Drug Use Statistics - The School

Here are some statistics on drug usage in schools by students.  We really need to help get drugs out of schools to help these kids.

All information was found on:

http://drugrecognition.com/Use%20Statistics.htm 

School Student Drug Use Statistics

• Prescription drug abuse is up 6.3% among 18-25 year olds. The most frequently abused prescription drug is the narcotic Vicodin and its cousin Lortab.  This abuse often progresses to OxyContin and heroin abuse.  For the first time, there are now more first-time adolescent prescription drug abusers than first-time marijuana users!
• Adolescent prescription drugs are coming from parents.  A 2009 study by Columbia University found that most adolescents obtain intoxicating prescription drugs from their parents medicine cabinet. Ten percent of teens surveyed said they know a parent who smokes marijuana with teens.
• The fastest growing drug of abuse in American high schools is heroin. Many wealthy communities across the country are reporting high school overdose deaths from heroin, a shocking new trend in teenage drug use.
• 40% of high school seniors reported they had smoked marijuana during the past 12 months. Marijuana is considered one of the "gateway drugs" introducing young people to the pleasant sensation of drug intoxication. Experts agree that stopping the gateway drugs is a better strategy than attempting rehab for teens addicted to crack cocaine or heroin.
• Nation-wide, 25% of high school seniors have used stimulant drugs like "speed." In some areas of the country, primarily the southwest and rural Midwest, amphetamine use has sky rocketed to epidemic proportions—more than double the national average.
• Use of new "Designer Drugs" is dramatically higher. Called "Super - G" or "Liquid - G" or "Liquid Ecstasy" on the street, G.H.B., (Gama Hydroxi-Butyric Acid), has become a popular teen dance club party drug because it produces a alcohol like drug effect with no odor of alcohol. The old 1970 drug, MDA/MDMA is making a strong comeback among teens at dance clubs. Called "Ecstasy" or "Adam," it produces a euphoric cocaine-like high without the "speedy" side effects of cocaine. Teens love the drug because it allows they to dance for hours without feeling fatigued.
• Rural Teens are 83% more likely to use crack cocaine, 34% more likely to smoke marijuana, and twice as likely to use amphetamines than teens in large cities.  Rural areas often have fewer prevention, enforcement, and rehabilitation resources than urban areas.

Drug Use Statistics - The Workplace

Here is some more information and statistics on drug usage.  The last post was about the general statistics of drug usage in America. This post focus on statistics based on drug usage in the workplace.  Drugs in the workplace most definitely affect the ability of employees to work, for companies to function and for products to be produced.

All Statistics were found at

http://drugrecognition.com/Use%20Statistics.htm

Here are the statistics:

Workplace Drug Use Statistics

• 8 percent of full-time and 10.2 percent of part-time employees abuse illegal drugs.  The 2010 National Drug Treat Assessment published by the U.S. Dept. of Justice notes an increase in workplace drug abuse, primarily prescription narcotics. 
• 32% of workers stated a co-workers drug/alcohol use affected their job performance. When an employee is impaired on the job, the company has not only lost one productive employee, but in fact has dramatically reduced the productivity of all the other workers who they interact with. Drug use in the workplace has a ripple effect. Not only is productivity reduced, but company morale is negatively impacted, causing good employees to leave the company to avoid drug impaired co-workers.
• Workplace drug use. An October 29, 2010 report from urine drug testing company Quest Diagnostics found 8 percent of full-time workers and 11.5 percent of part-time workers were current drug abusers.   US Department of Labor studies in 2006 found much higher worker drug abuse rates in the food services, construction and durable goods sectors.  One of the biggest changes in workplace drug use is the switch to prescription drugs. A 2008 report by Quest Diagnostic found more workers are now testing positive for prescription drugs than cocaine and methamphetamine combined!
• Semi-tractor trailer truck drivers test positive for drugs.  A 2007 study conducted in Oregon by the state police found nearly ten percent of randomly selected truck drivers tested positive for drugs, with both marijuana and methamphetamine rates higher than in similar checks in 1998. Federal government data shows drug use among truckers to be much lower than ten percent so what accounts for the discrepancy? A 2007 study by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) found it is easy to beat the mandatory urine drug test.  Congressman Jim Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, who asked GAO to investigate, said the report was “frankly astonishing, shocking and dismaying. You can manipulate the tests, you can mask substance abuse and go undetected on the roadways.”
• Non-professional drivers drug use. Sales people and other non-professional drivers operating a company car also put their employers and the public at risk while driving with drugs in their system. A November 30, 2010 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration federal report showed 18 percent of fatally injured drivers tested positive for illicit drugs, an increase from 2005 to 2009. A self-reported study from the National Institute of Drug Abuse found 35.4% of drivers age 21-25 admitted driving while abusing more than one impairing drugs.  A Northwestern University study of 200 Chicago area traffic crashes found 54% of non-professional drivers were poly-drug users and none of the cases were detected by police investigating the crash!
• Impact of employee drug use: Workers who reported current illicit drug use were more likely to have worked for three or more employers in the past year and to have higher rates of unexcused absence and voluntary turnover in the past year than those who did not report drug use.
• Company Drug Policy Matters: Workers whose employer did not have a written drug policy were about twice as likely to report they used illicit drugs in the past month as employers with written policies about drug use.

