Recent studies and anecdotal evidence point to an increase in marijuana and prescription drug abuse amongst minors in Indiana.
One young lady running a cash register in Lafayette, Indiana has noticed that in the last six years more young people are buying tobacco products than older people.
This observation as well as the observations from other local experts; gives us a perspective on tobacco use being in contrast to a statewide study release last week.
The study was done by Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University and it showed a 4 percent increase from 2007 to 2011 in the number of some high school seniors who have used smokeless tobacco.
This is a concern because even though rates of cigarette use among high school students continue to decline; smokeless tobacco use still exposes youth to the harmful elements of tobacco.
A study found that the rate of marijuana use rose slightly among Indiana seventh and eighth graders during that time period. It rose an average of about 3 percent amongst high school students. Locally, rates of smokeless tobacco and marijuana use have fluctuated but have not increased substantially.
According to a 2010 report, marijuana use among Tippecanoe eight, tenth and twelfth graders general increased from 2006 to 2008 but then the use fell from 2008 to 2009. This report does not include any statistics on tobacco use.
A Lafayette police officer feels that in recent years he hasn’t noticed an increase in problems at the high school stemming from tobacco and marijuana use. However he thinks abuse of certain prescription drugs has increased because they’re easier to get.
Indiana drug rehab programs should gear up to be treating more minors in the coming years if this trend continues.
