Using adolescent opioids skyrockets, girls who take more drugs than boys: study

Teenage girls are abusing drugs much more than their male peers, according to a new alarming study.

Eighteen percent more girls are abusing the drug than boys, while adolescent drug use has generally increased continuously and the use of opioids, including fentanyl, has grown greatly, data showed.

Marijuana remains overwhelming favorites for girls and boys, with about 2.9 million people under 18 in 2023, according to the latest data from the abuse of substances and the mental health services administration, a branch of the US Health and Human Services .

Opioid abuse, including relaxants of heroin pain and recipes such as Vicodin and Oxyconin, increased 41% from 2022 to 2023. After weeds, opioids ranked the second most misused medicine for adolescents with 574,000 using them in 2023 , from 406,000 years ago.

While the use of marijuana between those aged 12 to 17 was almost the same one year ago, all other forms of illegal drug use among adolescents were thrown, with the total number of new users reaching 3.8 million, with 100,000 from 2022.

The deadly opioid fentanil – which is up to 100 times stronger than morphine – is not included in the same category by Samhsa because users can swallow it without knowledge when mixed with other medicines. About 50,000 teens reported to misuse it in 2023, a 47% spike a year ago, and the figures are likely to be higher because many could have received it without understanding.

Stimulants are the third most used medicines among young people. About 285,000 teenagers reporting by receiving recipe stimulants such as Adderall and Ritalin while the use of cocaine and Meth fired up to 63,000 and 40,000 adolescent users, respectively, with nearly 58% and 112% a year earlier.

Inhalants, which include glue, aerosol spraying, cleaning liquids, paint thinners, felt markers and gases like nitrogen oxide, or “laughing gas”, ranked fourth among teens with 564,000 children reporting them.

The fifth were hallucinogens with 387,000 users – with 8% from a year earlier.

While the use of some drugs was similar among girls and boys, more than 2 million girls used illegal drugs in 2023 compared to a little more than 1.7 million boys, Wellbrook Recovery, a drug and rehabilitation in Wisconsin, found by analyzing data in the Samhsa National Survey.

And their preferences also changed.

After bad drugs, the girls reported to make more opioids – mostly relaxing pain paintings – and inhalants than boys. The boys chose more stimulants, also mainly prescription and hallucinogenic medications.

“Considering the current opioid crisis in America, the high number of new users is particularly alarming, especially given the powerful dependence properties and the risks of high overdose associated with these substances,” said Wellbrook Meir Kasnett CEO .

The inhalants are easy and free to take, noted Kasnet, but can also pose serious threats such as brain damage and sudden death.

Shocking statistics highlight a need for early intervention and education, he added. “Even more important, it is essential to understand and address the basic factors that contribute to this use.”

More than 67,000 interviews were made for the 2023 Samhsa study.

Samhsa determines “misuse” as in drug use which is in no way directed by a physician or drug use in larger quantities, more often or longer than directed.