National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week 2023
What Is the Worst Drug?
Scientists from the National Institute on Drug Abuse answer common questions teens ask about drug use and addiction. The episode What Is the Worst Drug? introduces viewers to the dangers of fentanyl and the staggering mortality rates of nicotine and alcohol use.
“That is a very complicated question because like, it depends on what kind of worst are you thinking about. And alcohol and nicotine are the most pervasive used drugs and because of that they also are accountable for a lot of deaths and also health issues because of prolonged use of these drugs or binge-like use of alcohol. And right now, in the US we have a very dangerous drug that is fentanyl that is a synthetic opioid that has been mixed into other drugs and is contaminating meth, coke, heroin and fentanyl is very potent and it can cause death”.
FACT:
Fentanyl is 50x more potent than heroin and when misused the consequences can be fatal.
Talking to Your Kids
Starting the Discussion About Drug and Alcohol Use with Your Kids
Parents face a tough dilemma about substance use: we may want our children to abstain from alcohol and drug use but what do we do if they are not? Besides the effects of substance use on the developing brain, teens using substances may face very serious consequences.