Teen Drug Abuse Trends

Ritalin, DXM, and Inhalants - Teen drug abuse trends from 2000

Teen drug abuse trends in 2000 shows Methylphenidate (Ritalin) abuse may be increasing. Eight sites reported its Ritalin abuse, primarily among youth who crush tablets and snort them, including Baltimore (among middle and high school students), Boston (especially in middle- and upper-class communities), Detroit (where one 14-year-old died in 1999 due to prolonged use, and where poison center calls are rising), Minneapolis/St. Paul, Phoenix, and parts of Texas. African-Americans on Chicago\s South Side inject it, sometimes with heroin or heroin and cocaine. White injecting drug users (IDUs) in Chicago inject phenmetrazine (Preludin).

Cough medicines with DXM are commonly abused ("robo tripping") by teens in Boston and Minneapolis/St. Paul, where DXM is reportedly also available as a powder in clear capsules. In Atlanta, inhalants are increasingly used among club goers; in Detroit, nitrous oxide and propane use continues to be reported; in Phoenix, inhalant deaths have in 1999, and in Texas, poppers, spray paint, gas, glue, and freon are reportedly abused by teens. Needle exchange personnel in areas surrounding Boston report steroid injection among young male body builders. In Atlanta, law enforcement sources note the potential for abuse of the anabolic steroid clenbuterol (Spiropent) by weight lifters.

These teen drug abuse trends from the year 2000 are indicative of the current drug scene, as youth abuse of prescription drugs, over-the-counter medication and inhalants have been on the rise while illicit drug use has dropped.

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