National Drug Facts Week - Cyber Shoutout!

Today, we're joining teens, parents, teachers, and scientists across America to kick off National Drug Facts Week by offering up our own shoutout for educating teens (and adults) about drug abuse. Here at Reclaiming Futures, of course, we're especially concerned about adolescent substance abuse among teens in the juvenile justice system, and so we've collected a few items from the "Quick Facts" section of our new website -- chances are, at least some of them will surprise you. (Click on the reference numbers for the citations.)
 

• For four out of five kids aged 10-17 in the juvenile justice system, one or more of the following is true: they are under the influence of alcohol or drugs while committing their crimes; they test positive for drugs; they are arrested for committing an alcohol or drug offense; or they admit to having substance abuse problems.P1

• Nearly 85 percent of youth treated for substance abuse problems, also have a mental health disorder.P2
• Nearly half of all teens entering publicly-funded substance abuse treatment are referred from the juvenile justice system.LT1
• In 2008, 23.1 million people ages 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem. Of these, only 2.3 million (0.9 percent of persons aged 12 or older and 9.9 percent of those who needed treatment) received treatment at a specialty facility.LT2
• A large, multi-site study of 1,354 serious juvenile offenders found that substance use was strongly correlated to their "continued criminal activity," and that treatment could reduce criminal offenses.TW5

• Every dollar spent on drug treatment is estimated to return more than $18 in benefits to the community.TS2

 
Sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Drug Facts Week is an official health observance designed to shatter the myths and spread the facts about drug abuse and addiction.  Add your voice today and post your own drug abuse shoutout on your blog, Facebook profile, Twitter account—or wherever you see fit. When you choose to speak, you choose to act.
 
Learn more about today's "CyberShoutout" in support of National Drug Facts Week by checking NIDA’s Sara Bellum Blog, which will be posting updates all day and recognizing the voices of those who participate—yours could be one of them!
 
Also, don't forget that tomorrow - November 9th -- from 8am - 6 pm EST, NIDA scientists will be answering teens' questions about drugs during Drug Facts Chat Day. (You can also download transcripts from past events.)
  

Additional tags: National Drug Facts Week, Sara Bellum CyberShoutout.