To think drug taking among teens is at epidemic levels

[BackInTime]

Posting for traffic.

This is based on observations and conversations with my teen DC, teacher friends and other parents. It seems like drugs are cheaper and more available than ever before and schools and parents struggling to cope with the fallout. According to my DC getting hold of drugs via social media is as as easy as ordering pizza. Back in my day kids were smoking cigarettes behind the bike shed whereas today they are more likely smoking weed or taking legal highs. Drug taking now seems to be accepted as the norm among teens but it is ruining lives and families.

I’m not sure if it is actually worse than ever before or perhaps I am just more aware. Maybe some of you have statistics I cannot find.

AIBU to think a lot more needs to be done about this?

There was definitely prevalent drug use at my 'high' school and 6th form college ... Weed, acid, speed, coke and ecstacy all very common and easy to access. Pretty sure Queen Victoria was addicted to laudanum and fond of cocaine... Point being, drugs are not new and always going to be around. There is little to be gained by hand wringing and saying "something should be done" whatever that means.

Legalising and decriminalisation is necessary in my opinion to break the connection with crime. Proper regulation and taxation may fund research and quality control - that might actually help.

I thought I would be able to talk to my kids about drugs as tried most drugs, I was a curious person and wanted to try everything.
Unfortunately they all seem to be taking legal highs and I have not a clue about them or their effects

There are tonnes of articles out there about the phenomenon of reducing drug taking, binge drinking et al. Here are some:

www.theguardian.com/society/2012/dec/08/students-new-puritans-less-drink

www.theguardian.com/society/2012/dec/08/students-new-puritans-less-drink

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/aug/02/less-sex-please-were-millennials-study

For all the moral panic about porn use, hookup culture, ketamine, meth and binge drinking, it appears that in fact today's youth have less sex and fewer teenage pregnancies and get intoxicated less. Quite naturally this also means that today's youth commit less crime.

Although I've cited UK links, this is an observable phenomenon across the Western world. Violent crime has in fact halved since 1990.

I will add an observation of my own, and it is that in the last ten years or so society has become far more moralistic. In the 60s and 70s the ethics of the permissive society replaced religion. From that point, some old rules we would not want to resurrect were lost, however, society became steadily more easy-going. Now we are seeing a new secular morality, with new rules set up, amist an ever-increasing clamour among people for what they (rightly or wrongly) perceive as their rights. It would be too much to describe it as Puritanism, but it's easy to draw the comparison and see where things are going.

Apparently Uni students drink and take less drugs because Uni is costing them a fortune (unlike the grant generation) is they are taking it seriously.

Kids today are less likely to use drug, drink alcohol or smoke. The 90’s were I think, the last generation to use lots of (hard) drugs. That’s why those who are still heroin/methadone addicts are mostly

Yes, some will still experiment but I think the current batch of under 25s have had the most intensive education on health and are very image conscious. What I mean is that when I was a teen most Of us did not take care of ourselves, we looked pretty rough, we could have auditioned for Trainspotting. My kids peers never seem to be out the gym, getting their hair done, posing for pictures.

Necking loads of drugs and alcohol is not conducive to good looks, it’s a different culture now.

Oops deleted a bit, it should say

That’s why those who are still heroin/methadone addicts are mostly over 40

I was a teen in the 90s and drug use was pretty rife where I grew up (small rural town in the south west).
Weed, mushrooms, acid, pills, coke, speed, legal highs.... all were easy to get hold of despite no internet or mobiles.

I was a druggie 13 yr old in 1981. An awkward part, my dad worked in law enforcement. My mum smoked weed, too.

My kids come home & say "Smoking pot is so dumb! Why do people do that!" I love how sheltered they are. Eldest joined the Army so dare not. 2nd kid wants to work in health care so wouldn't dare. 3rd kid doesn't like to socialise so wouldn't be influenced to try it. I'll worry about easily-led 4th kid.

SomethingOnce

DH tells me I can sometimes provide a dark perspective on life!!!

I agree

What there is certainly more of is regular drug use. The issues of mental health issues around early regular drug use is a very worrying trend

Particularly with weed

I left secondary school 17 years ago and drugs were rife then

We only need to look at the levels of gangs that are dealing in drugs, many involved are school aged children and the awful violence that is now

Low level drug dealing is so often over looked but the gangs are incrediably vicious if people owe them money we don’t hear about the attacks only the deaths which is shockingly high so far this year and nearly all stabbing have been gang related

I'm sure drug use and mental health problems are correlated. You can't take that data and say that drug use causes mental health problems, though. Self-medication is a thing that we know some people with mental health problems do. Maybe the mental health conditions are causing people to use drugs, not the other way around.

