Teenage drug and alcohol use is on the decline and, for the first time in recent years, drug overdose deaths among teens have slightly decreased. Adolescent overdose fatalities first spiked with the onset of the pandemic, nearly doubling from 282 deaths in 2019 to 546 deaths in 2020. These deaths decreased from 721 in 2022 to 708 in 2023, a small reduction that marked a plateau and possibly the start of a decline in adolescent overdose deaths. This issue brief analyzes CDC WONDER data – including provisional data from 2023 – and data from national surveys of adolescent youth to highlight trends in substance use and overdose deaths.
Read the full article: Teens, Drugs, and Overdose: Contrasting Pre-Pandemic and Current Trends //
Source: https://www.kff.org/mental-health/issue-brief/teens-drugs-and-overdose-contrasting-pre-pandemic-and-current-trends/