National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week: March 20 to March 26, 2023

 

National Drug and Alcohol Fact Week
Supports Youth to Make Informed Decisions About Their Health

InnerAct Alliance is joining with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) for National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week (NDAFW): March 20 to March 26, 2023 to help share science-based facts about drugs, alcohol, and addiction, and encourage youth to adopt healthy behaviors.

Key Facts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

*Alcohol is the most-commonly used substance among young people in the U.S.

*Underage drinking is a significant public health problem across the nation. Excessive drinking is responsible for more than 3,900 deaths and 225,000 years of potential life lost among those age 21 each year.

*In 2020, nearly 75% of overdose deaths in the U.S. involved opioids; most involved synthetic opioids like illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF).

*1-in-7 Americans report experiencing a substance use disorder.

Knowing the facts about the dangers of underage use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, and prescription medications and how they may affect their health and well-being can empower youth to make informed decisions. To help parents start a conversation about drugs and health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has compiled some great answers to some of the top questions heard most often from teens, such as "What is the worst drug?" When it comes to drugs and alcohol, there is no "worst" just as there isn't a "best" drug - all have the potential to produce negative health effects or lead to a dangerous situation in the short or long term. Whether a drug causes a serious health issue - like a life-threatening overdose - can depend on how much a person uses, how they consume it, and other factors. Some drugs, like the synthetic opioid fentanyl, are so potent that a life-threatening overdose can occur the first time a person uses them. Because fentanyl is often mixed with other drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA (Molly), fentanyl may be unknowingly ingested at unknown quantities leading to overdose. Similarly, injecting potent drugs can be particularly dangerous because this route delivers the drug more directly to the brain than ingesting or snorting drugs. Injection also carries risks of injury and infection.  Some drugs are more frequently associated with addiction and dependance than others. For example, more than half of people who smoke cigarettes regularly meet the criteria for a tobacco use disorder, while only about 1-in-11 people who regularly use marijuana (cannabis) meet the criteria for a cannabis use disorder.  Certain drugs can have a stronger effect on the brain than others. Research has shown that methamphetamine may damage cells and structures within the brain that cause long-term problems with emotion and memory. Family history or certain physical or mental illnesses can also influence a person's chances of developing an addiction or other negative health effects of drug use.  Age is also an important factor when calculating risks of substance use. Teens and young adults tend to be more vulnerable to the negative effects of many drugs because the brain is still developing through a person's mid-20's. All these factors point to the reality that certain substances may pose different risks to different people in different situations. To put it simply, what is the "worst" drug is not an easy question to answer but it opens the door to understanding the risks associated with any substance use. Our goal is to inform and prevent youth from starting to use drugs and we encourage parents to open the lines of communication with their children. To learn more about drug facts and answers to common questions that teens may have about drugs and health, please contact InnerAct Alliance at (863) 802-0777, visit https://www.inneractalliance.org/, or the NIDA website at https://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/