Shocking Texas Drug Abuse Statistics

Over the last year, we have seen various reports mentioning an increase in substance abuse all over America. Stories of overdose deaths seem to be flooding in as more and more people abuse opiate drugs. The CDC mentions prescription Opioid medications are responsible for over 1,000 emergency room visits per day. According to another source “America has about 4 percent of the world’s population — but about 27 percent of the world’s drug overdose deaths.“, and this article sites 2015 data, so these figures are likely even worse as of today.

There are thousands of drug rehab facilities in America including inpatient or outpatient care. Thousands of addiction support groups, and likely billions of dollars being spent each year collectively on drug addiction and rehabilitation, yet year by year the statistics show an increase in the havoc caused by substance abuse. An even more discouraging report can show how serious this epidemic is for our country’s future. In a report featured on The Texas Health and Human Services website, there are significant addiction issues in the local Texas high schools.

According to this 2016 study which surveyed almost 50,000 students in Texas high schools across the state:

• 52.7% of students surveyed had used alcohol in their lifetime
• 28.6% of students surveyed had used alcohol in the last 30 days
• 1.5% of students had used cocaine or crack within the last 30 days
• 3.1% of students admitted to using hallucinogens in the past
• 5% of students used Oxycodone products in the lifetime non medically
• 4% of students had tried Xanax or Valium in the past
• 4% had used stimulant ADHD medications such as Adderall and Ritalin

What does teen drug abuse mean for our nation?

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, approximately 15 million children will attend high school this year. Hypothetically, if we apply the above data taken from Texas to the entire nation school population, this is what it looks like:

• 7,905,000 high school students have likely tried alcohol in the past
• 4,290,000 have drunk alcohol in the last 30 days
• 225,000 Have used crack or cocaine in the last 30 days
• 465,000 youth have tried hallucinogens
• 750,000 youth have used oxycodone in a nonmedical context
• 600,000 have taken Xanax or Valium
• 600,000 have abused ADHD drugs like Adderall or Ritalin

These are some very large numbers and give us as a society a bit of concern. In a recent article in the Washington post “one in eight Americans is an alcoholic” a recent study shows that 12.7% of Americans have alcohol use disorder “alcoholism.”

If we were to take the above-proposed total for nationwide youth who have tried an alcoholic beverage, and consider 1 in 8 of them will become an alcoholic, we can project that approximately one million future alcoholics are in high school at this very moment. Needless to say, expert advice on substance abuse and addiction is needed to help millions of suffering individuals across our country. It is time we all come together and work to get those addicted to drugs the treatment they need and break this cycle of addiction that is increasing year by year in America.