🤙 Da Adda-Alarm: Teens Katch Da Adderall Online, Abuse-um Plenny! 😲
Da lates’ buzz stay all bout how up to 25% of our middle an’ high school keiki stay abusing meds like Adderall, even wen we get one national shortage of da kine ADHD drug. Dis buggah jus’ wen come out in one Journal of da American Medical Association on one Tuezday. 😱
Da smaht kine guys from University of Michigan wen go take one look at all da survey answers from schools all ova da place. Dey try fo’ find out how many keiki stay usin’ prescription stimulants fo’ real kine ADHD and da oddahs who jus’ like da feelin’ of da kine. 😵
Dey wen find out dat one in four of all da keiki stay abusing da kine meds dat supposed fo’ help kids wit’ attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Dass bout 6 million kids, age 3 to 17, in da US. 🇺🇸
Dr. Nora Volkow wen say, “Da kine drug supply change real quick, an’ da stuff dat look like real meds — like da kine bought online or shared wit’ friends an’ ohana — can get da dangerous stuff like fentanyl o’ oddah kine dat can make da keiki OD.” 💊😔
Da one important ting fo’ make da teens know bout da new kine risks, dat’s wat Volkow wen say. She da boss of da National Institute on Drug Abuse. Adderall an’ oddah kine stimulant therapy stay da “evidence-based treatment fo’ ADHD,” but can be da kine bad if no mo’ prescription o’ da guidance from da doctors. 💔
Da U of M guys wen use data from 3,284 schools collected between 2005 an’ 2020 fo’ da national Monitoring da Future study. Dey check out da “legal an’ illegal drug use” among da kine American keiki in 8th, 10th an’ 12th grades. 🏫
Da sample stay big enough fo’ be like one good kine example of all da schools all ova da place. Da study writers wen say dat aftah checking out da data from 231,141 keiki, dey wen find dat past-year non-medical use of prescription stimulants wen range from 0% to mo’ than 25%, dependin’ on da school. 😓
Da schools wit’ mo’ keiki usin’ stimulants fo’ ADHD, get mo’ keiki usin’ da kine stimulant abuse. Dey stay in da suburbs, get mo’ haole keiki, get parents wit’ mo’ education, an’ get da kine “medium-level” binge drinkin’, like 10% to 19% of da keiki. 🍻
Da keiki dat go da school wit’ mo’ stimulant therapy stay mo’ likely fo’ abuse da kine stimulants by 36%, compared to da keiki dat go da school wit’ less stimulant therapy. Dr. Sean McCabe, da study’s author, wen say, “Da main point stay dat we no need fo’ cut back on da kine prescriptions fo’ da keiki dat need um, but we gotta get bettah ways fo’ watch, screen, an’ store da kine stimulants fo’ help da keiki no misuse um.” 🚨
Da NIH wen also talk bout oddah studies dat wen find ova half of da teens who abuse da kine prescription stimulants, dey get um from dea friends o’ ohana. McCabe wen point out da “real important” need fo’ mo’ education on top da kine prescription stimulant meds so we can stop da wrong kine use dat can make da keiki all sick. 🏥
In March, da Centers fo’ Disease Control an’ Prevention wen send out one alert dat da stimulant prescriptions wen go up mo’ than 10% durin’ da pandemic, especially fo’ da wahine, an’ some of dem wen use TikTok fo’ self-diagnose. 📈🚺
All dis wen happen wen get one national Adderall shortage. Da kine shortage make um hard fo’ da peeps wit’ ADHD fo’ get da meds dey need, dat’s wat da Food and Drug Administration wen say. Brooklyn wahine Natalie Nevares, one mom to one 17-year-old boy wit’ ADHD, wen tell The Post dat she wen have to call 50 pharmacies jus’ fo’ get her boy’s life-savin’ prescription. Now, da ohana gotta ration da Adderall, one Schedule II drug classified as one controlled substance, jus’ so he can make um tru da school day. 🚸
Natalie wen say, “It’s real, real kine scary.” 😨
Da kine stimulant drugs like Adderall, Vyvanse, Ritalin, an’ mo’ stay used fo’ treat ADHD symptoms cuz da medication increase da neurotransmitters, o’ da brain kine chemicals. Da kine chemicals, mostly dopamine an’ norepinephrine, help da peeps wit’ ADHD fo’ focus bettah. 🧠🔬
So, all us guys gotta do our part fo’ help educate an’ protect our keiki from dis kine prescription stimulant abuse. We all like our keiki grow up strong an’ healthy, so let’s make shua dey get da right kine support an’ guidance. 🌈🤙
NOW IN ENGLISH
🚨 Adder-Alert: Teens Snatching Adderall Online and Abusing It Big Time! 😲
