Teenage Drug Abuse Statistics in Texas

According to National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services there are anywhere between 40-60,000 people in a treatment center a month in Texas alone. Now, that is a lot of people struggling with some form of drug abuse. Among that number we see that around 27-30% of those in treatment centers are teenagers. I think it is safe to say that we are living among a generation that is affected by the use of some form of substance. It is hard for any teen to not know a family member or friend that has either used or is using some from of drug.

Another report by SAS output, another government organization, showed that the only other age group that had a higher percentage of users then those ranging from 12-17 years old were those who were between 20-30 years old. Which is scary to think about, since this is probably a result or continuation of teenagers abusing drugs well after they enter adulthood.

In another report produced by Substance Report Trends For 2009

Important changes to drug patterns in Texas include increases in heroin inhalation by younger Hispanics. This was first noticed with the “cheese heroin”, which is a mixture of Tylenol and heroin, situation in Dallas, but further investigation has found that heroin inhalation is increasing statewide. Some treatment admissions are young teenagers who are not novices and are using other illicit drugs, and those in their twenties are shifting to injecting.

The availability of cocaine decreased in the last half of 2008 due to violence and gang warfare on the border. The methamphetamine indicators have changed since 2005, with supplies down, prices increasing, and purity decreasing…The magnitude of the substance abuse and mental health problem on the border is of serious concern.

Living in Texas presents itself with many opportunities for teenagers to get their hands on drugs. There is no short supply with us living on the border of drug flowing into our state, leaving it wide open for teenagers to find and use these drugs. Illicit drugs continue to enter from Mexico through cities such as El Paso, Laredo, McAllen, and Brownsville, as well as through smaller towns along the border. The drugs then move northward for distribution through Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston. In addition, drugs move eastward from San Diego through Lubbock and from El Paso to Amarillo and Dallas/Fort Worth.

So that leaves open a lot of cities receiving drug flowing in and out and lot of teens with access to these drugs.

The Texas School Survey of Substance Abuse: Grades 7-12, 2008 reported that lifetime use of powder and crack cocaine had dropped from a high of 9 percent in 1998 to 7 percent in 2008, while past month use dropped from 4 percent in 1998 to 2 percent in 2008. Some 6 percent of students in non-border counties had ever used powder or crack/cocaine, and 2 percent had used it in the past month. In comparison, students in schools on the Texas border reported higher levels of cocaine use-10 percent lifetime and 4 percent past month.

Alcohol is the primary drug of abuse in Texas. In 2008, 63 percent of Texas secondary school students (grades 7-12) had ever used alcohol, and 30 percent had drunk alcohol in the last month. Lifetime use decreased by 5 percent and past-month use decreased by 3 percent between 2006 and 2008. The problems really never change over the years with only reflections in %’s either going up or down. But we continue to see the damaging effects these drugs bring to the teenagers who abuse drugs.

On our web-sight we provide a quick report that has some tangible things you can do tonight with your teen when you discover they are using. But I would also advice if you find yourself in a situation where your teen is using drugs that you find a great recovery program. One here in Houston, Texas is called Life Way. You can Google them. We also have an article that deals with teenage withdrawal and how you can help your teen get off drugs and stay off them. Instead of relapsing and finding yourself watching your teenager fall in and out of drug abuse you can help them kick the habit for good. It is titled “How Do I Help My Teen Make It Through Withdrawal”