A BROTHER’S LAMENT –
May 18, 2022 – He was addicted to opioids and many other drugs at the time, so living with him was a scary time. We had no idea when he might snap or if he could overdose.
This is the reason drug addiction among teens is so important to me. Drugs are sweeping through our teens in Spokane and surrounding areas. When one speaks about addiction, one must know the drugs that teens are taking: nicotine, marijuana, and opioids/painkillers.
The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics identified that 11.11% of teens in Washington state use drugs, and 4,777 Americans from the ages 15 to 24 die from drug overdoses a year.
Additionally, the sheer number of teens who are getting addicted is quite worrisome, with 88.25% of them reported to have used marijuana and 2.55% reporting that they have misused pain relievers. Like my big brother, these drugs are getting in the hands of our youths and are getting misused. However, this concern does not stop at my brother. I have seen close friends get addicted to drugs, and from an outside perspective, it is easy for this to happen, unfortunately.
