The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced that 11.3 percent of people of the ages 12 and older abused or relied on alcohol or drugs throughout the past year. This is substantially larger from the national average which is 8.9 percent.

The D.C. area sees drug and alcohol problems throughout all walks of life within the community. The SAMHSA discovered in their surveys that the most popular consumed drugs in the District are alcohol, marijuana and cocaine. Politicians, lobbyists and others regularly attend functions where they socialize for their job, in a drinking setting. Babette Wise, director of the alcohol and drug abuse program at Georgetown University Hospital stated that since drinking is tied to work, it’s harder for them or others to recognize a problem. “People will think, ‘How can my relative be an addict when he has this high position or she’s making all this money?’” Wise said.

D.C. also has large populations of people who suffer from the stress of high-pressure careers and poverty, both which have been known to lead to drug abuse. One of the major issues for the high rate of abusers are due to people not knowing how to get help, not thinking they need help, not able to find treatment and unable to afford care, among other reasons, said Peter Delany, director of SAMHSA’s center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality.

Since these abusers are not seeking help on their own, the District is now training primary care doctors, mental-health services providers and HIV treatment centers to screen people for alcohol and drug problems.

Home drug testing kits are one way to give your child an excuse to say no.

This method of drug testing is used in the privacy of your own home, at any time the parent feels necessary. By simply having  a home drug testing kit in the house can prevent drug use from happening, or simply assure you that your child is not abusing drugs. While some teenagers might feel this is an extreme measure, you the parent know it is out of love. If explained honestly to your child the risks of drug use and the dangers that it presents, they will come to understand. Keeping an open dialog with your child is key to recognizing peer pressure when it happens. And studies show- it will happen.

When testing teenagers three types of tests are used. The standard drug test, an alcohol test and also a tobacco test. This gives you a broad range of substances that they are pressured into. These days’ teens believe that putting illegal drugs into their bodies has no consequences. Given the statistics these are the real consequences;

• The United States spends more than $58 billion a year for underage drinking costs
• Teens who abuse alcohol have a 50% greater chance of consuming cocaine.
• Alcohol kills over more than 6 times underage drinkers than all illegal drugs do (usually through serious accidents)
• 60% of students say they know about drugs that are kept, used or sold at their school.
• In the past 30 days, 50% of teenagers have been drinking, with 32% being drunk.

Teenagers also find themselves in trouble with the law, due to the effects of drug use. Teen arrestees’ regularly test positive for drug use with  The National Institute of Justices Arrestee and Drug Monitoring System finding that 66% of underage male arrestees tested positive for marijuana.

If you have or know any child that is struggling with drug and/or substance abuse please get them the help they need in order to help turn their life around. It is this type of caring that can put an end to teenager experimentation that can lead to a life of addiction, an accident, rehab, jail or worse.

A national survey called “Monitoring the Future” offers an interesting snapshot of teen drug abuse. Surveys are conducted separately by grade level; students in grades eight, ten, and twelve are surveyed. The results are both good and bad, depending on the type of drug used.

Let’s start with the good news for parents. Last year, 21% of 8^th graders claimed to have tried an illicit drug at some point—that number more than doubles to 48% by 12^th grade. That means there is a four year window of opportunity for parents to make an impact by dissuading their children to use.

Also promising are the stats on cocaine. Over the past three years, cocaine use has dropped sharply in all three grade levels. Teens are smoking cigarettes less. Alcohol use also dropped slightly in all three areas, though it is still the most-consumed drug (more than 70% of all 10^th graders have tried alcohol).

Now for the not-so-good news. Overall, there has been a steady increase over the past three years of illicit drug use in all three grade levels. In fact, more than 45% of 12^th graders surveyed claimed to have tried drugs. So despite several years of anti-drug campaigns, teens have not been completely swayed.

Marijuana use is up two percentage points in all three grade levels. This may be because pop culture portrays the drug as not that dangerous, and there has been a lot of public awareness about medical marijuana.

Methamphetamine use is on the rise for older teens, particularly seniors who were surveyed. Perhaps the pressure of college tests and graduation makes this drug more appealing, despite its looming dangers. This may also be the reason for an increase in cough syrup consumption by seniors, since these types of medicines also work to keep you “alert”.

Though recent data pertaining to teen drug abuse is less than encouraging, it is important to point out that aggressive teen marketing campaigns have had come success. For example, the anti-cigarette (smelly, puking habit) will forever be remembered, and may have turned the pop-culture tide against smoking.  These types of campaigns are important, as is the continued involvement of parents in their teens’ lives.

This may be a little boring, but the term “drug testing” pops up automatically on a Google search as soon as you start to type in the word “drug”. The term generates 6.7 million hits—clearly this is something the Internet audience is interested in learning about.

“Drug testing in the workplace” is another popular term, especially now that more employers are conducting drug tests as an requirement for employment. Type in this search term and you’ll get more than a million answers to your question.

“Is drug testing legal” seems to be a topic of great concern to Internet users. You’ll have your pick of nearly 8 million responses to that online question. “Types of drug tests” is also a popular search that results in more than 7 million hits from which to choose.

Search terms like “how to beat a drug test” and “passing a drug test” are quite popular and result in millions of hits. “Drug test myths” ranked a little lower, with just over 250,000 search result hits.

“Marijuana drug test” searches garner 1.5 million searches, and “cocaine drug test” isn’t far behind. The term “heroin drug test” is less popular, with only 153,000 hits. This is interesting because the gap in search results mirrors drug use stats—heroin is a less-used drug than cocaine or marijuana. Perhaps this is an indication that search terms and results are a reflection of actual societal trends.

Due to reports from members of the construction industry that employee drug use was compromising safety and productivity, lawmakers worked quickly to require employee drug testing. Reception to the law has been highly positive so far, with on the job accidents being reduced and contractors reporting a rise in productivity. Other states around the country have noticed West Virginia’s success with workplace drug testing, and similar proposals are being considered.

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