Drug use is up across all age groups. Studies show more people age 12 and older have tried and are using alcohol, tobacco, cocaine, cocaine derivatives, marijuana, opiates and designer drugs that ever before. This includes the adventurous 1960s when experimenting with psychedelic drugs was rampant. What is surprising is that today’s drug user doesn’t fit any neat profile. Young people have always been more likely to take recreational drugs. But today with those same adventurous Baby Boomers getting high well into their 60s, the picture of who is using drugs shows a wide swath of the population.
The government’s War on Drugs has lead many organizations, schools, businesses and parents to begin drug testing. Drug testing is the analysis of a biological specimens including blood, breath air, hair, oral fluid, sweat and urine for the presence of illicit drugs or their metabolites. The results all this testing has been surprising. Despite the government’s much publicized War on Drugs people are getting high younger and older than ever before. While alcohol, tobacco and marijuana continue to be the most widely used drugs, cocaine/crack, methamphetamines, and the unauthorized use of prescription drugs are also on the rise.
Looking at drug test results based on age show older people testing positive for marijuana most often. People in their teens and 20s, on the other hand, have been found to have a wide range of drugs in their systems. The sex of the subjects tested did not make a difference in the prevalence of positive drug tests. The picture that emerges is young people willing to try any type of drugs, while people over 40 are simply tokng their way into old age. These figures don’t tell the entire story because older people are wise enough to curtail their drug use when testing is imminent and have the financial wherewithal to pay for the best drug masking products.
Drug use rose about 1% among teens, but alcohol and tobacco use did not. Testing shows the use of illicit drugs by people 50 and over has also risen. While marijuana use is up throughout the entire 50 to 65 demographic, those older than 65 tended to show high non-medical use of prescription drugs. The compellation of the statistics based on drug testing must be a wake up call for the nation. Simply telling people to say no to drugs is not enough.