Drug Use Statistics - General Population

Below I have some scary information and statistics of drug use in the United States.

Here is the website where I found and retrieved the information. It is copied word for word:
http://drugrecognition.com/Use%20Statistics.htm

General Population Drug Use Statistics

• September 2010 Report: 21.8 million Americans age 12 or older used illegal drugs in the past month, up from 19.7 million in 2006. million Americans used drugs in the past month. The highest age percentage for illicit drug use is 18 to 21. This represents 8.7 percent of the population. The most abused illicit drug is marijuana with 14.6 million drug users. On a regular basis,.2.4 million Americans use cocaine.
• 13 million Americans have an alcohol drinking problem. Their alcohol use has resulted in a criminal arrest, termination from their job, or family disruption such as divorce. It is important to realize that alcohol is a drug. In 2005, 2.5 million Americans received treatment for alcohol addiction.
• Over 60 million prescriptions were written by American doctors for Valium and other similar acting tranquilizers. Many people do not consider the legal drugs, alcohol, and mood altering prescription drugs to be a safety risk. When used as directed, most of these drugs are safe. However, when tranquilizers such as Valium, Soma, or Xanax are mixed with even small amounts of alcohol, the synergistic effect quickly becomes dangerous.  In 2005, 1.8 million Americans abused tranquilizers.
• 40% jump in employees testing positive for prescription narcotics form 2005-2009.  A November 18, 2010 report by Quest Diagnostics also found that post-accident drug tests are four-times more likely to find narcotics than pre-employment drug tests (3.7% vs. 0.78%). Vicodin is the most frequently found narcotic prescription drug of abuse. 

 End drug abuse, promote abstinence, get tested now!

Serving the Community

OnSite Diagnostix just participated in the Junior Achievement program at the Hannibal Middle School last week.  An employee of OnSite Diagnostix taught a seventh grade class at the Hannibal Middle School about Economics for Success in the Junior Achievement program.  The class went really well and the kids responded well to the subjects being taught and were really great to associate with. They were a wonderful group of kids and are really intelligent. Sometimes we underestimate kids or complain about the way or direction that kids are going these days, but we saw that there are still lots of good kids out there. It was great to be able to serve the Hannibal Middle School and those kids that were taught.

Drug Testing For Welfare Recipients

In the state of Missouri, governor Jay Nixon signed into law a bill, House Bill 73, which requires that recipients of welfare be screened for drugs.  The state Department of Social Services is going to be required to develop a program to screen each applicant or recipient who is eligible or applying for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which is the governments program of cash assistance to people "in need". Check out these two links below to learn more information.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/article_2d307a9d-0cdc-548c-8e25-7c30304b1b30.html

http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills111/billpdf/truly/HB0073T.PDF

OnSite Diagnostix and D.A.R.E.

OnSite Diagnostix teams up with the D.A.R.E. program to help prevent substance abuse in schools.  Lets all work together to get drugs out of our schools and away from our kids.

Get Drugs Out of Schools!

Drugs are way to prevalent in our schools.  They keep students from learning and from preparing themselves to become responsible and hard working adults.  Drugs are a menace to society and definitely should not ever be found in schools.  They prohibit students from contributing to society and instead they make them dependent on society to support them.  We have the power to do a lot of good and to influence kids while they are younger and before they graduate, to help them know how to make good decisions.  So what are some of the things that we can do to help kids and keep drugs out of our schools and away from our children?

One of the biggest things we can do is prevent the occurrence and take away the opportunities.  Prevention is definitely better than recovery.  Ways of prevention are to teach kids about the dangers of drugs and also the benefits.  As they grow in understanding of these principles, they will know how to make the right choices and they will not get caught up in drugs.  The dare program is a great program but I believe and think that we also need something or some kind of program in the High Schools so that older kids continue to learn about the dangers of using drugs and harmful substances and so they learn the the benefits and rewards of living a drug free life.  The student who lives a drug free life is happier and makes a viable contribution to society.

Another way to get drugs out of schools is drug testing.  This is mainly for those who currently use drugs.  If we can locate users of drugs than we will be able teach and help and support those who are having troubles or problems with drugs.  These tests would not be used to ridicule or harm students but rather to help and uplift them.

These are just some of my thoughts on getting drugs out of schools, which would be great for students and all of society.