Archives April 2022

Profile

Richard Capriola

The percentage of teens using illicit substances dropped significantly in 2021 as the pandemic forced them into isolating from friends, classrooms and extracurricular activities. Alcohol, marijuana and nicotine vaping – the most commonly used substances by teens all showed declines from 2020.
These findings were reported by a Monitoring the Future survey conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research – http://www.monitoringthefuture.org.
The survey is given annually to students in eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades. In addition to gathering data on substance use, the survey records teen’s perception of harm caused by using substances, whether they disapprove of using substances and how teens view the availability of drugs.
Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, observed, “We have never seen such dramatic decreases in drug use among teens in just a one-year period.” She added, “These data are unprecedented and highlight one unexpected potential consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic which caused seismic shifts in the day-to-day lives of adolescents.”
Alcohol consumption decreased significantly for tenth and twelfth grade students with a smaller decrease for eighth graders. In 2021, 47 percent of seniors reported drinking alcohol compared to 55 percent the previous year. Among tenth grade students, 29 percent reported drinking compared to 41 percent in 2020. Eighth graders also reported a decline in drinking with 17 percent saying they drank in 2021 compared to 21 percent in 2020.
Alcohol intoxication (reported as being drunk) also dropped significantly among all three grades. For example, in 2021, 29 percent of seniors said they’d been “drunk” compared to 37 percent in 2020. Among tenth graders, 13 percent reported being drunk compared to 23 percent the previous year. Alcohol intoxication also dropped among eighth graders. In 2021, 6 percent said they’d been drunk compared to 8 percent in 2020.
Marijuana, one of the most popular illicit drugs use by teens, declined significantly among all three grades. In 2021, 31 percent of seniors used marijuana compared to 35 percent the previous year. Seventeen percent of tenth graders used the drug compared to 28 percent in 2020 and eighth grade use declined from 11 percent to 7 percent in 2021.
For three years, from 2017 to 2019 the percentage of teens vaping substances like marijuana and nicotine increased at alarming rates. For example, the percent of eighth graders vaping increased from 13 percent to 20 percent; the percent of tenth graders vaping increased from 24 percent to 36 percent and the percent of seniors vaping went from 28 percent to 41 percent. In 2020 the percentages stabilized and in 2021 showed a significant decline.
While declining in 2021, vaping continues to be an important issue. Today, nearly 32 percent of high school seniors, 22 percent of 10th graders and 13 percent of eighth graders admit to vaping. The majority of them prefer to vape nicotine, followed by marijuana.
Two issues drive teen substance use: drug availability and perception of risk.
Availability: Today’s teens know that it is far too easy to obtain substances. For example,
70 percent of high school seniors say marijuana is either “fairly easy” or “very easy” to obtain.
Seventy-seven percent say getting their hands on alcohol is very easy and twenty-one percent of
seniors believe it is easy to find MDMA (ecstasy). Thirty percent say getting their hands on
amphetamines is also very easy.
Perhaps more alarming, 27 percent of eighth graders said getting a hold of a drug like
marijuana is either fairly easy or very easy to do. And nearly 50 percent said alcohol is easy to
find.
In addition to teens knowing how easy it is to obtain substances, they don’t believe
substances like alcohol or marijuana are very harmful. Only 22 percent of high school seniors
said using marijuana “regularly” was a great risk. Only 22 percent said having one or two drinks
of alcohol nearly every day involves a great risk. Perhaps more alarming, only 34 percent said it
is risky to “have five or more drinks once or twice each weekend.”
When teens find that it is easy for them to obtain alcohol and drugs and they don’t see
much harm in using them, the risk for increased substance abuse increases.
Richard Miech, a principal investigator of the Monitoring the Future Study, said “These
declines are an unintended consequence of the pandemic. Among the many disruptions
adolescents have experienced as a result of the pandemic are disruptions in their ability to get
drugs, disruptions in their ability to use drugs outside of parental supervision, and disruptions in
peer groups that encourage drug use.”
He also noted “It is possible that this delayed onset of drug use will lower these
adolescents’ levels of drug use for the rest of their lives…In contrast, it is also possible that these
declines will be fleeting, and drug use may surge among these adolescents once they are free of
the constraints imposed by the pandemic.” Only time will tell if the significant decline in teen
substance use observed in 2021 will carry over to 2022.
“Moving forward” according to Dr. Vokow, “it will be crucial to identify the pivotal
elements of this past year that contributed to decreased drug use – whether related to drug
availability, family involvement, differences in peer pressure, or other factors – and harness them
to inform future prevention efforts.”
Richard Capriola has been a mental health and substance use counselor for over two decades. He
is the author of The Addicted Child: A Parent’s Guide to Adolescent Substance Abuse which can
be found at http://www.helptheaddictedchild.com

