethnic minority groups. These are middle class teens in the suburbs.
An Illinois Government website featuring drug abuse statistics notes some changes in the demographics of drug use. Heroin consumption among twelfth graders appears at more or less stable rates, but among tenth graders has seen a slight rise. While cocaine has decline in popularity slightly, especially among the older group, other drugs have taken its place. Vicodin, made famous on the TV show House, is noted along with another prescription painkiller, Oxycontin, as sources of serious abuse among both teen groups.
Illinois Drug Education Alliance (IDEA) and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) train peer leaders passionate about advocating for more education and prevention measures in schools and state legislation. In April they met with senators and other officials to lobby for a more proactive approach in Illinois at Dome Shift 2010, Springfield. While SADD originated as an alcohol abuse prevention and awareness group, they have extended their mandate to address growing concerns over drug use among teens. Ideas for getting their point across stem from original anti drunk-driving campaigns, but would work just as well to represent deaths due to drug overdose. These include mock memorial services and displays such as crosses lined-up on a highly visible lawn, or hosting a ‘day of the dead.’ These and other websites highlight the effects of drug use on the brain.
Meanwhile, parents may believe their teens’ friends hold the most sway over their kids, but evidence proves otherwise. Prevention First notes that parents are the most influential people in the life of a child. Teens do not want to disappoint their parents. This site offers links to educational resources which not only promote awareness but highly positive alternative activities to encourage a better use of the brain rather than attacking it with dangerous chemicals. This and the groups listed above archive related articles on topics such as intervening at house parties and other ways parents can maintain some authority over their children’s lives. They only have so long before kids become adults, destined to make their own ugly choices or break free beautifully from cycles of destructive behavior.
Written by Candice Lucey
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