Violent crime is down in the US and the UK compared to the 90's. Gang violence is not worse now than it was 20 years ago.

That’s convenient for stays to show that violent crime is under control

Yet cities in particular are really struggling with gangs that are nearly all drug related

I’m aware that people often self medicate but the increasing numbers of young people with serious mental health issues such as schizophrenia and their use of drugs regularly from a young age can’t be ignored. There are so many young men in particular with serious drug issues and mh issues in our prisons, on probation, under mh services that are still involved in gangs and many commiting violent crimes that are not mentioned in the media, that often are not reported to the police

What isn’t clear is why cannabis and mh issues are connected but ask anyone who works in mh with young people it can’t be ignored they reasoning just isn’t clear yet why

www.economist.com/news/international/21734365-they-are-also-lonelier-and-more-isolated-teenagers-are-better-behaved-and-less

Tap in to google increased drug and you will find a lot of studies you can always find something to back you up

There may be more people not dabbling but listen to the police on tv when they say the increased gang violence (its always drug related) is unmanageable

Look at our huge increase in oue prison population

And the increase in young people being diagnosed with serious mental health issues and their drug use

There may be less crimes such as muggings or theft but the shocking amount of knife crimes in London this past few months does not show a decrease in drugs being used or drug related crime

There were drugs everywhere in the 90s. So very much. I can’t imagine where and how you’ve lived your life to never had any awareness of this, but I’m sure there’s nothing new to panic about now.

I was born in the mid 80s so took my gcses and A levels early 2000s. I smoked a lot of weed, lots of house parties, coke pills and mushrooms would occasionally be available but never pushed in my experience.
Alcohol was also much easier to get hold of than now judging by the fact I still get asked for ID in the Co op.
Weed was easy to get but you would need to contact a dealer rather than it being advertised as I imagine it might be now with the rise of social media.
Resin was standard which I've heard is impossible to get now it's all strong skunk.
None of my friends have ever done more than occasional coke or mdma and I have only ever smoked. Some only drank and that was fine. Maybe I got lucky with my peer group many of whom I'm still good friends with.
Parents now are more In touch with and over protective of their kids so that might be why you are hearing about it whereas my mother didn't.

As a post script, my brother is a heroin addict, only a year younger than me. I guess he got unlucky as he is certainly the anomaly amongst the people we grew up with.

No one is saying that there wasn’t any drugs around in the 90’s

The op says drugs are easier and cheaper to get than ever and asks if more should be done.
Pps talking about the 90s are just proving the point that teenagers have always been able to access drugs if they wanted to. It's par for the course with teenagers, pushing boundaries and feeling invincible.

I know teenagers push boundaries many are likely to try drugs

No one is suggesting that is going to change the concerning issue is how many young people (12/13/14$ are regularly taking drugs and the increase in gang violence and mh issues

Pps talking about the 90s are just proving the point that teenagers have always been able to access drugs if they wanted to. It's par for the course with teenagers, pushing boundaries and feeling invincible.

People other than teenagers take drugs.

I’ve been looked at strangely for turning down cocaine by people and in places I never would have expected.

Drugs have been commonplace for four or five decades now.

As for the price, someone recently told me an eighth of weed is now about £12 around here, which is more or less what it went for 25-30 years ago when we were all teens. So it’s not so much cheaper as inflation-proof. Weed is the only drug most people will ever dabble with.

The only real change that OP identifies is social media. Same as anything. And really, it’s no quicker or easier than what people used to do decades ago. They just used to make a call and disappear off to meet the vendor. In any secondary school you could always ask around if you wanted to and get a phone number, or a fellow student who would sell you a little bag.

It should be reassuring to OP to hear everyone saying these things.

No one is suggesting that is going to change the concerning issue is how many young people (12/13/14$ are regularly taking drugs and the increase in gang violence and mh issues

It’s a leap to conflate the minor drug dabbling that many teens may or may not do, but most will see to some extent with gang violence. It’s very difficult to get caught up in gang violence unless you are from specific council estates in specific urban postcodes with specific personal connections; Much more serious than casual drug use but also much more niche.

Nope. Everyone I knew as a teen in the late 80's/early 90's took drugs - mostly hash/weed, acid, mushrooms, E's, then later in my 20's working in the City in the 90's there was coke everywhere. Sadly saw a few smackheads come and go too on the periphery of my friendship group. It depends who your peer group is, but if anything I'd say anecdotally teens are taking less and drinking less, which as a parent and a total hypocrite clearly is great news.