Generation Z is plagued by substance abuse.
Over 13 million people aged 18-25 reported marijuana use in 2022. In addition to this,
“Gen Z drug use outpaces all other age groups for factors such as prescription benzodiazepine misuse and cocaine use.”
The Addiction Center reported the following:
“According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 23.6% of 12th graders used illicit drugs in 2015…
Nearly 90% of substance use disorders (SUDs) start during the teenage years. The Department of Justice reports that 1 in 6 teens has used prescription drugs to get high or alter their mood.”
David and Jackie Siegel experienced firsthand the devastation that substance abuse causes when their daughter, Victoria, tragically died from an overdose on June 6, 2015.
In response, David and Jackie have dedicated their lives to understanding their daughter’s drug overdose and how other parents can be spared from the pain and heartbreak they went through.
In 2019, the Siegels founded the Victoria’s Voice Foundation and since then, they say, “the foundation’s Save Our Kids Education and Prevention Programs have positively impacted more than one million students, parents, educators and community members nationwide.”
Victoria’s Voice is filled with resources for teens, parents, and community members on how to navigate drug abuse.
Their program, Save Our Kids Youth and Education Prevention, is made up of both live and video-facilitated drug prevention programs that are designed to inspire teenagers to live drug-free.
However, Victoria’s Voice not only desires to inspire teens to live drug-free but also seeks to educate parents on the realities of drug overdoses and provide tools for prevention.
According to CNBC,
“Death rates from drug overdoses for people ages 15 to 24 rose by 19.75% from 2006 to 2015, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs…
During the study period, 36,422 adolescents and young adults in the United States died of drug poisoning.
Most of the deaths from drug overdoses were from opioids, prescription and illicit drugs like heroin, the researchers said. Death rates from opioid use rose by an average of 4.8% annually over the same time period, with an even steeper increase of 15.4% a year between 2013 and 2015.”
David and Jackie see these tragic overdose deaths as being preventable with the correct tools, which is why they developed the Vital Signs Program. Vital Signs outlines outward signs (sexual misconduct, use of vaping, etc.) to determine whether a teen is involved in some kind of substance abuse.
With these methods of keeping track of and understanding these signs, parents can become aware of their teen’s drug abuse early on, before an overdose occurs.
If you are a parent who is interested in learning more about how you can become alert to the dangers of substance abuse in your teens, learn more about Victoria’s Voice today.
