11 Facts About Teens and Drug Use.

As school is back in session, it is important for parents to be aware about drugs. 
 

1. More teens die from prescription drugs than heroin/cocaine combined.
2. In 2013, more high school seniors regularly used marijuana than cigarettes as 22.7% smoked pot in the last month, compared to 16.3% who smoked cigarettes. 
3. 60% of seniors don't see regular marijuana use as harmful, but THC (the active ingrediant in the drug that causes addiction) is nearly 5 times stronger than it was 20 years ago.
4. 1/3 of teenagers who live in states with medical marijuana laws get their pot from other people's prescriptions.
5. The United States represents 5% of the world's population and 75% of prescription drugs taken. 60% of teens who abuse prescription drugs get them free from friends and relatives.
6. Adderall use (often prescribed to treat ADHD) has increased among high school seniors from 5.4% in 2009 to 7.5% this year.
7. 54% of high school seniors do not think regular steroid use is harmful, the lowest number since 1980, when the National Institute on Drug Abuse started asking about perception on steroids.
8. By the 8th grade, 28% of adolescents have consumed alcohol, 15% have smoked cigarettes, and 16.5% have used marijuana.
9. Teens who consistently learn about the risks of drugs from their parents are up to 50% less likely to use drugs than those who dont.
10. 6.5 % of high school seniors smoke pot daily, up from 5.1% five years ago. Meanwhile, less than 20% of 12th graders think occasional use is harmful, while less than 40% see regular use as harmful to try crack or cocaine once or twice and 40% believe it's not harmful to use heroin once or twice.

Sources
1 Toto, Ross. "Prescription Drug Abuse Kills. "Live Science. 
2 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "Sixty percent of 12th graders do not view regular marijuana use as harmful. "U.S. National Library of Medicine.
3 Hellerman, Caleb. "Is super weed, superbad?." CNN.
copied from WikiHow