|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
By Jayelah Luckey
Opioids are usually talked about like a “grown-up” problem – an addiction that happens to stressed out adults with jobs and mortgages. But opioid misuse affects teenagers too, and more than people realize.
It often doesn’t start with illegal drugs. For many teens, it begins with a prescription meant to treat pain after a sports injury, surgery, or chronic medical issue. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in seven high school students has misused prescription opioids at least once.
A lot of teens who misuse opioids aren’t doing it to “get high.” Many are trying to numb pain, calm stress, or just feel like they can function again. With mental health struggles rising, especially among teens trying to balance home life, school, work, personal expectations, opioids can feel like a quick escape.
But the impact of opioid misuse is not the same for everyone. Racial disparities play a major role in who is most affected. The CDC says that In 2019, rates of prescription opioid misuse were higher among Black (8.7%) and Hispanic (9.8%) high school students than White students (5.5%).
These numbers show that opioid misuse is also tied to community conditions, access to healthcare, and how stress and pain are treated differently depending on who you are and where you live.
The risks become even more serious when looking at overdose deaths. In 2022, the age-adjusted opioid overdose death rate per 100,000 people was 65.2 for American Indian and Alaska Native communities, 47.5 for Black communities, 35.6 for White communities, and 22.7 for Hispanic communities.
This shows that the opioid crisis cannot be understood without acknowledging racial inequality. Some communities are hit harder because of barriers to healthcare access, underfunded schools, stress from discrimination, and limited mental health resources.
Opioids also affect the brain in ways that can lead to dependence quickly. The National Institute on Drug Abuse notes that teens who misuse prescription opioids are more likely to start using heroin later, because both drugs affect the brain in similar ways.
Access is another problem. Many teens aren’t buying drugs illegally. They find leftover pills in bathroom cabinets, or get them from friends or family members who were prescribed them. That means prevention cannot focus only on teens. It has to involve parents, doctors, schools, and healthcare systems.
Schools can make a difference by talking openly about stress, mental health, and coping skills, instead of only warning students not to use drugs. Families can lock and monitor prescription medications. Communities can support counseling, peer support programs, and safe places to talk.
Most importantly, we need to shift away from shame. Addiction is not about failure; it is something people can heal from when they are supported instead of judged.
The opioid crisis might seem like something distant, a problem that only affects adults or happens in other communities. But the truth is, it’s closer than many realize. It exists in families, classrooms, friendships, and neighborhoods. Recognizing that reality is the first step toward changing it.
This article was written as part of a program to educate youth and others about Alameda County’s opioid crisis, prevention and treatment options. The program is funded by the Alameda County