The latest scoop is all about how up to 25% of our middle and high school kids are abusing drugs like Adderall, even when there’s a national shortage of the ADHD drug. This alarming news was just published on a Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. 😱
The smart folks from the University of Michigan took a look at survey answers from schools across the country. They aimed to find out how many kids were using prescription stimulants for real ADHD and those who were just after the feeling. 😵
They discovered that one in four of all the kids were abusing medications that are supposed to help kids with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. That’s about 6 million kids, aged 3 to 17, in the US. 🇺🇸
Dr. Nora Volkow said, “The drug supply has rapidly changed, and substances that look like real medications — bought online or shared with friends and family — can contain dangerous ingredients like fentanyl or other potent substances that can result in overdoses.” 💊😔
It’s important to raise awareness about these new risks for teens, according to Volkow, who is the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Adderall and other stimulant therapies are an “evidence-based treatment for ADHD,” but they can also be harmful if used without a prescription or guidance from doctors. 💔
The University of Michigan researchers used data from 3,284 schools collected between 2005 and 2020 for the national Monitoring the Future study. They looked at “legal and illicit drug use” among American adolescents in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades. 🏫
The sample is large enough to be representative of secondary schools nationwide, according to the study authors. After analyzing data from 231,141 students, they found that past-year non-medical use of prescription stimulants ranged from 0% to more than 25%, depending on the school. 😓
Schools with more kids using stimulants for ADHD had higher rates of stimulant abuse. They were located in suburban neighborhoods, had a higher proportion of white students, had parents with more education, and had “medium-level” binge drinking, like 10% to 19% of the student body. 🍻
Students who attended schools with higher rates of stimulant therapy were also at a 36% increased risk of stimulant abuse compared to those who attended schools with lower rates of stimulant therapy. Dr. Sean McCabe, the study’s author, said, “The key takeaway here is not that we need to lessen prescribing of stimulants for students who need them, but that we need better ways to store, monitor, and screen for stimulant access and use among youth to prevent misuse.” 🚨
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) also cited past studies that found that over half of adolescents who abuse prescription stimulants often get the drugs from friends or family members.
McCabe highlighted the “critical” need for education on prescription stimulant medication to curb the misuse, which can cause serious adverse health effects. 🏥
In March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert that stimulant prescriptions rose during the pandemic by more than 10%, especially among women — some of whom took to TikTok to self-diagnose. 📈🚺
This report comes amid a national Adderall shortage, which has made it nearly impossible for people with ADHD to get the medication they need, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Brooklyn resident Natalie Nevares, mom to a 17-year-old son with ADHD, told The Post that she was forced to call 50 pharmacies just to fill her child’s life-saving prescription. Now, the family must ration the Adderall — a Schedule II drug classified as a controlled substance – just so he can get through the school day. 🚸
Natalie said, “It’s really, really kind of scary.” 😨
Stimulant drugs such as Adderall, Vyvanse, Ritalin, and others are used to treat ADHD symptoms because the medication increases the amount of neurotransmitters, or chemicals, in the brain. These chemicals, typically dopamine and norepinephrine, help people with ADHD focus better. 🧠🔬
So, all of us need to do our part to help educate and protect our kids from prescription stimulant abuse. We all want our children to grow up strong and healthy, so let’s make sure they get the right kind of support and guidance. 🌈🤝