Profile

Amy L Bovaird

Hi! I’m Amy Bovaird—a Christian, former ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher, Author, Speaker, Educator and Mentor. I work as a cashier at a local grocery store, which I love.  Active in my community, I lead an ongoing pill bottle donation drive, liaise with several organizations and support fellow authors. I’m an encourager and a caregiver.

So what, you say. Lots of people do those kinds of things. Yes, and I’m happy to be one of them!

I’ve learned life has lots of turns—some really unexpected challenges—and moving forward physically has helped me keep a positive focus mentally.

I have a progressive incurable eye condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa. I’ve been legally blind since 1989 and now, have progressive hearing loss. In 2008, my eyesight diminished to the point I had to learn to use a white cane to get around. At the same time, I noticed I was missing much in conversations around me. I had my hearing tested and found a marked loss, which hearing aids have corrected it to a certain poi nt. Even so, I have lost a lot of what I had and struggle to interpret what others say. I’ve unconsciously become a lip reader and in context-reduced settings, I sometimes feel in over my head. Oh, the funny pictures they generate in my mind!

So how can I do all these things? How can I be a cashier when I’m blind? How can I critique another author’s work? First of all, blindness is a spectrum and not like an on/off switch. In my situation, I can see some things but not others. Magnification helps me a lot. I currently need a magnifier of x4. Conversely, I often feel I never have enough light. But other times, the light washes out everything and I have to wait for my eyes to adjust—especially moving from one setting to another. My daily life is full of contradictions—and the ability to ability to adjust myself is how I succeed.

When I began to use a white cane, acknowledging the loss of my eyesight by publicly threw me into another culture. I felt out of my depth, unsure of myself in every way. In retrospect, that turn in the road was much like adapting to life overseas and learning how to live in another culture when I taught English.

In my memoirs, I speak authentically on how to cope with loss, specifically of how learning to use a white cane changed my outlook on blindness. I had a completely blind mobility instructor who challenged me. In Mobility Matters: Stepping Out in Faith, I take readers through all my fears—many of which are shared by other blind individuals—to my success. My goal is to encourage through sharing my journey. The feedback has been so positive. I followed Book 1 up with Cane Confessions: The Lighter Side to Mobility. This book consists of 27 stories of mostly humorous stories of my life abroad and in the US adapting to sight loss. I’m currently working on Book 3, Second Sight: Milestones in Mobility. I’m completely open about my journey and how I overcame my challenges with using my white cane in different scenarios. I think it will be an extremely valuable and relatable memoir. My memoirs speak to those with sight loss but also to those who want to overcome any challenge. I also educate others about sight loss. The ability to laugh at myself in various situations makes me approachable. Readers often express surprise at the challenges and also my coping strategies.

I also write about other types of losses—divorce, child loss, death of loved ones, loss of expectations, and these focus on faith and, again, moving forward positively.

My triumphs have come about through my faith, my positive thinking and transparency. Being real and grateful for the support I’ve received is a cornerstone of my life. I give and receive encouragement. As long as I move forward, I can accept my imperfections and contribute much to those around me.  I’ve built a strong support system that keeps me energized and successful.

We impact those around us by overcoming and being real. My brother, who struggles with bipolar disorder, once told me, “I like hearing you speak. You smile and make me feel happy.” Those words have become a strong motivation for me to keep positive and moving forward.

Please check out my website at www.AmyBovaird.com You can find my memoirs at Amazon They are available in kindle, print (Regular and Large Print), audio and Braille. Mobility Matters Book Series