Dr. Delaney Ruston – Data, data, data. Good data is essential for creating interventions that help youth grow up in the most healthy and life-affirming way possible.
Another benefit of well-collected data is that it lets us talk about charged topics with our kids with a more neutral attitude making for more productive interactions.
Interactive data is better than regular data, and I have just that today! No matter your age, stick with me on this one and keep reading.
Today, I am sharing data about drug use and teens. As I have stated in multiple ways, be it film, past blogs, and podcasts, the intersection of screen time and teens’ attitudes and decisions around substance use is profound. Given the bombardment of substance-promoting messages online, we do a great service when we spend time discussing substances with our youth.
I want to share important findings from the research team at the University of Michigan in their latest Monitoring the Future report. Since 1975, they have been doing anonymous, nationally representative surveys of 8th, 10th, and 12th-grade students on many topics, the bulk of which centers on substance use.
Here is how this interactive data is perfect for talking about substance use, including alcohol, with youth in your life, be it your child, your students, you name it.
Let’s start.
- Step one. Go to this link.
- You will see it gives data on Marijuana (Cannabis): Trends in Last 12 Months Prevalence of Use in 8th, 10th, and 12th Grade.
- You can go to the bottom of the graph and choose “use in past 30 days” or other data.
- At the top, you can choose other substances to get similar graphs. For example, click here and see data on vaping cannabis.
- From there, let the discussion with the youth begin, and let them choose other substances.
Some key takeaways from this interactive data:
You will see that rates of use of many substances, including alcohol, have fallen over the years. This is great news. And yet, we still have a ways to go.
Why have rates fallen? There are many reasons, such as public health campaigns, to educate on the risks of things like alcohol. Other reasons include teens getting together in person and less due to our tech revolution. Other things include stricter access. And other reasons worth contemplating with youth.
Another important thing about this data is that it gives youth a sense of true norms. Let’s say they are in 10th grade and are smoking weed. With the data, they see that the majority of teens their age do not do so. Such information can influence a person’s decisions around use.
One other point I want to cover is the findings in the annual report.
Delta-8 THC
This is the first year the survey has included Delta-8 THC, a psychoactive substance. While Delta-9 THC is known for its psychoactive effects in cannabis, Delta-8 THC, which is also psychoactive, can be derived from hemp. Hemp is federally legal, raising concerns that access to Delta-8 products might be easier for teenagers compared to traditional cannabis. Typically found in small quantities, Delta-8 is often synthesized from hemp.
In the report, 11.4% of 12th graders reported past-year delta-8 THC use in 2023. Thus, this topic warrants discussion.
Finally, we can never forget the opioid epidemic.
I found on this quote on The National Institute of Drug Abuse’s website:
“… research has reported a dramatic rise in overdose deaths among teens between 2010 to 2021, which remained elevated well into 2022 according to a NIDA analysis of CDC and Census data. This increase is largely attributed to illicit fentanyl, a potent synthetic drug, contaminating the supply of counterfeit pills made to resemble prescription medications.”
Please make sure to talk with youth about this point as well! In Screenagers Under The Influence, we address this topic through a powerful story.
Questions to get the conversation started:
- What data from the interactive graph do we find most interesting?
- If you were going to research issues around substances, such as vaping, cannabis, nicotine, opioids, etc., what would interest you the most?
- What talks about substances are happening in your school? Posters on the wall? What would you be doing if you were in charge of educating students at your school?
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