IU study: Injection drug use up

While usage of gateway drugs marijuana and cigarettes are decreasing among sixth to 12th graders, use of harder drugs is on the rise for Indiana 11th and 12th graders, according to a recent IU survey. The study also revealed increased after-school participation was the key factor in steering young adults away from drugs, alcohol and tobacco. \nThe Indiana Prevention Resource Center released this week the 16th Annual Survey of Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Use by Indiana Children and Adolescents. The study collected data from about 131,000 students in grades six to 12 in Indiana public and private schools.\nRuth Gassman, executive director of the Indiana Prevention Center, analyzed the results and said the state is doing a fairly good job of preventing gateway drug use, but they need to stop those who have "graduated from gateway drugs to poly-drug use."\nA startling result was high school seniors are injecting drugs at an all-time high on a monthly and lifelong basis. The most injected drugs are heroin, methamphetamine and steroids, which Gassman said she is concerned about.\n"This finding is most alarming as injection drug use is strongly correlated with transmission of secondary infections such as HIV," Gassman said.\nThough heroin, ecstasy and psychedelic drug use is on the rise among 11th and 12th graders in Indiana, Gassman said it's not an epidemic since it is still a very low percentage of those tested. Only 254 out of the 131,017 students surveyed admitted heroin usage, for example.\nThe study found a pattern of drug use where there was a more direct path from one drug to the next. Twelve to 14 year olds typically start with cigarettes; move on to alcohol and then marijuana.\n"You don't just wake up and say, 'I'm going to inject heroin today,'" Gassman said. "You start with cigarettes and marijuana." \nMarijuana is declining for the 10th straight year among all grades. Especially large drops come in the sixth to ninth grade, where usage has been cut in half over the last 10 years.\nCigarette smoking was down too, but smokeless tobacco was on the rise, which Gassman attributed to young people not understanding chewing tobacco is still damaging.\nGassman was disheartened by the table which showed the negative effects drug and alcohol usage had on the lives of the young adults tested. Missing school, damaging property and getting in trouble with police and parents were all accredited to drug or alcohol usage.\n"What packs a punch (from the table) is the variety of different consequences and the prevalence," she said. "It's eye-opening, the repercussions of alcohol and drug use."\nAlcohol use continued to go down among 10th to 12th graders, but binge drinking was reportedly higher among 12th graders. This may have contributed to the alarming statistic that 26 percent of 12th graders admitted to having ridden in a car with someone who was intoxicated. A third of 12th graders admitted to getting nauseated or vomiting from drug or alcohol usage.\nViolence had the strongest correlation to alcohol usage, with 20 percent of high school-age students admitting to getting into a fight or argument due to being intoxicated.\nResults show that getting young adults active in sports, arts and other after school activities is a determining factor in lowering their alcohol, tobacco and marijuana drug usage. Results were also that the more students participated, the lower their drug usage was which encouraged Gassman.\n"These findings support the value of after-school programming as a strategy to prevent or reduce illegal substance use among adolescents," she said.