Teen drug use is a topic of concern for not just teens but everyone in society.
How we raise our kids and the fact that we can prevent the problem can secure the safety of society as a whole.
If we are not able to prevent or successfully treat it, the issue can lead to criminality, increased death rates and problems across the boards.
According to a recent study, there is in fact an increase in the use of illicit drugs among teens.
This is the highest it's ever been.
Marijuana continues to be the most commonly used drug, with its increase from 5.
8 percent in 2007 to 7 percent in 2011.
In fact, marijuana was mainly the reason for the increase in drug use over the past ten years.
Many of the other drugs showed little or no increase, while some even decreased.
Cocaine use has continually gone down from 1 percent in 2006 to 5.
8 percent in 2011.
Alcohol came in at second place, followed by pain relievers, cocaine and then heroin.
The study also found that while individuals in their late teens and early twenties showed the highest percentage of drug use, kids ages 14 to 15 had a higher percentage than all age groups over 35 years old.
This just proves that kids are experimenting with drugs early on, setting themselves up for increased drug use as they get older.
Marijuana- Not What it Used to Be Though there are many drugs out there that are extremely dangerous, the use of marijuana isn't the safest either.
Studies have shown that long-term use of marijuana causes a drop in IQ levels as well as the loss of other cognitive abilities such as thinking, computing and memory.
Marijuana seems to be so popular among teens, maybe because of its availability.
Most teens know of someone who uses this drug.
Many people also have the misconception that marijuana is safer than other drugs because it comes from a plant and gives the same desired euphoric effects as harder drugs, but it isn't what it used to be.
Actually, the potency of marijuana continues to get more and more powerful.
A recent test of thousands of samples of marijuana plants done by the University of Mississippi's Potency Monitoring Project found that the levels of THC in today's marijuana has been found to exceed 30 percent as compared to 4 percent back in 1983.
How Parents Can Stop Their Teens From Using Drugs As a parent, you can make it your responsibility to educate your teens about the dangers of abusing drugs and alcohol.
Create a relationship with them that allows them to feel able to come to you with questions or concerns about subjects such as substance abuse.
If they come to you for help, either for a friend or for themselves, don't make them wrong.
Keep an open mind and be prepared for your children to be faced with the choice to use drugs.
Better yet, prepare your children for the time when they may be offered drugs or alcohol.
Make them aware of the dangers of abusing these substances so that they can make smart, confident choices for themselves.
By following these simple guidelines, you can help to keep our future generations bright.