Drug Abuse Prevention | Home

Drug Abuse is improper or excessive use of alcohol or other drugs. [Common Drugs of Abuse ]

In Lane County:

10 % of eighth graders and 23% of 11th graders used Marijuana in the past 30 days.
5% of eighth graders and 2.4% of 11th graders used aerosol spray cans, paints or sprays to get high in the last 30 days
5% of eighth graders and 8% of 11th graders (nearly 1 in 10) have used prescription drugs (without a doctor’s order) to get high in the last 30 days

For Parents and Caring Adults: What You Can Do

Set a good example – use medication only as prescribed and don’t share prescriptions or use illegal drugs
Talk WITH your kids – and start talking when they are young. Let them know that medication, when used other than as prescribed, can be harmful. Let them know over the counter medications (store bought) can be harmful when not taken as directed and prescription medications are specifically for the person they are prescribed. When writing a prescription, doctors take into account the reason for the medication, the patient’s size, age, health and allergies. If shared, prescriptions can have tragic outcomes.
Remove temptation – keep medications in a secure area, keep track of the amount of medication being stored, dispose of left over or out dated prescriptions.

Youth use drugs for many reasons, a few of the more common reasons are:

Social transitions - leaving one school for another (including elementary school to middle school and middle school to high school),
depression or other mental health issues,
family history of alcoholism and
friends that use.

Parents, learn more what you can do. Visit our "Teen/Tween-Proof Your Home" page.