Cocaine Use Among Teens

Cocaine usage among teens & it's statistics

Cocaine is a powerful drug that can be snorted, injected when dissolved in water, ingested, or smoked as crack. It is often referred to as coke, snow, flake, blow, or other terms. Cocaine is highly addictive and dangerous. According to the NIDA about eight percent of high-school seniors have used cocaine.

Cocaine drug use among teens, while declining, is a major concern for parents. This is because teens who use cocaine can become addicted and develop major health problems, including mental health issues like depression, as a consequence.

The latest statistics of teen cocaine use from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) in 2008, stated that nearly 1.4 million Americans met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for dependence or abuse of cocaine and crack for the previous year. Which means that they are showing signs of addiction. And the same organization's study showed in 1998 that past month and past year cocaine drug use peaks among the 18 to 20 age group, with 16-year-old teens to 17-year-old teens having the highest statistics among youth at 3.6 percent. These statistics point to the fact that first time use of cocaine happens often at these ages and they aren't far from becoming addicted when they begin to use the drug at this young age.