Are Teens and Young Adults Part of the Epidemic?

the problem

Substance misuse and abuse can happen at any age. However, adolescents (ages 12–17) and young adults (ages 18–25) are especially at risk. Research shows that most adults who experience drug or alcohol addiction started using substances during adolescence.

Young people have also been affected by a recent trend in medicine. In the 1990s and 2000s, it became common for doctors to prescribe opioids to treat pain. Prescriptions for opioids among adolescents and young adults nearly doubled from 1994 to 2007. And, misuse of opioid pain relievers and some other prescriptions is most common among young adults. Therefore, many young people became addicted to opioids during this time period.

Teens and young adults are also affected by this epidemic through the struggles of their family members, like the young people in the following video about Camp UNITE. Part of Eastern Kentucky’s Operation UNITE anti-drug initiative, Camp UNITE enlists counselors to offer emotional support and motivation to the children in the region who have relatives struggling with opioid misuse and abuse.

Many Camp UNITE counselors also have experience with opioid addiction in the family. In the video, they talk about how their lives have been changed due to family members’ addictions.

Take Notes

As you watch, take notes about what the people you see are doing in order to cope with their losses.

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